Thoughts on LA
A call for humanity to step up
Los Angeles is on fire, and the world is watching in horror. How could this be happening? The finger-pointing and misinformation have begun in earnest.
It’s sad how many did not or refused to see this significant catastrophe coming.
We are all to blame, every last one of us.
We consume, drive, reproduce, lust to live in beautiful places, eat food that is bad for us because it is convenient, and build huge homes in places where water is scarce, but oh, the views. We buy things we don’t need because we are easily manipulated by marketing gurus who come at us from all angles. We vote for people who don’t give a damn about the general population, the environment, the inequality of everything. Or we don’t vote because we don’t value our role or we have given up.
We are to blame because we are consumed with our individual needs and to hell with the larger community.
We are to blame because we are no longer content with the little things—the beautiful nuances in everyday life. The saying “go big or go home” has infiltrated our mindset.
We are to blame because we feel that everything we do and everywhere we go must be recorded and boasted about on social media when no one really cares; they’re wrapped up in their own perceived reality.
We are to blame because we are obsessed with controlling and conquering whatever we can get our hands on or buy. We believe humans rule and nature is to be controlled.
Nature is not seen as a partner in life.
Mother Earth has been giving us all kinds of clues, but apparently, we need to be thrown about violently, flooded out, burned, or swallowed up repeatedly and with such force for the message to be received.
We are to blame because we are shortsighted, narrowminded, and concerned only with our little silos of individual needs. We cannot see the world as one big community of humans, all needing the same basic things: food, shelter, love, compassion, and a sense of purpose.
I am devastated by what is happening in Los Angeles, but I am not surprised. My daughter lived in LA on and off between 2016 and 2024, when she completed her degree in film school. I loved visiting her and would do so by driving the 900-mile trip from Bend, OR, to Los Angeles. I enjoyed the California scenery once south of Sacramento. The endless orchards, rolling hills, and big skies allowed me to daydream and feel a part of the landscape as I mindfully drove on the interstate. The weather was always pleasant unless in mid-summer (which expanded over time). We went to the Getty, the Los Angeles Museum of Art, and Will Rogers State Beach, frequented ethnic restaurants, and enjoyed driving through the hills around LA proper to avoid major clogged highways. She knew her way around the area so well and has many friends whom these recent fires have impacted. And even though she was happy to leave Los Angeles in 2024 as her concerns regarding potential disasters got stronger, her heart aches because those deep connections still exist in the people and places she holds dear. I feel her pain.
People across the globe know Los Angeles as a place they want to visit: the sandy beaches and Pacific waves, the movie stars, Disneyland, Sunset Boulevard/Rodeo Drive, music, palm trees, glamour, beautiful landscapes, and more. The Golden State began in the gold rush days—a place where everyone wanted to go, and this desire continues to this day. There is a saturation point for anything, and many places worldwide have reached that point. We must honor these places by standing back and refraining from stampeding them to death before they can ever recover.
Many like to hate on LA for a lot of reasons. But it is the 5th largest economy in the world. This tragedy will affect us all; the ripple effects will be real and lasting. Angelenos will rally and come together to do what they can to help each other. This is what communities do. The actual test will be what happens next. Will our nation’s attention be peaked? Or will it go by the wayside once the media coverage subsides? Do we change our mindset and our ways? We do not control much, but we can control how we respond.
Michelle Lindblom