Ton- Chief Seattle

59. ton - April 18, 2010 [Edit]
i didn’t get a chance to finish addressing your post 55, so for what it’s “worth,” here are a few more reflections:

e: ” This Earth on which WE live is OURS.”

this mentality is part of the problem, it implies the pervasively arrogant use and abuse of the living planet… earth is a living being, “we” humans are in effect too short sighted and narrow-minded to see that “we” are part of the earth… the notion of ownership is a human construct based on capitalism, and the notion of “ownership” is in large part at the root of the mentality that contributes to the destruction of living nature.

e: ” We are all responsible for each other and nature

fine words elena, but why don’t “we” enact these fine words ? what are YOU doing about it elena? that’s YOU as an individual… it’s convenient to displace responsibilty so that YOU don’t have to take action… action is not shifting personal responsibility from yourself by thinking in terms of abstractions like “we.”

e: “We are all humans beyond our race, education and nationality.”

what does it mean to be “human” ?

e: “We are not only the owners of our planet we are the owners of our destiny.”

this is just more bombastic arrogance… “we” don’t own anything elena, “we’re” very temporary tenets here on the planet.

e: “We are not only the owners and the people responsible for this earth and each other we are the beneficiaries of this earth’s and each other’s goods and life.”

this idea that “we” are the “owners” is another capitalistic “human” construct; it reflects the hubris and arrogance that is destroying the environment and may ultimately destroy the “human race.” so be it.

e: “Life must be protected because it is life giving.”

what about protecting life NOT for the sake of “utility” and NOT simply for what it “gives” to “US”– what about protecting life simply because it is the morally right thing to do, because the blind wanton destruction of the biota is morally wrong, because the “rights of other species should be recognized and not ignored for the sake of “progress” and profits. what about protecting life for life’s sake and not for what it “gives” to the humans — you see elena, your capitalistic colored attitudes imply that if something is not giving to “US” then “WE” are justified in destroying it. if all of life were not treated as a disposable commodity to be bought and sold, if instead, all of life was treated as the sacred mystery that it is, then there would be no need for “protection.” the idea of protection of life comes as an attempted antidote to the misplaced “priorities,” rooted in capitalism, that is the greed, arrogance and hubris which treats all of life as if it were an inanimate commodity to be “used” and disposed of. this is reflected in the mentality that views “us” — that’s “we” humans, as “owners of the earth.”

e: “The people of each nation must use and protect their goods and the goods in each nation must be valued as equally good as the goods of other nations.”

viewing the living biota as an inanimate resource to be reduced to “goods” for “use” by each “nation” — this is the capitalistic mentality that is wreaking havoc on a beautiful living being…. what is “progress”? what is “profit” ? and what’s the cost ?

e: “The amazon forest must be protected by all of us…”

now you’ve hit on something concrete and this is important, because the amazon forest WILL disappear unless something is done to stop the exploitation of the living biota… the amazon is your backyard elena, what are you actually DOING to BE THESE WORDS ? DON”T abstract the responsibility by placing it on your imaginary idea of “all of us…” what are you as an individual, actually, realistically and practically doing about this very important issue… sitting on your computer philosophizing and pontificating about what “we” must do, changes nothing… it’s simply another type of inaction masquerading as activity. YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ! BE THESE WORDS YOU WRITE ! this is an important issue of the day that effects “us” all for generations to come…. and not just your limited idea of “US” humans, this issue effects more than just humans…. sure you’ve been burned by the cult experience, and so you feel now that you have a personal agenda, an “ax to grind” as far as the cult phenom goes… and i’m not negating that, but exposing the seedy underbelly of cults is really “small potatoes” compared to the systematic destruction and disappearance of the amazon…. the amazon has been called “the lungs of the planet” it’s that and so much more…

e: “…because we all need it for our well being but protecting that good must be included in the distribution of responsibilities other nations have towards the income that Brasil, Colombia and other nations are not being able to withdraw for protecting the forests. We must look at OUR plight from a human perspective, not an individualistic perspective. Individualism was a necessary step towards maturing as human beings and leaving behind the authoritarian hierarchic structures present in the clan mentality. It is not necessary now, it has served its purpose. Now it’s necessary for the individual to go beyond his own self into the realm of our selves, our Earth, our nations, our people, US, as human beings. The first world is in need of the third world and vice-versa, not only economically but humanly. The first world cannot survive without the help of people from the third world particularly in Europe. America’s plight is different, they are imploding from within, like cults and they are hurting people in other nations with their policies. Individualism is over. It is time for US.”

i think i addressed most of the above in my previous post… yes, yes, fine words and lovable sentiments but i ask you again, what are YOU as an INDIVIDUAL actually DOING about it…. you seem to lose yourself and your individuality in this notion of “we” — you relegate your personal responsibility to some nebulous concept of “we” — what are YOU doing about some of these issues you raise elena, that is besides philosophizing here with your head in the clouds in the comfort of an ivory tower…? i’m just asking elena, what are you actually DOING ?

i’ll leave you with this letter from chief seattle:

“The President in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. But how can you buy or sell the sky? the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?

Every part of the earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect. All are holy in the memory and experience of my people.

We know the sap which courses through the trees as we know the blood that courses through our veins. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters. The bear, the deer, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the dew in the meadow, the body heat of the pony, and man all belong to the same family.

The shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water, but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell you our land, you must remember that it is sacred. Each glossy reflection in the clear waters of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water’s murmur is the voice of my father’s father.

The rivers are our brothers. They quench our thirst. They carry our canoes and feed our children. So you must give the rivers the kindness that you would give any brother.

If we sell you our land, remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life that it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also received his last sigh. The wind also gives our children the spirit of life. So if we sell our land, you must keep it apart and sacred, as a place where man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow flowers.

Will you teach your children what we have taught our children? That the earth is our mother? What befalls the earth befalls all the sons of the earth.

This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.

One thing we know: our God is also your God. The earth is precious to him and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator.

Your destiny is a mystery to us. What will happen when the buffalo are all slaughtered? The wild horses tamed? What will happen when the secret corners of the forest are heavy with the scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills is blotted with talking wires? Where will the thicket be? Gone! Where will the eagle be? Gone! And what is to say goodbye to the swift pony and then hunt? The end of living and the beginning of survival.

When the last red man has vanished with this wilderness, and his memory is only the shadow of a cloud moving across the prairie, will these shores and forests still be here? Will there be any of the spirit of my people left?

We love this earth as a newborn loves its mother’s heartbeat. So, if we sell you our land, love it as we have loved it. Care for it, as we have cared for it. Hold in your mind the memory of the land as it is when you receive it. Preserve the land for all children, and love it, as God loves us.

As we are part of the land, you too are part of the land. This earth is precious to us. It is also precious to you.

One thing we know – there is only one God. No man, be he Red man or White man, can be apart. We ARE all brothers after all.”