Why personal change does not equal political change.
Why personal change does not equal political change.
Would any sane person think dumpster diving would have stopped Hitler, or that composting would have ended slavery or brought about the eight-hour workday; or that chopping wood and carrying water would have gotten people out of Tsarist prisons; or that dancing around a fire would have helped put in place the Voting Rights Act of 1957 or the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
Then why now, with all the world at stake, do so many people retreat into these entirely personal “solutions”? Why are these solutions not sufficient? But most importantly, what can be done instead to actually stop the murder of the planet?
Words based on the essay of the same title by Derrick Jensen. Original camera by Jordan Brown and Masao Tamaoki. Music by Jordan Brown, Chris Clark, Alan Whitehead, Amon Tobin, Horace Silver, Bonobo and Murcof. Additional footage credits to respective creators, some of whom are: Chris White, Babak Tafreshi, Melissa Parker, Colin Riche, Alex Delany, Sam Irwin, Jeff Grewe, Chris Pritchard, Ben Knight, Danny McShane, Joel Schat, Simon Waller, Ron Fricke, Franklin López, Michel Benjamin, Dominique Gentil, Emily James, Mårten Nilsson, Lukas Eisenhauer, Josh Fox, Peter Mettler, and Indymedia. And all further credit where credit is due for unknown or unattributed creators whose work appears.