by Don Hynes
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| Vantage Point | Culture and Politics by Don Hynes |
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"No man is prejudiced in favor of a thing, knowing it to be wrong.
He is attached to it on the belief of its being right; and when he sees it is not so,
the prejudice will be gone." - Tom Paine
August 11, 2003 More complex than we can think The maritime landscape, where sea and sky dominate, puts human activity in proper perspective. The land is a thin sliver between the vast and ever-changing palettes of cloud, wind and wave, the environment not only more complex than we think, but as a friend introducing me to a program of applied science in the marine environment turned the phrase this weekend, more complex than we can think. Human impacts on the tidal ecosystems of the Northwest have intensified proportionately to the advance of industrialization and population. The effects of 20th century progress on the oceans have been nothing short of catastrophic, with the measurable change increasing exponentially over the last fifty years. Many bottom fish and feeder groups that form the foundation for sea life are nearing extinction, either fished out or suffering from degraded water and plant stocks. Advocacy groups are rightly sounding a variety of alarms, which are slow to affect the often poorly informed regulatory systems of government, while most industry funds an agenda of continuing practice despite prevailing evidence. The debate between advocacy and industry has become increasingly polarized with honest scientists finding little common ground for the advancement of understanding problems that will not be solved by intellectually convenient sound bytes. A healthy ecosystem can be defined as one that “is intact in its physical, chemical, and biological components and their interrelationships, such that it is resilient and can withstand change and stressors…is not experiencing abnormal growth, the decline of native species or the concentration of persistent contaminants…that provides abundant and beneficial services to its constituents, such as food, water, shelter, economic livelihood, recreation, and natural beauty.” The negatives too easily describe the climate today, politically, culturally and environmentally, and progress toward “abundant and beneficial services” seems far off amidst the divisiveness of argument and the destructive impact of much human endeavor. Europe is facing unprecedented wild fires while Atlantic seaboarders are experiencing ocean temperatures reminiscent of mid-winter. Paul Krugman details the Administration’s head in the sand regarding global warming: “The scientific debate is closing [against us] but is not yet closed. There is still an opportunity to challenge the science" while even Disney sponsored periodical Discover reports of research and computer modeling that indicates reversal of the Gulf Stream with calamitous climate impacts. There are many who are contributing to what was once called the common good, and specifically in the field of marine science the Marine Ecosystem Health Program is an example of applying the technology at hand toward a genuine inquiry that will allow a furtherance of understanding and knowledge to inform the debate and move it in a progressive direction. Be safe brother Amidst the continuing violence in Iraq two men on opposing sides of the line of fire are drawing beautiful lines of communication and mutual respect. Salam Pax one of the best of the underground bloggers in Iraq tells in his 8-7-03 post of an American GI guarding the entry to the Iraqi governing council saying to him “I know what we have done is right and we had to do it but there must have been a better way to do it” and writes in return “When a soldier starts his conversation like this you can’t help but really like him.” American GI Mojo at turningtables writes back in his 8-7-03 post, and the exchange of these men is so respectful, reminiscent of stories from other wars where compassion and brotherhood were stronger than violence. Mojo writes without governmental whitewash in his 8-12 post: “i woke up on the floor...well i didn't actually wake up down there...but that's where i faded back into reality...that's where i found myself asking "why am i on the floor"...then it all made sense...the explosions...they just happened...and i dove to the floor...in my sleep...they were that close...they were that loud...” U.S. military commander in Iraq Lt. General Sanchez came to the realization this week that "when you take a father in front of his family and put a bag over his head and put him on the ground, you have had a significant adverse effect on his dignity and respect in the eyes of his family." Apparently his new found civility didn’t reach forces on the ground who shot and killed a thirty four year old husband and three of his four children in the company of his pregnant wife because of a (military imposed) curfew misunderstanding. The BBC reported an American Colonel issuing this threat to a group of detained civilians through an interpreter: “If you fight against your government we will hunt you down and kill you.” Makes me wonder, which government? Riots continue in southern Iraq over fuel shortages, a grim reminder of Vietnam which was a major exporter of rice until the American war which defoliated and demolished much of the countryside and forced south Vietnam into the position of importing rice and other food staples. While military officials now admit firebombing Iraqi troops and infrastructure during the invasion phase of the war, the British Guardian reports a rising tide of anti war sentiment among veterans and families of active duty soldiers, with the added irony of the strongly conservative Army Times having to lobby the President to obtain needed benefits for disabled veterans. Strange that we must read this first in the British press, although the dam of government silence is leaking in the U.S., where Karen Kwiatkowski a recently retired Air Force Lt. Colonel who spent most of her final three years of military service in the Office of the Secretary of Defense wrote this about Iraq for the Houston Chronicle: “The key decision-makers in the Pentagon (have not) been forced to account for the odd set of circumstances that placed us as a long-term occupying force, without a nation-building plan, without significant international support and without an exit plan. (They) may never be required to answer their accusers, thanks to this administration's military as well as publicity machine, and the disgraceful political compromises already made by most of the Congress.” War is a Racket This oldie but goodie was written by Marine Corps General Smedley Butler in 1933 but carries as much relevance today, particularly in William Greider’s expose of the sham Enron settlement in which CitiGroup and Chase were fined $300M, barely worth mentioning as a line item in their yearly balance sheet, for manipulating the value of Enron stock that led to billions of dollars of loss to the nation’s pension funds and in ripple effect to the entire American economy. Walter Cronkite is beginning a weekly newspaper column and had this to say about the climate in which he returns to active journalism: “We all know the issues that today threaten a seismic change in this land we love and our relations with each other and the rest of the world: Our bellicose military policy, our arrogant foreign policy, our domestic security policy that threatens our freedom of speech, press and person, our financial policy that many if not most economists believe threatens a national deficit deep into this century.” Perhaps his elder presence will wake up a sleeping press and populace as his somber words did during the war against Vietnam. Al Gore gave an exceptional speech at MoveOn in which he offered these forward looking words: “I believe that we must stand for a future in which the United States will again be feared only by its enemies; in which our country will again lead the effort to create an international order based on the rule of law; a nation which upholds fundamental rights even for those it believes to be its captured enemies; a nation whose financial house is in order; a nation where the market place is kept healthy by effective government scrutiny; a country which does what is necessary to provide for the health, education, and welfare of our people; a society in which citizens of all faiths enjoy equal standing; a republic once again comfortable that its chief executive knows the limits as well as the powers of the presidency; a nation that places the highest value on facts, not ideology, as the basis for all its great debates and decisions.” Ways to Help Join the dialogue at Allen Brill’s web site on “how progressives can gain the initiative again in American politics." Check in at Ben Cohen’s TrueMajority web project that addresses social justice issues in a coherent and effective manner. Read about the Marine Ecosystem Health Program and sign on to support their research Scientific inquiry unhindered by pre-established agenda can make a real difference. Where We Live (by Don Hynes) The old growth nestled back into a ridge, fir and cedar, salal and sword fern slowly descending through alder and big leaf maple, snowberry and oregon grape, the out reaching madronna leaning from the clay rock cliff with ochre hued bark into the blue gray light and misty fog of Puget Sound, the forest just a sliver of Camano Island preserved from the developer's axe. As we walked the root rutted trail my heart pounded with an ancient affirmation - "this is where we live, this is where we live" this forest, where the water is born, where the great star energy is brought down and stored beneath the boughs, beside the rushing streams, deep down below the deepest root, up through every fluttering branch, this is where we live. Peace. *** |
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