As a summary of my final paper I would like to summarize my thoughts with the phrase that caring and taking affirmative action are two completely different things. For as long as I can remember I have been an advocate for the environment and have tried to do my part through eating vegan and taking part in charities that clean up the waste we leave behind. Although I have learned extensively about what our damage has been to the Earth and the system that we rely on this class I felt like I was visually and physically exposed to the work that truly needs to be done to make a change for the better.
My action group focused upon banning fur farming from Washington, and hopefully Oregon, which was a refreshing change from just reposting stories during Covid when it felt like nothing could be done. Yet during our action project I was able to appreciate the positive impact that social media can actually have on spreading a message for a good cause. Social media is often a very negative and surface level space, so it was incredibly refreshing to use it for the right purpose. I felt like although I wish I could have done more we as a group were able to enact the actions that we hoped to, and also some of us committed to taking further actions in the coming months as well as further into the future.
In relation to the class I felt extremely appreciative about the action group that I chose, as I felt like it touched upon so many of the subjects that we had covered over the quarter. From manifesting political ecology, to confirming that change begins with emotion, to learning about the gruesome topic of animal farming both from animals farmed for their skins as well as their bodies. I was even able to gain knowledge pertaining to how these practices that are hidden from the general public contributed to the spread of Covid.
Overall I feel extremely blessed to have been part of a class that encouraged conscientiousness and connection as well as understanding when difficult situations in our personal lives beseech us unexpectedly. I have been reinspired to stop shielding myself from the death and sadness in the world and instead take what I have learned to counteract the negativity in the world.
