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Vol 1, Issue 1 |
 Page 14 |
Monday, July 31, 2006 |
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Sections
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Peace on Earth continues ... The fox nodded and asked the squirrel to respond. “Cheddar, you were wise not to tell him,” chattered the Squirrel from a branch. And then turning to me, he continued, “There are meetings like this taking place all over the planet. We animals have had enough. We know we only use this place; we don’t own it. Humans think they own everything, and there’s no limit to how much they destroy, themselves included. The earth will warm up by itself. It doesn’t need humans to quicken this warming by pollution and…” Rabbit couldn’t keep quiet any longer, “Yeah. We’re concerned about the future for our children, too. Ever think about that? You’ve been treating yourselves hurtfully since time began. You start wars over belief differences. What difference does it make who believes what. Let others be themselves. This religion-thing you’ve got going has not done its job. As we understand, every religion says, ‘Ours is the true religion,’ and wars are fought to prove it. What have you proved? That you can kill faster and more with your weapons?” The eagle turned to the others, “What’s the use? Do you think Mr. Writer gets it? Mr. Writer, these humans don’t have religion yet; they’re pure in thought, the way it was in the original garden. By the way, there are rowdy animals, too, like that original snake.” Cougar finally had his chance. “We have our religion. We thank all the powers that be for the earth, air, water and food. Some of us kill, but only for food. But most importantly, our habitats are being destroyed. It’s hard to find a place to raise my family and when I look, humans try to kill me because they call me a threat. We were here before the machines with teeth and smoke.” All eyes turn to the doe. She brushed against a fern to wipe away tears. “Your human world is killing us. Your ways are not always progress; they are often nonsense. Maybe we don’t have medicines and those little talking machines and things that speed by us on paved trails, but we have our dignity and our willingness to believe in this world. Why we lost control of our destiny is beyond us, but if it’s in the name of your many gods, we don’t want any part of it.” The two humans didn’t speak, but nodded from time to time. They bowed to the others and took their leave, hand-in-hand…and disappeared. As I turned back to the animals, they had vanished, along with the clearing. Cheddar looked at me, and I thought I saw tears rolling down his cheeks. Then he assumed his usual position of running 20 - 30 feet ahead. Walking home, I wondered if my adventure was possibly Scotch-induced. And then I saw the eagle feather stuck in Cheddar’s collar.
I write this account hopeful that, in some measure, it will have an impact on those who can make a difference. If critters around the world meet in a similar fashion, perhaps other writers will take up their keyboards, and leaders will hear and accept the message, use sparingly their implements of war and destruction and place meaningful limits on pollution. Give the animals and children of the world the chance to continue the original God-goal of a fruitful and honest earth for all its inhabitants. The old Lakota was wise. He knew that man’s heart away from nature becomes hard; he knew that lack of respect for growing, living, things soon led to lack of respect for humans too. Chief Luther Standing Bear
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I REALLY WANTED TO BE A REPUBLICAN: HONESTLY I DID
by Bernard Levy A politician is not as narrow-minded as he forces himself to be. Will Rogers (Written in 2000, this rings as true today as it did then.) I have been laboring my entire professional life to declare that I am a Republican. I have not succeeded. But boy, have I tried. I began life in a modestly liberal family. In my teens, my parents became Republicans. They remained stalwart Republicans until death. I have been a professional for forty-odd years, beginning as an accountant and not yet ending as an attorney. Being a Republican would have enhanced my career and added to my wealth base. While working as a CPA in San Diego, I was a member of a Toastmasters Club. Of the many members, only I and two others were Democrats, and we paid dearly for our “liberal sins,” including lack of business contacts. With renewed vigor, I again questioned my political affiliation at the beginning of the 2000 election year. Who knows; maybe I had left a philosophical stone unturned. In seeking a Republican as a role model, I hit upon Richard Cheney. You know, the 2000 vice presidential candidate of George W. He seemed nice enough. He spoke softly and appeared smart. I ran across a synopsis of his voting record in The Washington Post on twenty important measures from 1979-1988. He voted “Yea” seven times and “Nay” thirteen. I didn’t bother with six of the twenty measures because I could see where Democrats and Republicans would differ. These were an anti-busing amendment, the balanced budget constitutional amendment, raising social security retirement age to 67, ratifying the Panama Canal Treaty, preventing covert US aid to Nicaragua and the imposition of sanctions against South African. He voted for the first three and against the last three. I figured that if I could accept the voting record of what appeared to be a kindly, soft-spoken fellow, I could find a political home in the Republican party. I knew that Mr. Cheney was labeled a conservative Republican, but, golly, he was a swell talker and seemed so even-handed, so matter-of-fact. He voted against three armament measures; banning of armor- piercing bullets, the Undetectable Firearms Act and the seven-day waiting period for handgun purchases. I tried to figure out why anyone would vote against a ban on the public sale of armor-piercing bullets. I couldn’t see any reason for their sale to the public. And, then it hit me. He’s from Wyoming and probably a hunter. Suppose while hunting, you view a wonderful 12 point buck but, unfortunately, you don’t have a clear shot. A four-wheel drive vehicle, say, a Jeep Cherokee, is in the way. That’s when you need an armor-piercing bullet to shoot through the vehicle and hit the buck. Sounded good to me, I reasoned. That’s probably sufficient reason to vote against a ban on armor-piercing bullets. |
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