Submitted:
Wednesday 11 February, 2009.
Responsibility
Real responsibilty is a huge responsibility and, as freegans, it falls on us to remember this, and to act on it as much as possible. We cannot solve everything by ourselves but if we embrace the true spirit of freeganism we can each make a combined difference.
Responsibility takes effort, thought, time and, last but not least, love. If we take all these into consideration, while choosing to look outside of our own selfish desires, we should at least be able to start moving in a responsible direction.
Six months ago I had not even heard of the word 'freegan'. I did, however, consider myself to be a 'bit of a greenie'. After all, we recycled, were organic gardeners and had installed solar heating in our home. I did feel somewhat self-righteous, as when I looked around I seemed to be doing more than most people. Consequently, at the time, I thought my contribution to the environment was enough. At this point I was living in a house in the country with my wife and daughter and was always thinking (and sometimes voicing) the need for radical change. The big question was, where was that change going to come from? I could only conclude that it had to come from each one of us.
Over the last 6 months I have met many freegans in the UK, each committed to the ideals of the movement to varying degrees. This has inspired me to at least try to become more responsible. I came to see that working for money in order to sustain a selfish lifestyle is unsustainable if things are to be shared equally. If our short-term, and ultimately our medium and long-term goals, are only fuelled by selfish greed and self interest, we are not going anywhere.
We in the West [the First World] must lead the way - each one of us. We cannot afford to to rely on the government, or the corporations, or our next door neighbour, to go first. Ultimately it is down to little old 'us' - just you and me - to make the necessary changes. We need to share the vision with everyone we come into contact with in every way possible. This is our responsibilty. Obviously doing this will take some effort on each of our parts. However, we cannot afford to NOT make this effort. The time to change is now - not tomorrow and certainly not next year.
All of this is your and my RESPONSIBILITY, whether it is just cleaning up after a bin-raid, taking time to share an idea or ideal, show concern for our conbined furture - and all spiced up with a lot of love. It is worth the effort, please believe me!
Let us allow the spirit of this worthy and worthwhile life (freeganism) carry us all on to a brighter furture together, because none of us can do it alone. We may be few, but we could be many. It is up to you, and me too. Keep inspired, keep responsible, and, last but not least, do it with LOVE.
A friend in deed is a friend indeed. Keep the vision!