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Hope you all are enjoying the holiday season, and I'm sorry to intrude upon it.
But what a great quiet time to just sit down and read something. Sometimes
reading should just be for the pleasure of it, yet sometimes it should be for the
knowledge you can gain from it. For the past little while I have been pushing
you to read the Robert Kennedy Jr. piece about the environment and I know
many of you have not. (I tested a few of you and most did not pass the test).
But there were a few who actually read the entire thing and responded without
prompting, and a few that responded to my test questions. I'm going to let you
see what they had to say, some in their complete version and some as
snippets from replies. My hope it that maybe their words can inspire you
where mine have failed. This will be my last shot at trying to get you to read it!

Crimes Against Nature
http://www.rollingstone.com/features/nationalaffairs/featuregen.asp?pid=2154

Next time we need to revisit the Patriot Act. There have been some secret
'goins' on that you probably have missed. You have missed them, not
because you haven't been alert but because they have been obscured from
your view - on purpose!

First I would like for you to read a letter sent by big brother Phil. It was sent to
me and to his son Jeff. We all, having been touched by Butch and Esther, are
obviously of like mind, and quick to say what we feel about matters
environmental. Jeff has gone way beyond Phil and I though as he works for
the State of Oregon on special environmental projects. Their replies will be
followed by some anonymous comments from others who took time to read the
article and voice their opinions.

From Phil

Titled "Bush's Conservation Destruction"

I finally worked my fuzzy brain around the 16 pages. I can't begin to
encompass all of it, but enough so that about every 3 paragraphs, I had to get
up and stomp around the house in disbelief and wonderment. The audacity
and callous disregard for anything or anybody besides their own profit is more
than I was able to believe. As much as I trust the author (I guess I do ) it's
beyond my imagination that our trusted elected leaders could be so criminally
greedy. My guts have been in an uproar for the last 2 days over this.
All of the education, poverty, tax relief,social security etc. programs that are
being ground down because we don't have the money, and then this, and the
disaster in Iraq, Halliburton stuffing profits away on the so called rebuilding
process. ( "Oops! We accidentally paid 61 million dollars too much for gasoline
in Iraq").
How can all of this be slipping under the radar of scrutiny of the press. Every
once in a while a snippet of one of the items in the article will appear briefly in
a news release and then it's gone. Is the Democratic party so involved gazing
up it's own ass for a candidate that there is no time to comment or investigate
any of this.
These allegations in total represent an enormous amount of loss to the
country. How can the party sworn to stand up for the little guy be so clueless?
I guess I could rant for ever, but I'm only going to ask the obvious question. "If
these charges are even remotely true, why hasn't our party made them
thunder thru the press and media?"
Phil
I'd continue, but I have to go see who gets voted off the island tonight.

Phil and this reply from his son Jeff:

Dear Dad,

Those who speak out about the environment automatically suffer the "Curse of
Cassandra" - to always speak the truth and never to be believed. The only
thing wrong with what Robert Kennedy is saying is that he can only find an
audience at Rolling Stone and NPR. Right now and for the next 11 months at
least, the National Dialog will focus on the economy and the 9-11/Afghan/Bin
Laden/Iraq/Saddam/Terror spin campaign to keep Americans focused on
external threats while the Gypsies of the Bush Administration loot the castle at
home.

For most of the people most of the time the environment is an abstraction that
doesn't impact their immediate, job, health, home, food, or pension plan. Plus,
when has a story on the environment ever made people feel anything other
than scared, helpless, and frustrated in our anger (global warming, acid rain,
toxic fish, health threats, disappearing rainforests, farmland, wetlands, and
species). It's a downer, and with 500 channels to choose from, Americans are
more than happy to ignore these things and pursue that "super sized"
consumptive and comfortable lifestyle that we have come to expect. "It's really
sad that more kids are getting asthma because of air pollution, but I sure don't
want my light bill to go up."

Many folks in my business respond positively with a crusade to save
something. A place, a species, anything to crystallize the need to do
something positive in the sincere hope of making things better, while getting
enough people to support you and your crusade. This ultimately depletes the
movement. Nationally, the Sierra Club, Wilderness Society, Nature
Conservancy, Greenpeace, Audubon Society, Defenders of Wildlife, Natural
Resources Defense Council and plenty of others all do the same thing and
send fund raising appeals to "Save the Whatever" to the same people. This
scenario is replicated at state, regional, and local levels. (You would think that
the Save the Spotted Owl people and the Save the Salmon people would be
allied rather than fierce competitors. You would be wrong.)

This mode of operation doesn't seem to be working for us, so how are we
going to change it? I'm sincerely asking.

One thing I think is important is that we have to start getting people
re-connected to the land. One hundred and fifty years ago, nearly all of us
had an integral relationship with the place we lived and we depended on that
place to sustain our lives and livelihood. Today, we depend on our cubicle.
The environment is nothing more than a yearly vacation exhibit or an
entertainment medium (Wild Kingdom). There will be no real change without
people getting connected. I blame you and Mom for my green credentials and
your constantly pushing us outside, to Lake of the Ozarks, with Butch and
Esther on Black River, scouts, and moving to the wilderness on Kimker Lane.
Thank you.

But, Greenpeace can't survive by trying to get people re-connected. It takes
too long and nobody will send us a check to make a change that comes from
within. Greenpeace needs you to send that check today so they can save
those cute little helpless baby seals.

The real change will come when enough people (and enough is far less than a
majority) are re-connected with this land and willing to risk that American
Dream comfort level to hold our governments and industries and communities
accountable. Do you hear Woody Guthrie in the background yet?

I have more thoughts, but this is a start. I'm supposed to be writing a grant
right now. Hope you are healing up fine and you are not being too much of an
invalid for Rosie.

Love, Jeff

And then I received replies from some other likeminded friends :

I think it should be published in every magazine, front pages of every
newspaper and be a continual mediatopic until the people of this country wake
up to what is going on..

And this:

This really scares me, not only for me as an American but for my two little ones
as well. All of the children of America....How do we stop the
Madness.??????????
I feel so small.

And this:

I guess I have had my last Coor's light. I guess I didn't realize that silver bullet
was so devastating!

And ending with this:

.....I must believe that so long as nothing catastrophic is going to happen in
most people's lifetimes that they just don't really give a damn.....God gave us
this "Eden" to live upon and I know not which will be destroyed first....the earth
or man himself....hopefully it will be man....the earth then would have a chance
to recover...

Remember:
"We have not inherited the world from our Forefathers:
We have borrowed it from our Children"
Kashmiri Proverb

Have a Happy New Year &
Take Care

Paul & Julie






				"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity." Albert Einstein

						Crimes Against Nature by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.