LOVES LABOR LOST…

…ON THE RULING CLASS

When we have occasion to really appreciate the natural world around us, to enter the forest; visit the shoreline; or while away some hours in a nearby park, it becomes obvious to all but the most callous among us what a gift the real world is. The word “love” comes to mind. We love the clear blue sky; the majestic trees; the fascinating glades; or the rolling surf. However it came to be, it all feels like a labor of love. So, why would anyone in their right mind want to screw it up?

Perhaps the operative phrase here is “in their right mind”. For this observer is inclined to believe ecopsychologists like Theodore Roszark(1) or Joanna Macy (2)) who have put forward the concept of madness resulting from an historic estrangement from the Earth. While they and others in their field might qualify or be more polite with their analysis, I’d say that most of the captains of industry, corporados, developers, and assorted minions of the ruling class are out of their fucking minds. We seldom have to look far for examples of their insanity on this rapidly devolving planet. Whether you start in the halls of the US Congress with say, the present administration’s ecologically disastrous corporate energy policy (3), or look to the land itself where it is estimated we destroy an astounding 50,000 species of life each year, or to the people of the United States who, being merely 5% of the world’s population, but following the advice of advertisers, marketers, and PR hacks, consume 30% of its resources. Most of this, which hardly needs pointing out, in the service of the wealthy and powerful who benefit immensely from everyone’s over-consumption.

It’s hard to feel empathy for those among us who, dare I say, labor under the illusion that the Earth and its biosphere are mere raw materials intended for their exclusive use. Even their corporate spreadsheets do not register the cost of such exploitation. Their books are cooked. They balance corporate risks and benefits. Forget about risks to real life forms. Their interests translate in percentages rather than relationships. While the rest of the world howls: “Turn in your birth certificates, you’re relieved of duty!”, far too many citizens of the USA meekly turn away, claiming: “You can’t fight city hall.” It’s just the sort of behavior that encourages more outbursts of madness from the ruling class.

Yet, history shows time and again that we CAN fight city hall. In fact, it’s our civic duty! Read the history (4). If writing congress or editors, petitioning corporations or holding educational presentations isn’t helping to bring these folks to their senses, we simply have to go to the next step in crisis intervention: the streets; the halls of congress; the boardrooms; their livingrooms. As they say: these people have names and addresses. They need our help. Let love’s labor be our labor. Wasn’t it Che Guevara who said: A true revolutionary is guided by feelings of love.



(1)http://ecopsychology.athabascau.ca/Final/intro.htm

(2)http://www.joannamacy.net/

(3) http://www.saveourenvironment.org/action/monkeymovie.htm

(4) http://www.poclad.org/articles/grossman01.html