Gimme Shelter
Framing the Social Architecture of Sustainability
by Tina Lynn Evans
Many of us know and love the classic Rolling Stones tune “Gimme Shelter.†We could even sing along with it loudly in the car — if not in a public space. But if someone were to actually make the request of us — “gimme shelter!†— many of us would respond, “Why should I?!â€
After all, we don’t just give such things away in today’s society — everyone’s supposed to make their own living and pay for their own things, including shelter. We exist in contradiction. Many of the values we hold dear and try to instill in our children, such as the value of sharing, are devalued in the way we actually live. We remind our children to share their toys while, at the same time, we demonstrate with our actions that “greed is good;†that we highly value private, guarded cocoons nestled away from the troubles of others; and that individual accumulation of material wealth is the mark of success. A natural world of plenty made this ethic of greed possible — but this world is changing. (more…)