The common sense alarm is ringing louder than ever. We need clean water. We need clean air and chemical-free food. We need to wake up from the SUV to strip mall daily path and learn to connect with reality once again.
We are animals, grubbing around on this planet. We come from dirt and water. Sure, we've prettied ourselves up a bit, but we aren't some separate entity outside of the basic elements which we need to survive. We've tried to pretend though, haven't we? We've gone to great lengths to shield ourselves from our origins. People are still afraid to see naked bodies(the horror!). Perhaps that one flash of flesh to some people is like the stage background falling away to reveal scaffolding and theater equipment; that yes, we are just creatures.
Many people look at the hellish oil poisoned wetlands in Louisiana, at the oil covered birds and think "oh, that's awful", then get in their Ford Expedition to pick up Megan and Timmy from soccer practice. It doesn't phase you because your nose isn't in it. Your eyes aren't watering from the out gassing, and you aren't dizzy. You can go back to Ebay or Dr. Rob or whatever it is you do to avoid reality.
The disconnect exists because the outdoors to you is a place where you have people(or yourself) spray pesticides and weed killer a few times a year. Do you know that when you spray common pesticides and weed killer you are wiping out lady bugs, fire flies, butterflies and amphibians from your yard? You are turning a nice strip of animal habitat into an ecological dead zone not all that different from what the oil will do to Louisiana wetlands. This is your disconnect.
I want you to look at this map:
http://www.earthjustice.org/...
These are the last wilderness and roadless areas in the lower 48. These are pristine lands larger than 5,000 acres without a road. Roads bring in development such as mining and logging, and of course subdivisions and strip malls. Roads are the "foot in the door". Roads are a good thing, but not when there is poor balance. These rare, wild roadless areas support the cleanest water and air in the country as well as most of the endangered species. They provide pure drinking water tens of millions of Americans. Many of these areas border national parks, providing wild buffers.
Recently, Tom Vilsack, appointed as Secretary of Agriculture by Obama allowed new road construction and drilling in numerous roadless areas across the west:
http://www.flyrodreel.com/...
This is Vilsack's disconnect. He had close ties to big corporate Ag, and the Obama administration knew this.
Meet Ken Salazar, the Obama pick for Head of the Interior. Ken was a corporate rancher from Colorado. The DOI is struggling with the Gulf oil spill. Ever wonder why? Did you know:
- Ken Salazar backed Gale Norton during the dreadful reign of GWB?
- Did you know he voted for the 2005 Bush/Cheney energy bill?
- Voted against a bill that would have forced the Army Corps of Engineers to consider project impacts to global warming?
- Threatened to sue the US fish and wildlife service if the rare black tailed prairie dog was listed?
- Voted to end the offshore drilling moratorium?
- Voted against the repeal of tax breaks for Exxon-Mobil?
- The Department of the Interior is in charge of resource extraction on public lands?
Yet Obama picked him. This is Obama's disconnect. The lethargic, sloppy response to the Gulf spill happened because you have people in place who are sympathetic corporatists. This poor response is not by accident.
So what can you do? I'm not asking you to join groups. I'm not asking you to donate. What I am asking you to do is this year, when you get vacation time, instead of flying from concrete to concrete and shopping (or crammed in with everyone else doing the same things), take a trip to one of our national parks. Go see one of the roadless areas on that map. Do something to get back to reality, at least for a little while. We've got to get that connection back. The awful response we've seen from the media, the administration and American citizens to the Gulf spill is because for many, "the outdoors" is walking four steps out your back door and firing up the grill.
Get back to reality for yourself, for your piece of mind. Start asking the big questions again while staring up at a night sky free from light pollution(those of you in Chicago probably haven't seen a real night sky in many years.) Where did we come from? How big is space? What is my purpose?
When you stare up at that brilliant sky, listen to the wind in the trees and the rushing river or gentle waves of the lake. You will feel the connection. It will come back. You must get outside of your self involved path, at least for ten percent of the day. You must think outside this from time to time. Our poor reaction to the Gulf spill is because we don't do this enough. I understand it can be difficult for us as a society because we have hemmed ourselves in with such complicated nonsense(credit reports, mortgage payments, awful health care costs) but it still needs to be done, just like brushing your teeth or combing your hair. It's an essential part of our existence. To deny it is insanity and a detriment to how we function as a species.
The poor response from the White House is because they are disconnected too. This is why Salazar is head of the DOI(responsible for public land resource extraction).
A truly enlightened nation, and thereby government would have swarmed down on this Gulf spill making it the top priority, utilizing every single resource at our disposal. The outrage would have forced major papers to cover it non-stop. The pressure would have been so fierce that BP and the White House would have had no choice but to respond in a prudent manner.
Instead, we watched American Idol.
Sad.
I have always felt that the difference between Republicans and Democrats comes down to this:
Republicans are people unable to visualize others paths/situations unless they are specifically affected by something themselves. An example of this would be a Republican who is against Medicaid, but who then loses his job because of a stroke, unable to pay for his medical debts. This Republican then becomes a fan of Medicaid.
A democrat understands the world can be a harsh place and that you can't always pull yourself up by your bootstraps John Wayne style (and according to the Drive By Truckers, John Wayne never saw the sands of Iwo Jima).
I hate to say it folks, but our disconnect with reality(land, air, water,)is no different than the Republican inability to see things until they are personally affected. We don't care about oil spills until they start slopping up on our doorsteps. We don't care about clear cuts until we see the moonscape that they are. We don't care about mining until posion enters our drinking supply. As long as our little bubble isn't tampered with, we go about floating around, ignorant.
So this year, head to a national park or roadless area. Go camping with the family. Get that connection back. Do it for yourself. Do it for your community. Do it for our enlightenment, for the benefit of our species as we evolve.
Do it for the Gulf of Mexico - a place of wonderment which has fed the people of North America and cradled it gently with warm waters for millions of years. We owe it that much.