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| Waiting for Irma |
[Photograph taken in our yard this morning here in central Florida, even as hurricane Irma bears down on our state.]
I MAKE MY STAND WITH MOTHER
EARTH
AND ALL HER CREATURES, GREAT AND SMALL
The
story is told of an occasion, shortly after the Portuguese colonizers first
arrived on the shores of South America (now Brazil). They were cutting down the
large trees of the Pau Brasil or ibirapitanga
- “red wood” in the indigenous Tupi language - to take back to Portugal. Some of the local indigenous people came to
see, curious what these pallid strangers were doing. One of them asked the Portuguese: “Do you not
have trees in your country, that you must take these from our land?”
“No, we
have trees,” was the reply. “But we need
these trees for the bright red dye they provide.”
“But why
do you need to so many trees?” the Native queried. “Who requires so much dye?”
“We
make dye to sell, for money,” the Portuguese replied.
“But
what for? What do you do with
money?”
“Well,
we collect it, so we can live, and we leave it for our children so that they
can live and survive comfortably as well.”
The
Native looked at the pale, bearded stranger for a long time, with an expression
of total puzzlement. Finally he said: “The
Earth, she provides for us today, and if we care for her she will provide for
our children as well!”[1]
In a
capitalist world, our lives have become focused on accumulation -- accumulation
of things and of money, i.e., capital. (This is the foundational driving force
and purpose within capitalism.) We have forgotten that the Earth is our Mother. We have forgotten that She will provide for
us, and for our children, and for all future generations – IF WE CARE FOR HER!”
In the
Christian Bible, in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus places this confidence in the context
of trust in God: “Notice how the flowers grow,”
he tells his followers. “They do not toil or spin. But I tell you, not
even [King] Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass in the field that
grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide
for you . . . ?” (Luke 12:27
and 28)
Within a system that promotes fear, insecurity,
and short-sightedness, our world today is moving full speed ahead toward our
own annihilation and the annihilation of most, if not all living things on this
planet. (The movie, “The Hellstrom
Chronicle,” suggests that cockroaches will be the only ones to survive!) Unlike the deniers, I am a person of the 21st
Century and I believe in science. Scientists are telling us today that our use
of carbon fuels and the resulting global warming is bringing us to the
brink. Just this past week we witnessed
the precursors of worse things to come, with the unprecedented wind and
especially rainfall from hurricane Harvey, devastating large swathes of Texas
and Louisiana here in the United States. At the same time, over a third – that’s right,
over one third!! – of the land mass of Bangladesh is under flood waters, with
flooding in neighboring India and Nepal as well. During this same week there is also flooding
in Beijing, where they are seeing the heaviest rainfall to come to that region
in 60 years! Irma, bearing down at this very moment on the state of Florida and
having left behind it a trail of massive
destruction, is the largest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic. And, as I
make my final edits on this post, the weather map is showing not one, not two,
but three hurricanes twisting across the Atlantic, the Caribbean and the Gulf
of Mexico!
For the sake
of all life on this planet and the life of the planet herself, WE MUST
STOP!! We must make our stand against
the monied interests, the oligarchs, the money-serving political class, and the
madmen who, in disregard to all the
evidence and warnings, and looking out only for their own short-term gain, are taking us over the cliff!!
We must stop polluting our air, our seas, and
our fresh water streams, rivers, and aquifers! We must halt the destruction of
the Amazon rainforest, known as the “lungs of the world,” and other forested
areas around the globe, all sources of the precious oxygen needed for life.
We must provide protection for sensitive and unique ecosystems and biomes of
our Mother Earth - Pacha Mama. And we must protect our companion travelers in the form of
all living beings – plant, animal, and all creatures – on this planet. It is
on this side, of fighting for the very life of our planet and all
its living creatures including humankind, that I MAKE MY STAND!
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