Entering Into Relationship with Everything with Derrick Jensen

Program Description

Ecologist, activist, and prolific author Derrick Jensen asserts that the human species is not by nature a plague species. Indigenous people lived for tens of thousands of years in harmony with the planet that sustained them. The difference between those cultures and what westerners think of as civilization is, in essence, our perception of the world. Jensen notes, “The principle difference between Western and indigenous ways of being is that even the most open-minded Westerner generally views listening to the natural world as a metaphor.” Further, the predominant culture is not characterized by open-mindedness, since, to that world-view, nature is a commodity. Jensen argues that the key to change and life sustaining action is rooted in seeing nature as sentient–a being worthy and deserving of personal relationship. In this dialogue he compares and contrasts both world-views as he has encountered them in his life. The good news, he asserts, is that because so much is messed up there’s a way for everyone to get involved.

Derrick Jensen is an environmental activist, lecturer, teacher and author of Listening to the Land (Context Books 2000), A Language Older than Words (Context Books 2000), The Culture of Make Believe (Context Books 2002), and Endgame, Volumes I and II (Seven Stories Press, 2006). To learn more about the workd of Derrick Jensen go to www.derrickjensen.org

Topics Explored in this Dialogue:

• Who knows what to do to live sustainably
• What is a penopticon
• What is really good about everything being so messed up
• What are the three rules of a dysfunctional culture
• What is a writer’s job

Program Number: 3180               Host: Michael Toms                Interview Date: 10/31/2006