Dear Missoula,
It’s snowy today, and we’ve enjoyed a summer with no wildfires in our region. The first summer like that in the 5 years we've lived here. Hopefully not the last!
It is a dark time for the collective conscience of our country and our world. Donald Trump is president, institutions we care about are failing, and profit-seeking is still on the rise in spite of our best interests and those of the future.
We are isolated here, in a bubble of privilege and self-interest. This community needs to arise from their quiet, egocentric, separatist ways and work on projects that matter. We need to stop composting and start riding bikes year round, stop virtue-signals and start standing up for each other and the future.
Our consciousness turned this decade when we got off our screens and started voting, started shutting down industries, ending the age of capitalism for one that transcends and elightens.
Our town is not the “last best place.” It's a part of the last best earth… and we need to recognize that we are not safe from the disasters we see abroad and around our own region. The bubble cannot hold. May we have the courage to build a sustainable society globally.
John
This letter was collected as part of DearTomorrow Missoula, in partnership with DearTomorrow, an award-winning climate storytelling project where people write messages to loved ones living in the future. Messages are shared now at deartomorrow.org and through social media, public talks, community events, and public art to inspire deep thinking and bold action on climate.