social sanity

I know it is bound to take a very long time to get back to social sanity, but it helps a lot to keep in mind the possibility, and what it would look like.

This was the (bioregional) way people lived sustainably for thousands of years:

My guess is that they were as happy (or unhappy) as we are now, and if I’m right about that, well, then what’s the good of all the “development” stuff that has half-ruined the landscape over the last 500 years?

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Seeing more and more groups starting their meetings and events with the following represents an important advance in the direction of knowing where to go:

“We gratefully acknowledge the Native Peoples on whose ancestral homelands we live and gather, as well as the diverse and vibrant Native communities who make their home here today. We acknowledge that we are on occupied, unceded territory. We recognize our place in the story of colonization and our responsibility of undoing its legacy. New Jersey is Lenapehoking, traditional Lenape land. If you are in what is now known as Princeton NJ or further south, you are on Lenni Lenape land. If you are in what is now known as New Brunswick NJ or further north, you are on Munsee Lenape land.”

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Hearing those acknowledgments and recognitions provides a basis for optimism.