#1,002: The Theology of Ecology

General Sherman: 2,700 years old & 275 feet tall

By a show of hands, how many are increasingly finding themselves needing a slug of scotch - or a ginormous bowl of chocolate ice cream or whatever floats your impulse boat - in order to merely watch, listen to, read about, OR even contemplate the current (and potentially future) state of the world vis-à-vis politics? As I type this opening line, I am hunting and pecking with my left hand because my right is being held aloft; I agree with me. (BTW, my poison of choice is a glass or two of Cinzano Rosso Sweet Vermouth.)

I must admit that now that V.P. Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are at the top of the Democratic ticket, I am beginning to drink more Earl Grey and less eau-de-vie. Before their ascension, I was feeling pretty damn helpless; something generally foreign to me. I have somehow managed to look to the future with hope and enthusiasm for most of my political life. But over the past several years there’s been this gnawing feeling growing within me that many of today’s most noisome animals in the political zoo could care less than a fig about the future. And here, I am referring almost exclusively to IT, VONTZ, DeSantis, Cruz, and the ward filled with all the MAGA Maniacs, both large or small, rich or poor, well-educated or unlettered. If the first two on the list (IT & Vontz) crash and burn in November, that will be great . . . although far from perfect. We’ll still be saddled with the rest of the crazies in the House and Senate, state legislatures, and town councils . . . not to mention the deep-pocketed lunatics who pay them to push their apocalyptic nightmares.

It seems to me that any political party – or its supporters – that really, truly cared about the nation’s (not to mention the planet’s) future, would place democracy over autocracy, individual rights of the many over the perquisites of the few, and make itself as colorblind as is humanly possible. I am so ready to watch this evening’s Democratic National Convention for a shot of joyful adrenaline. I mean, to have watched last month’s Republican National Convention (which added yet a 3rd glass of Vermouth to my daily intake) would have one believe that the followers of IT/Vontz firmly agree that:

American voters agree with the Supreme Court that abortion should be kept illegal;
A majority of Americans are against anything that keeps guns of any sort out of the hands of Americans;
That a vast majority of Americans favor increasing reliance on oil and coal as the primary sources of American energy (despite America being the largest single oil producer on the planet);
That the support of same-sex marriage and gay rights goes against the literal dictates of the Christian Bible;
That a vast majority of American Christians firmly believe that America should be officially recognized as a “Christian Nation”’
That Americans will be happy to get rid of Social Security in order to bring down the national debt;
That a clear majority believe that the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is pure Socialism, and
That Climate Change is a hoax being perpetrated on the world by progressives and liberals for the purpose of killing the gas, oil, and coal-mining industries.

Those who pay attention to the news will recognize all the above as playing a large role in the spiritus mundi (world spirit) of Project 2025 . . . the “fascist fever dream" which currently passes for the GOP platform, and which as recently as 2 weeks ago, IT claimed to know nothing about. (In reality, more than 140 current and former IT associates have had a hand in creating this monstrously retrogressive document.) IT’s proclamation that he didn’t know shinola about Project 2025 is on par with his claiming to have never met E. Jean Carol, Ambassador Gordon Sondland, Anthony Scaramucci, who lasted barely more than a week as White House communications director, former porn star Stormy Daniels, or his former campaign director Paul Manafort.

I would hope that after so many years, people have come to realize that the words “reality,” “IT” and “MAGA” should never be in the same sentence; that a majority of the American public:

Supports: congress to restore Roe v. Wade protections nationwide;
Favors stricter gun laws;
Support same-sex marriages and gay rights in general;
Less than 15% of American Christians support Christian Nationalism.
About 8 in 10 Americans are willing to pay more to keep Social Security strong; 77% say it is critical to preserve Social Security even if it means increasing the Social Security taxes paid by working Americans. An even higher percentage (83%) say it is critical to preserve Social Security even if it means increasing the Social Security taxes paid by wealthy Americans.
More than 60% of those polled support Obamacare, and lastly (and at least for me, most importantly)
An overwhelming majority of those polled not only believe that climate change/global warming is real, but firmly believe that it is the most important issue of our time.

So once again, IT and his MAGA maniacs stand firmly against the thoughts, feelings, and wishes of the majority, all the while selling them snake oil by blaming “illegal immigrants,” “liberals,” “socialists” and “Christian haters” for all the world’s ills.

It is painfully obvious that there are so many critical issues facing voters this election season - issues that separate Americans into two disparate camps. It has long been my belief, however, that there is precisely one issue that should unite us all: climate change which, if we continue doing nothing about will ultimately cause the death of our planet; everything from amoebae to zebras.

For those who say “Doc, you’re being a damn drama queen,” consider the following snippet of a medieval folk tale:

The proprietor of a vast estate asked 3 of his overseers to assemble in his library for a challenge. “I going to ask each of you a question. Whoever answers correctly will not only be rewarded with a rent-free cottage for the rest of his life but will receive 50% of the proceeds from the estate’s forests, ponds, or hothouses, depending on which he serves as manager. And I will tell you up-front: I do not know the correct answer. So far as I am concerned, there can be one - and only one - proper response. And by the way, whoever answers incorrectly, will immediately lose both his job and the cottage that comes with it. Two of the three overseers, who had high opinions of their worth and wisdom, asked for - and received permission - to go in on 1 answer. The 3rd, a simple man remained silent, fearing that he would soon lose his livelihood. The tandem quickly answered: “The biggest thing in the world is your heart, master . . . for truly, you are the most generous soul in the world.” The lord of the manor quickly shouted “YOU ARE WRONG! What kind of a fool do you take me for? Get off my estate!” Turning to the simple man, he asked “And what is your answer?” Swallowing hard and beginning to shake, he said in a faltering voice: “I guess the biggest thing in the world would have to be the world itself. Am I correct?” Smiling broadly, the lord said “You are 100% correct! Your question is filled with both wisdom and logic. For not only is the biggest thing in the world the world itself . . . it is also the most important thing of all . . . where would every living thing - from amoebae to zebras be without our planet?”

This little sketch says it all; we have been vouchsafed a world, a planet, to protect . . . for the good of every living creature. How is it possible that anyone can deny we live in a time of rapidly changing climate, dangerously rising seas, and a historic rise in the extinction of the beasts of the field, as well as the seas beneath and the skies above? One would have to be either utterly blind to reality or the victim of toxic gullibility foisted upon them by a class of moral albinos who haven’t the slightest problem putting today’s profits ahead of tomorrow’s existence. The overwhelming majority of Republican members of Congress refuse to vote in favor of any climate legislation so as not to ruffle the feathers (or shut tight the coffers) of corporations that explore and drill for oil or dig and mine for coal. As for the hyper-wealthy, their very obdurance when it comes to most things ecological seems to indicate that they don’t care a whit for anything that may happen to the planet after they’ve shuffled off this mortal coil. To those who live their lives as if they are, in the memorable words of the Jefferson Airplane, “The Crown of Creation,” I say YOU ARE WRONG! We have all been placed on this earth to be stewards, not subjugators.

Nearly a half-century ago, while researching an environmental strategy plan for then-California Governor Jerry Brown, I happened upon a book by Professor Christopher D. Stone (the son of the late muckraker I.F. Stone, the patron saint of this blog). It was entitled Should Trees Have Standing: Law, Morality and the Environment. It turned out to be, in my opinion, one of the most important books of all time. It turned out to be a rallying point for the then-burgeoning environmental movement, launching a worldwide debate on the basic nature of legal rights that ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court. More than a half-century later, the book is still in print, still serving as the definitive statement as to why trees, oceans, animals, and the environment as a whole should be bestowed with legal rights so that the voiceless elements in nature are protected for future generations. In its own way, Stone’s brief (248 pages) work is as important in 2024 as Henry David Thoreau’s Walden was when it was originally published back in 1854.

Without question, there are all kinds of critical issues to consider this election season . . . and which candidate(s) are most able to address them in ways that are closest to our beliefs. These issues range from the “kitchen table” variety (inflation, prices for food, energy, medicine, and healthcare) war and peace, democracy versus autocracy, and fiscal integrity versus political cupidity. But without a sustainable planet, none of these issues really matter. Everything begins with the earth. G-d (or the forces of nature) has placed us here to exercise guardianship. To me - and hopefully to you - this is as much a matter of theology as it is of ontology, hydrology, or climatology.

This time around, vote as if the future of the entire planet is at stake, for it really, truly is. Everything - from the teeniest, tiniest quark to the tallest tree depends on us. Everything else is secondary.