Activist calls for different way of life

By Nora Strehl
Western Herald

Earth Week keynot speaker Derrick Jensen directs a question and answer session after his speech titled "Too Busy Pretending that Culture will Undergo a Magical Transformation." Thomas Doherty/Western Herald

People crowded the room all at once, pushing through the doors, trying to find a place to sit. Everyone wanted to see the man who traveled from Los Angeles to speak on environmental issues, as part of Earth Week 2010 at Western Michigan University.

American author and environmental activist Derrick Jensen shared many of his views on the way life should be lived.

Jensen’s books provided the background for his talk.

“I couldn’t have written, or wanted to write “Endgame” or “The Culture of Make Believe”, without first having written “A Language Older Than Words”,” Jensen said.

The majority of Jensen’s books question and critique contemporary society and its values.

“A different way of life is possible,” Jensen said. “It can be seen in many past societies: Native Americans or other Indigenous cultures, for example.”

Jensen recalled the first time he realized he wanted to become an environmental activist.

“I was in the second grade and I saw a field being destroyed for a subdivision,” he said.

“In second grade I knew that this pattern couldn’t go on forever. If they destroy all the fields, eventually they’ll run out.”

Since then, Jensen has seen civilization to be inherently unsustainable and to be based on violence.

“The environment is based on violence,” he said. “Trade is never sufficiently reliable; if we need it, we take it. If we can’t get it, we fight for it.”

Jensen gave an example of based on U.S. and Canada relations.

“The U.S. gets 53 percent of their gas from Canada. If they decided they didn’t want to exploit the Tar Sands, and refused to send 53 percent of its gas… the U.S. would figure out a way to take it anyway,” Jensen added.

The speech was given in a question and answer format, and made it possible for audience members to get the information that they most wanted to know.
One question that several people had was, “Why don’t people act?”

Most of his answers were far from simple, and filled with mass amounts of information, but his answer for this one was not all that complex.

“We in the U.S have a lot of privileges,” he said. “I don’t think anyone wants to give up their privileges.”

Then he asked the audience a question of his own.

“When do we say enough is enough?” he said.

“How many people have to get cancer before we say leave our land, or die for it? One thing we need is a revolution, a revolution is not bringing down an existing power, but rather putting in place alternatives.”

Hannah Forester, a social work major, said she was really pleased with how the speech went.

“Every time I see him, he gets better and better,” Forester said. “Not only is he hilarious, but he has a serious passion for wanting to protect the environment and for wanting to spread the word.”

Forester saw him speak last year at the University of Michigan at the Social Justice Conference.

“I like that when he sees a problem he tries to get others to see it too,” she added. “So many of us notice a problem and then don’t do anything about it. He really tries to do the complete opposite.”

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=16246

Posted by HeraldAdmin on Apr 1 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Cody Kimball
Web Manager: I'm a Communication Student at WMU, a SCUBA Diver, Boater, Ordained Minister, Notary Public, Web Designer, Film Maker, DJ, and of course a Journalist. Born and raised in Port Huron, MI and a graduate of SC4. http://www.codykimball.com