We develop many of our beliefs and attitudes through an
objective process. We think an issue through and consciously decide
which is the better point of view. But some beliefs are more
complex and deeper seeded than that.
We develop many of our beliefs and attitudes through an objective process. We think an issue through and consciously decide which is the better point of view. But some beliefs are more complex and deeper seeded than that.
Your feelings about abortion and religion for example, are not matters you decided just in your mind, they are things you feel in your heart. They are deeply ingrained and not easily changed. Over the course of years in your household, in your community, among your friends, you matured into a person with strong fundamental beliefs and attitudes, the source of which you can only vaguely identify.
It is surely true that the prevailing attitudes and beliefs will shape tomorrow’s world. We will establish our priorities and use them as guidelines to build the future. Our attitudes about nature and the environment, when the issue is raised at all, cast a dangerous and pessimistic cloud over the future.
In the little corner of the world I see, people are busy with acquisition of wealth. Look around. Our children can see it and are learning it. They see the Escalades and the Suburbans in the carpool line. They watch us while we work to acquire and consume designer clothes, German cars and home theaters. There is nothing wrong with striving for nice things. Our mistake is that we never consider the cost.
We believe the things we want just show up in stores at no cost to the world. Big screen TVs and SUVs are always there ‘magically’ and no one imagines that to make these things, somewhere in the world, we leave a hole.
How many holes can we dig? When will we realize that the world, as vast as it is, is finite? It is the foundation we stand on. Nature feeds us, clothes us and gives us shelter. But, if we treat the planet like one big disposable diaper, the party is going to end some day.
This is one of those beliefs I hold way down deep. It is a belief that I can’t be talked out of. I am always troubled and frustrated by those who see the natural world only as a resource to be managed; who see it only as a scenic calendar, a view or a coffee table book. They feel no spiritual connection to it and take for granted what it gives us.
If I ruled the world, understanding and respecting our connection with the natural world would be a core classroom subject. Reading, ‘Riting, ‘Rithmetic and Respecting – the four Rs. It is important, maybe critical, that tomorrow’s children grow up with a spiritual connection to nature.
“He’s an alarmist,” you say. “Everything looks fine out my window.”
But the glaciers and the polar ice caps are melting rapidly in an atmosphere warmed by our exhaust; the ozone continues to diminish and we’re eradicating a species a day.
In the end these things may mean nothing. But what if they mean everything? Which stone in the wall is the keystone? When will we knock it out? Or have we already? When it is knocked out, how long until the wall crumbles?
Do you know the answers? I don’t, but God seems to be giving us a lot of clues and we are ignoring them.
I think it is essential that environmental considerations to be considered on an equal basis with social and economic matters by policy makers.
In a world where actions must produce results by the next quarter or the next election, incorporating this ethic into the process will not be pursued with urgency. But maybe tomorrow’s policy makers, the ones who grow up in a home where there is a deep and abiding respect for the earth, will not just know, but feel deeply, the critical connection.
We need to grow children that love and respect the natural world. Forever is riding on it.
Ron Erskine has lived and worked as a builder and brewery owner in South Valley for 20 years. He lives in Morgan Hill with his wife and two children.
