Henry David Thoreau
I think nature is politically incorrect. Here is my evidence. Today I sent out two emails, one to friends interested in sustainability that contained the Diary of Worm posting Poop to Power and one to friends interested in peace that contained the Letter to Teachers of Morality and Ethics. Not counting the two persons that help to edit the letters for spelling and grammar, the only response has been by one of the four theology teachers. His letter was his first response ever to me and was of the ‘pat on the back’ and ‘keep up the good work’ nature while avoiding the moral and ethical issues in the letter.
Since the two, posting and letter were politically incorrect I expected more of a quick response. I am sure if I sent them to conservative groups not interested in sustainability or teaching peace not war at MU, I would have gotten more of a response immediately. Maybe I will get some response in a day or so but do not expect much. Talking to knowledgeable people on sustainability about cow dung to make energy, castings and tooth power, like telling renowned teachers of morality they are not living what they teach, is not exactly politically correct.
Now in nature making good use of cow dung is as normal as living what you teach and preach. This makes persons like Gandhi, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton significant in my life, and is why I collect quotes from them on this web site. To all three nature was important. Gandhi has whole essays about the value of cow dung; Dorothy Day went to the farm or lake shore to unwind and write; Thomas Merton sought the solidarity of nature in his hermitage, and his writings reflect the wonders of nature.
A friend reminded me that yesterday was the birthday of Henry David Thoreau, a great lover of nature and nonviolence. His most famous book was his journal written while he lived on the shore of Walden Pond. It is called: “Walden, or Life in the Woods.” In the conclusion to the book he wrote: “I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
Nature may not be politically correct but in nature we can dream and imagine and live the life we want to live.
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