Editor,
Until the recent election I would have said I was bullet proof when it came to politics – that nothing could surprise or further disillusion me when it comes to our failed political systems (not just nationally, but worldwide). I would have been wrong!
Am I talking about the great, orange, reality show ape who speaks in the royal “we?” Yes. And no. He’s not the disease, just a particularly ugly symptom. The only truly hopeful (if somewhat distasteful) metaphor I could draw from this is that of a boil. Something sub-surface and painful that festers for a long while and must eventually either dissipate and be reabsorbed, or come to a head and explode before it can drain and heal.
The underlying infection comes from building our societal structures on top of a weak-to-worthless foundation – namely, placing top value on gold, silver, currency, etc. Those can all be useful, but when people stop using them in order to hoard them they become just pretty rocks and dirty paper. Why, when people collect and stash away other marginally useful things, do we make fun of them and call “hoarding” a disease, but when people collect and hoard money, we call them wealthy and admire or try to emulate them? It’s the same disease!
I guess we’ve lived in “civilized” societies for so long that we’ve forgotten – or lost touch with the elementals that support life on this planet. The land, the sun, the wind and the water (from which many believe all life-forms evolved.) Those people at Standing Rock seem to have a handle on it.
Who cares about the Boston Tea Party? Tea is an indulgence – water is life!
Gloria Churchill