Call me a weepy dendrophiliac, but does it seem to anybody else that no matter how much information is packed into people they still don't realize that they themselves can make a difference? Most people realize that the environment is a major issue and that preservation is optimal. Most people happily appreciate the beauty of a virgin forest, an incandescent river, or the solidarity of a single dew drop clinging to the end of a leaf. So why don't more people realize that so much needs to be done? I blame capitalism. Not to be communist. I'm not communist. I do have some socialist beliefs, but I'm still fairly capitalist. But a society based on the continuous accumulation of possessions just seems flawed to me. People feel they can justify environmental degradation if it's for the production of goods or the benefit of people. Call me idealistic. Too much Walden for me I guess, but I still feel that minimalism aids in the appreciation of nature. I feel that getting in touch with it (taking a hike, planting a garden, going hunting [yes even hunting, it's not as bad a thing as a lot of people make it out to be, and i confess I have a taste for venison]) helps people in their lives. Nature is a place of healing. A benevolent force, a metaphor for God, the greater part of Dao, not something sinister and unknowable to be feared (the dark continent, black forest, something replete with beasts, bandits, and restless spirits) So if something is so benevolent, why would people be so indifferent? I suppose I could be wrong, but truthfully, I've never seriously entertained the idea. Somehow I can't believe that the sole purpose of nature is to serve man as he deems fit. Unfortunately, the environmentalists that are noticed tend to be those of a more radical nature. So when people think of environmentalists they think of people who don't bathe and chain themselves to trees and destroy equipment. They forget about the man who composts, writes his congressmen on environmental issues, or buys commercially grown lumber. Call me Ishmael. I suppose I'm conflicted and undecided to which school of thought I belong. But I again suppose that given the choice between the decadence of an opera house or the solace of a oak tree's shadow, I would invariably choose the latter, happily to wander in the wilderness over the security of wealth. How incredibly ideal. But obviously flawed because I am flawed and not ideal. Corruptible as anyone else and subject to all the ills the flesh is heir to. There's that Ishmael tendency again. But it still bothers me that apathy swallows the cries of all but the loudest, to which those in power consider the norm. Sometimes I think of joining those radicals, but going to the other extreme, destroying everything I hold dear. No valley would escape the tyranny of my rule. No pool unspoiled, no tree unscorched. I would release such a fury as would reach to heaven's crown, overpowering the glory of the sun. Trashing, romping, stomping. The earth would writhe under my majesty. I would destroy it all so that no one else could. People would have destroyed it anyway, I'd just do it faster. If it shall not be maintained, then it will not be at all. Let man kind suffer from my creation. But then I think. And I return to admiring my solitary spear of summer grass. parting thought: Never hold too dearly a mountain Nor give too much of your heart to a river For it may be that in time they will succumb to the ambitions of man And be forever changed. Sullied, barren, raped of their majesty; It is futile to love them For out of love grows dependence And in my foolishness I have loved them And so often cried over their loss.
Ooops, sorry dude, but hey this post is awsome and deserves a lot more feedback. I very personally feel the same way, I can't feel so radical one way or another but more like both. I typically feel this way when one side is only represented; I want to represent the other just out of fairness. But I think as humans with a bigger picture in mind we seek balance and fullness. We are not satisfied with how far of we as a race are to this, but remembering how primitive the world is (I mean war? Come one), we must expect to be let done for now. I personally can't agree or disagree with anything strongly anymore, because I see both sides. But I make my own decision, and my mind is the only one I will ever change. It will be the only one I will ever change for a positive effect. I can only hope all humans make their own decisions and accept others decisions that do not negatively effect anything but themselves. As far as that goes, like I said, we have a long way to go.
