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Bark At Nonsense

April 11, 2019 By Nancy Casey

Could it be that we’re a species that can’t survive its own intelligence?

We’ve invented oil spills, radioactive plumes and chemical explosions. We’ve put heavy metals in all the wrong places. We’re responsible for dying oceans, altered climate, and resource wars that leave behind whole generations of brutalized survivors. We’ve normalized the militarization of policing, idiocies of incarceration, the criminalization of poverty and the phrase survival of the fittest.

It’s not going to get better before it gets better.

This kind of thinking can tumble a person into a vortex of powerlessness and depression. The antidote, of course, is action–but what? There is one thing you can always do. You can bark at nonsense.

Yes. Bark. At nonsense. Everybody can bark, and the world is full of nonsense. Slip a little bark into a conversation. You’ll see how nicely it fits. Once you fully embrace your barking it will become as natural as laughing. Here is some nonsense to get you started:

(Cows are purple.) Remember to bark in the world, not just in your head. (Down is up and up is down.) A full-throated bark is a must. Arf-arf doesn’t count. Arf-arf is not barking. Arf-arf is talking about barking . (Mandibles are encased in an eocene layer of florbids). Don’t be fooled into thinking some nonsense would make sense if only you were smart enough. Bark! (Weather comes out of the ground.) Drop the concerns about your dignity. (A fish with six toes.) How could barking be less appropriate than nonsense? (Those people are animals.) Are you barking?

Take your cues from your experience with dogs. When a dog jumps up, tail in the air, and emits one sharp bark, people ask, “Who’s here?” A dog who starts a bark-a-thon, growls, threatens or otherwise escalates gets put outside.  If you are careful never to bark unnecessarily, people will say, “Hey! What was that? She only barks at nonsense.”

Bark at nonsense and people will think more and listen better. Bark at nonsense and you will think more and listen better. Because you have to know when to bark.

So here’s some more practice. Read down this list. When you get smacked by nonsense, bark!

Zero population growth.

Economic development.

If we zapped all the mosquitoes from the planetary ecosystem, it probably wouldn’t be a disaster of the same scale as zapping the ants.

The family of Man.

Reduce, reuse, recycle.

Love is our best weapon.

An unconceived child has a right not to be genetically engineered.

Money, like space and time, is a dimension.

Organic farming methods could provide a nourishing diet for everyone on the planet.

We are the result of an experiment being performed by a superior intergalactic society.

We are the result of DNA trying to replicate itself.

Bigfoot.

If you bark at nonsense, you can do a world of good.

 

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Nancy blogs weekly for the Latah Recovery Community Center, sharing writing ideas that support self-awareness and self-esteem.


Looking for an art project that is secretly full of math? Or a math project that results in interesting art? Equilateral Triangle is an Inquiry Pack full of project ideas that will keep you thinking for a long time.


Writing classes and workshops

In-person Write-For-You workshops at the Latah Recovery Center have been suspended for a bit, but you can still do the writing prompts on your own. For more information, about the Write for You program, or if you are in recovery and interested in writing coaching, contact Nancy.


 

Let’s Talk About It

This is a program that supports reading and discussion in libraries throughout the state of Idaho.

Working with the Program Committee, I updated the theme The Humanity of Science and Technology.


 

2021-22 Let’s Talk About It Discussions

November 10 – Tuesdays with Morrie – Clearwater Memorial Library – Orofino

 

November 18 – A Home Below Hells Canyon – Boise Basin District Library – Idaho City

 

February 8 – The Girl Who Fell From the Sky – Grangeville Centennial Library – Grangeville

 

February 15 – Sweet Promised Land – Garden Valley District Library – Garden Valley

 

March 23 – Less – Coeur d’Alene Public Library – Coeur d’Alene


Nancy Casey's Books

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