Food for Thought
“We say that America is a Christian and a democratic country. But I find nothing in the gospels or in the Declaration of Independence or in the Constitution to justify our support of puppet tyrants, or our slaughter of women and children, or our destruction of crops and villages and forests, or our herding of civilians into concentration camps in Vietnam. We do these things because we have forsaken our principles and abandoned ourselves to the inertia of power. We have come to depend obsessively on an enormous capability of violence -- for security, for national self-esteem, even for economic stability. As a consequence we have become blind to the alternatives to violence.”
Wendell Berry (1968)
Category Archives: Books and media
Dharma
[Henceforth, the series formerly know as Friday poetry shall be called Friday Soul, in recognition of the fact that I may at some stage elect to feature something other than poetry. But don't be alarmed, I don't see the general … Continue reading
Empathy, Enmity, and the Future of Civilization
[The alternate post title that I really wanted to use: "My brief reign as one of the world's leading intellectuals"] It smelled a little off from the beginning, I’ll admit. But, as I say, I’m not immune to flattery. So … Continue reading
Moving toward the light
[The solstice has turned and we are once again, as the poet would say, moving toward the light. A new year and a new decade, with all the hope and apprehension -- the yin and the yang -- inherent therein. … Continue reading
The end of the world as we know it
Isn’t traveling great? I love the . . . no, not the luxurious accommodations on today’s state-of-the-art aircraft, nor the mouth-watering bag of desiccated pretzels (all three of them), nor the physical intimacy with complete strangers with which one is … Continue reading
Posted in Books and media, Sustainability
9 Comments
Death and taxes . . . and reincarnation
Recently I got an uncharacteristic surge of organizational momentum, girded my loins, donned my battle gear, and dove into the swamp of my home office filing system. Many of you will appreciate from your own experience what a daunting task … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Books and media, Sustainability
Tagged food, recycling, restoration
3 Comments
Friday poetry: Cold Mountain
[Editor's note: A millennium before Charles Frazier, before Jude Law and Nicole Kidman, there was the original "Cold Mountain", a modest group of poems thought to have been authored by the mysterious hermit Han-shan, who scribbled them on rocks and … Continue reading
Posted in Biophilia, Books and media, Poetry
3 Comments
How to solve global warming
It’s familiar dilemma: after you’ve changed out your old incandescent light bulbs, got serious about recycling, started eating local farm produce, switched to reusable shopping bags, maybe even bought a Prius, one comes to the uncomfortable question: How are we … Continue reading
The silent world
A few months ago I happened to pick up a copy of Jacques Cousteau’s classic first book, The Silent World, less from a burning desire to read it than for the mysterious and evocative cover photo, and out of a … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Biophilia, Books and media, Education, Natural Patriots, Oceans
Tagged heroes, soul
9 Comments
Herbert S. Zim: Natural Patriot
Over the last few weeks, while piddling around the project site (i.e., yard), pulling weeds, attempting to ferret out the invaders from the natives, puzzling over bugs, and pondering where I might site a small pond (and how to sell … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Biophilia, Books and media, Education, Natural Patriots, Science
Tagged heroes, kids
18 Comments
Got dirt?
[Editor's note: This just in -- and in time for Earth Day (barely). I reprint below an extract from the new, second edition of Richard Louv's classic and inspirational book, Last Child in the Woods. The new edition is expanded … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Biophilia, Books and media, Education, Natural Patriots, Sustainability
Tagged happiness, health, kids, soul
11 Comments
