User:Darren

From BurningBook

A formative moment in my life as an activist was, in 2003, traveling to Coal River, WV and witnessing first hand the devastation wrought by mountaintop removal mining. It was this, the epitome of a society gone mad by capitalism's greed, Americas dirty secret literally being buried in the hollows of Appalachia, which finally challenged me to take a stand. Its not that I hadn't questioned the priorities or direction of our society before. Rather, prior to this event it all just seemed so big and unstoppable and me so small and insignificant. Somehow, afterwards--meeting the people whose lives were being shattered . . . witnessing an entire culture being erased--the insurmountable odds standing between me and meaningful social change no longer seemed a deterrent. I think Ghandi captured the essence of this well: "Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it". There is no easy answer and individually we are all rather powerless. So, despite my technical background and graduate degree, I have little hope that my or anyone else's scientific efforts alone will do much to change the present course of society. Instead, we must employ ourselves in the difficult work of shifting the fundamental values of our society--engaging people, waking them up from their consensus trance such that we all begin to take personal responsibility for our day-to-day decisions. Burning Book is one of the few things I can think of that directly addresses this challenge head on, and it is in this spirit that I devote myself towards making it a reality.