Evangelizing

It seems that we are looking for some sort of way to organize these widespread and connected and institutionalized changes in human consciousness. But somehow, I feel that a large part of effecting change is far more subtle. Do we need to have “a series of structured dialogues…held simultaneously and linked electronically”? (Towards a New Consciousness) Or do we need to change the subjects of the conversations held in living rooms and cul-de-sac driveways? Somehow, we have to create a “buzz.” And maybe this institutionalized approach is the way to do it. Ask marketers. Their goal is to get people to talk about their products. They want to turn regular consumers into ambassadors and advertisements. I feel that this is a highly effective way to generate change.

So, I wonder, how do I become an ambassador for a new consciousness?

Back when I lived in “regular America” with lots of “regular Americans” (a.k.a. the semi-affluent suburbs of Kansas City), I had plenty of opportunities to plant seeds of sustainability, but was often afraid I would also indelicately rip out the deep roots of materialism. I knew it would make people uncomfortable.

I remember how much my ex-boyfriend’s mother loved to talk about how she redecorated her entire house every two or three years. She would talk at great length about new wallpaper and curtains and furniture. Even then, I found it wasteful and ridiculous. She spent a great deal of energy to talking about things to make herself appear rich and vaguely interesting, so I did not want to disappoint what appeared to be a very important goal—impressing those around her. Her like-minded friends would respond with their own stories of recent purchases or plans for redecorating. So I pretended to be impressed and vaguely interested by nodding approvingly.

But should I have taken that opportunity to talk about how I dreamed of buying or inheriting one hardwood kitchen table and using it until the day I died? And how I found that material goods with a long history and lots of stories to be far more enriching of my surroundings than a brand new, yet highly fashionable, coffee table produced in a factory and sold at the sprawling Nebraska Furniture Mart?

She might have considered it rude. She may have thought my response quaint or odd. She may have brushed it off as the weird aspirations of a hippie environmentalist. Yet, judging by the evolving reactions and behavior of my family—bonafide “regular Americans”—to my environmentalist nudges and suggestions, even initial brush-offs or demeaning stereotyping can give way to reconsideration of their ways of thinking and acting.

We should not shy away from “bearing witness” of our ideals. Even if they diverge from accepted cultural norms, our professing them without being judgmental should not be considered rude. So let us go forth and gently spread the gospel.