• car ownership
• air travel
• “hustle culture”
• moving to some remote acreage to “live off grid”
• “My grandmother, <mother, father, grandfather etc.> is so active and feisty! She’s 95 years old and still driving!”
Regarding car ownership:
In many parts of the USA, most people are basically forced into car ownership. Even fellow environmentalists. Still, I would like to see more of my fellow environmental activists treat car ownership like a necessary evil or a non-ideal situation, lamentable systems design failure, etc. — instead of some cause for rejoicing. Bragging on social media when they get a new car, when their kid gets their first car, etc. It’s always jarring to see fellow eco folk unconsciously reinforcing the consumerist and anti-public-transport social norms.
Regarding moving out to remote acreage to “live off-grid”:
I’ve actually never done this, and don’t aspire to – but it’s grating to constantly hear people rhapsodize about how it’s their dream etc.
Come on, just unplug your TV, turn off the lights, light a candle and fire up the barbecue. And get some rain barrels.
You can do it in your own home, in your own neighborhood, right now! I do it all the time — it’s how I live. And many other people as well. If you Google “off-grid in the city” you’ll find some very interesting content.
For additional off-grid fun you can just sleep in your garage sometimes when you feel like it. THAT, i do enjoy.
And you don’t even have to give up the convenience & connection of living in town. (BTW it’s totally possible to be a hermit and still live in town, ask me how I know <wink>.
We can choose our level of reclusiveness and still live in healthy interdependence with our neighbors; contribute to our communities.
Regarding elderly people still driving, and that being a bragging point:
Feeling happy that our elders are still getting around and active is a natural thing. However, the fact that elderly people are having to drive is not something to brag about. It’s a sign of bad design of our towns and cities; hollowing-out of neighborhoods and communities. Do we really want to keep living in a world where our beloved elders are terrified to give up their car keys because it means losing their independence?? People of any age should be able to walk out of their dwelling and go to the library, food store, park, and other places that make up the fabric of their life.
If I were going to brag that an elder is still “feisty,” I would want to be able to brag that they were instrumental in arranging a shuttle service for the residents of their retirement home. Or that they spoke to their city commission and got some improvement in public transportation. Now that is some GOOD feistiness!
(This post was my response to a prompt from a Facebook page called “God,” which asks interesting and thought-provoking questions. You can navigate to the original post from my post here. The prompt was “Things you wish people would stop romanticizing because you’ve lived the reality of it.”)