Contrapacha

Culture is based on language. Our language serves as the deep structure for our cognition, our sense of self, and our community. Sustainability, the conservation and enhancement of vital resources, is not built into the fabric of our common language, thwarting attempts to integrate it into our culture as a core value. Far more common is the language of grow-at-all-costs individualism.

We must work to change our language.

We must adjust our lexicon to capture concepts that cause the speaker or listener to pause, to consider the deeper meaning with each mention. In the same way that “constitution” or “freedom” may instill a (however brief) feeling of reverence, it is the emotion that is of the most value.

We must speak of environmental horrors in such a way that we feel the horror at its mention. Once we come to feel the impact in our everyday language, we will come to abhor the bespoken actions.

We can’t do this just by reorganizing or reemphasizing existing words in our common languages, nor can we invent nonsense words from the ether. For effective new language it must be derived from existing words that are perhaps unfamiliar or from other cultures, but drive the converser to consider the deep meaning behind the etymology.

Let me offer an example. The people of the Andes speak of Pachamama, or “Mother Earth”, with reverence. She is the giver of life, the mother deity in the originating culture. Consider the emotional impact of ruthlessly attacking such a cherished goddess. Here I define a new word, “Contrapacha”, defined as a grave crime against mother earth.

Now that we have a new word, what do we do with it? It must be embraced and infused throughout our culture: in the blogosphere, in the media, in common conversation, when speaking with our children, in professional journals. But always in context, always with the meaning: a crime against nature, one that affects all of humanity and the biosphere more deeply than most usually consider.

When mere mention of Contrapacha flutters the heart as does “treason”, “serial killer”, or “war crimes”, our common culture will have achieved some of the bare essentials to creating a sustainable future. It is for society to decide punishment for Contrapacha, but when our language, actions, and justice become one, we will have established a culture than can effectively meet the multifaceted challenges of climate collapse, resource exhaustion, and economic depression.