“To lock yourself up in the ivory tower is impossible and undesirable. To yield subjectively, not merely to a party machine, but even to a group ideology, is to destroy yourself as a writer. We feel this dilemma to be a painful one, because we see the need of engaging in politics while also seeing what a dirty, degrading business it is. And most of us still have a lingering belief that every choice, even every political choice, is between good and evil, and that if a thing is necessary it is also right. We should, I think, get rid of this belief, which belongs to the nursery. In politics one can never do more than decide which of two evils is the less... Even a general election is not exactly a pleasant or edifying spectacle..."
- George Orwell, 1948
Sometimes people ask, and sometimes I wonder, why did I stop writing about Yurt life and start writing about Kaua’i politics? Partly it’s out of the realization that the nearly insurmountable environmental and social issues that inspire our “low-impact” life-style have to be solved by government, not consumer choice. And, by focusing my writing on consumer choice and portraying a false glorification of our off-grid life, I was contributing to the chronic schizophrenic inaction of local and national government which is fueled by our societal ambivalence (and periodic malice) towards politics. By gloating about living off-grid, I was saying “hey, look at my self sufficiency! Look at what I can do without utilities or government, and you can do it too!” I glossed over the fact that this lifestyle is supported by my wife’s corporate job in IT, through my partial ownership of a small manufacturing shop, through industrial farming (Organic Layer Pellets), and cheap Chinese labour to produce my material goods (Ikea furniture and Apple phones). More importantly, I glossed over the huge amount of mud, death, and chicken shit.
While my morning routine is to watch the sun come up while reading George Orwell with a cup of hot coffee, I rarely mention the other side. Like how I spent the last four months raising a hen (she often sat on my desk outside while I worked) only to cut her head off with a rusty Cambodian meat cleaver while waiting for my coffee to boil this morning. It’s easier to offer up trite sentences about the quality of the evening light as the shadows lengthen across my forested yard than it is to describe the incoherent and inevitable momentary panic as I watch my hen’s beak gasp in vain for air while her headless body tries to fly away, all while the sound of my screaming water kettle tells me to get the job done quickly.
I write about politics (and elements related to politics) because I understand the necessity of the process. I’ve stopped writing about the drudgery of my life because I understand the inherent cherry-picking hypocrisy of it. Any hope I hold out for systemic change towards social and environmental justice is reserved for government action-- not pseudo hipster/hippies raising chickens and living in yurts (in case you’re offended by that description, I’m talking only about myself there).
Since my head is filled with the wishful thinking of campaign promises and hasn't been tainted yet by the obstructionist politics and inaction bred by democracy, I'll use this rare bout of optimism to lay out my hopes for the next two years:
I hope that Chair Rapozo (he will be voted chair) can work to end the partisan warfare of the last year. Since vague* support for agriculture and fiscal conservancy were his entire election platform, I look forward to seeing solutions on reversing the decline in local ag and balancing the budget.
Since nearly every candidate voiced support for the bus and our Multi-modal transportation plan as a solution to our growing traffic problem, I hope that bus service can be expanded and shelters constructed. If the counties gain the power to raise the general excise tax (as they are lobbying for at the State Legislature) I hope that any increase in that regressive tax is used exclusively for off-setting its regressive nature through support of the bus.
I hope that the Anti-GMO movement can reject demagogic leaders and the illusory appeal of simple solutions to complex problems and that it can accept that environmental justice can not be achieved without social justice.
I hope that Mayor Carvalho will follow his campaign promise of building the MRF, pursuing methane recovery at our landfill to power the Kaua'i Bus, and prioritizing drug treatment.
Most of all, I hope that every elected official will read the dire words outlined in the Seagrant report on climate change. Because when the waves lap against Kuhio HWY in Kapa'a town at the end of the century (as predicted in the report), we need to not only be prepared, but know that we did everything we could to minimize our contribution to climate change.
At the end of the day, it's a lot easier to critique the system as an outsider with no political power. So, my personal goal for the next two years is to step away from the ivory tower of my rhetorical keyboard and become more personally involved. And yes, I will do that while continuing to wipe the chicken blood off of my hands in the early dawn light of a chilly Kapahi morning.
I also want to give a special shout out to Mason Chock-- who earned a spot on the county council while spending less than all of the other candidates, limiting campaign contributions to $50 per person, and successfully managing a campaign strategy reliant on conversations with constituents and community service projects. I hope that his action/ideas oriented campaign will gain traction with future Kaua'i candidates. Our island is small enough that we can reject the crippling influence of big money on our local elections.
Congratulations to every candidate who put their name forward in an attempt to represent Kaua'i as an elected community servant. The lust for blood and the gladiatorial spirit of American democracy are alive and well on Kaua'i. I remain forever hopeful that we can see some good come out of this brutal sport.
* for clarification, the word vague was added on 11/11/14
Wow, Luke that was well stated. Watching the County Council meetings from this past week (after election) is painful yet funny, re GMO recall bill. The things people say! (Cancer!!!) Who are these folks? FOr sure, one has to be ready to stand in the mire and talk the licks & get ready to be be attacked Publicly. Maybe not you because you have creds (from your Dad esp) but it's hard to tell the truth - esp. if the truth is not popular. I wish Mason would be the chairman; - he comes to the part so well - just natural. I think Mel's Blood pressure may go too far up if he gets that job. Also Ross better watch his ire. I agree that this council may be a good one if they don't fracture and trip over themselves like the U.S.A. big guys. I am a friend and a teacher, but am anon today.
ReplyDeleteLuke you have a way with words but are hopelessly out of touch with reality. You say you hope Mel will "work to end the partisan warfare of the last year". Mel and Ross were the primary instigator of this warfare. You forget the other 5 councilmembers were in agreement and the warfare was in response to the demagoguery and populism put forth by Mel and Ross - "Too much taxes! Too much government spending! Too many mainland transplants telling salt of the earth local people how to live their lives and change our beloved plantation life! This lawsuit is going to cost the County millions!" All BS rhetoric and all intended to inflame and divide, and all successful in that intent.
ReplyDeleteYou say "There is still the potential for a politically powerful movement to arise out of the ashes of last Tuesday's election." What ashes do you refer to? Yes Tim and Jay went down but as anyone who follows politics knows this was not entirely due to the gmo issue, perhaps not at all. It was way past time for Jay to retire and Tim not only had to fend off attack by the gmo forces but also those of the wicked witch of the west, Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho (who of course is backed by Rapozo, Kualii and Kagawa. And the Maui initiative passed Luke! This is a time to celebrate the victory of a "politically powerful movement" already in motion and one that just defeated an $8 million onslaught by the chemical companies. Look a little closer Luke, the movement is stronger than ever.
You have clearly drank the Joan Conrow koolaid Luke. Why do you say the movement "was hijacked by outside financial influences who steered our grief towards the red herring of genetic modification"? The way I heard the story is that you were there in the beginning at those early and very first meetings and know that there was no "outside financial influences". This movement started in the living rooms of concerned citizens and I think you know this. After the movement/effort started, then when they were asked for help some legal support and some science support was provided by Earth Justice, the Center for Food Safety, and the Pesticide Action Network. There was no real money of any significance poured into Kauai except by the chemical companies.
Please take another look and reconsider some of the statements you write above. You are a good and intensely thoughtful writer but please think just a little bit more about what you say before you say it (even though you might be prone to overthinking things already).
Luke: Feel free to delete "the wicked witch of the west, " reference as these words are inappropriate and I apologize for submitting them in my posting. All else stands.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments 12:55 and 8:44.
ReplyDeleteTo clarify, the allegory of killing my chicken and the dark undercurrent of the piece were meant to contradict the "hope" that follows. I harbor no illusions that any of my hopes will come true. I worry about the effectiveness of a county council where council member Rapozo is chair. I do not believe that the anti-GMO movement will learn from the election results. I do not think that there will be any action on climate change adaptation or mitigation. And I do not think that we will see an expansion of the bus within two years.
I have clearly and continuously stated that I support buffer zones and disclosure and I acknowledge that there is a deep and systemic (and unrelated) issue with declining local agriculture. I was in the living room in the early days of the movement because I thought that the movement was going to address those issues. When the focal point became GMOs, I let everyone know that I couldn't support it, and I walked away. My perspective nor my grasp on reality hasn't changed.
Howdy Luke- Thank you for your Blog. You words are well written and bring a parallax to aspects of life on the island. Confusing? yes. But, it seems that many of the anti-GMO people and the Climate Evangelists are trying to create a cultural panic.
ReplyDeleteThere is already enough panic in most people's lives just trying to pay the rent, electric bill and to not get pulled over by the cops.
The dialogues being held today, would go no where a few years ago. Why? Because the island is changing. Not by development, politics or the climate. There just is more wealth on Kauai. And the paradox (or hypocrisy) of the wealthy in the big houses, sub-Zeros and other big carbon footprint life styles, proselytizing on Climate Change, GMOs/Ag and the perils of over development, is like advertising McDonalds as health food.
Mel will be a good Chairman. Take away all of the hormones of the election and you have seven people who care about Kauai.
Kauai is on a precipice and it isn't Ag, rising oceans or the patchouli fragrant Council Chambers that put us on this perilous peak. It is because the County has no money. No money for the Bus, no money for enforcement of 960, no money for more 6 digit salaries. Yes, we have no money today.
It always comes down to money, always has and always will.
Keep writing, Luke and perhaps take a political run. You will have many supporters.
By the Way, old Toe-Tung roofing shaped as a cone, three inch puka on the acute angle end, hung from a Cowamungai tree is a perfect slip, slide and slaughter for your chickens.
Thanks for the comment. However, I want to be clear that I consider myself a "climate evangelist." And, if cultural panic means taking the threat seriously, and listening to the recommendations of every scientific body of every industrialized nation (including the UN, the WHO, the IMF, etc), then yeah, I'm guilty of that too. And, I do not think that anti-GMO and climate change "evangelists" can be lumped into the same category. But, I do know what you're saying with the growing cultural divide on Kaua'i, being one mainly between the haves and the have nots. Trying to deal with that divide may be one of the most pressing political issues we have-- as growing inequality on Kaua'i and the fact that those with money came from someplace else, and those who grew up here can barely make it by. Of my friends from high school that went to college, almost none of them live on Kaua'i anymore-- of my friends that didn't go to college, almost none of them own their own home on Kaua'i (yes, there are definitely some notable exceptions, but, for the most part, that is the trend). My generation has slipped through the cracks on Kaua'i, and our future is scary.
DeleteThanks for the suggestion that I run for office, I really appreciate that sentiment. However, at the moment, the only thing I'm actually effective at is pissing off both sides of the political spectrum :)