Are you a radical?

 

ARE YOU A RADICAL?

 

What is your definition of radical? Do you think of the movie actor James Dean or perhaps 1980’s ‘surfer dudes’. The oxford dictionary states the word radical is relating to the fundamental nature of something. It is also advocating for social change, representing or supporting progressive policy. 

There is a coffee mug a friend showed me with the saying ‘sedate women seldom make history’. That can easily be applied to current times. Unless we are radical about saving the wild species and spaces of North Idaho we do not deserve to show sorrow for the loss. We should not have the audacity to act shocked when we humans are also adversely affected by the massive environmental changes which have taken place these past 100 years.  The human population has quadrupled in that time span and yet wild animal populations have declined disproportionally to levels of near extinction and other species vanished entirely.  

Yes there are developers altering habitats and creating homes for residents. Yes there are more people moving to Idaho and calling it home. Yes we are seeing declines in native animal species and rises in human wild animal conflicts. Is the answer to post a picket sign in your yard or type franticly on a keyboard in retaliation – NO! Nothing will change except your blood pressure.

Being a warrior can be defined not as one who brutally and blindly with malicious intent destroys any on the chosen path but rather a visionary who has hope for the future. Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without words and never stops at all (E. Dickenson)  

Warriors have experienced great hardship which is why they choose to be so gentle. They have felt the burn of the past and carried the weight of their world on their shoulders. The lamp of love has been subjected to hurricane winds of anger and torrential rains of sorrow. And yet, they rise with a pure energy which illuminates all those around. There is a blazing sun within their soul which shines a light upon the shadows and darkness which try to engulf them. The Teton Dakota Chief Sitting Bull said warriors are the ones who sacrifice self for the good of others. The task is to take care of the defenseless and those who cannot provide for themselves and above all the children which are the future of humanity. 

We borrow this land from our grandchildren. Be the radical who leaves nothing but a footprint and takes only photographs. Be honest, despite the illegal nature of taking bits of nature while hiking on public lands, how many have taken a plant or rock or even animal back home with them?  “I am just one person, it won’t be missed” right? WRONG! Every single alteration to any habitat has a ripple effect; please change your perspective. An excerpt from a short story may help the message linger longer. A girl went to a museum and took a small piece of bandage from a mummy which was on display. She thought nothing of the theft because it was after all only a small piece and there was so much remaining. That night she was visited from the mummy who plucked one hair from her head. The next night a different mummy appeared and took a single hair. The third night, again a different mummy appeared and took one hair. She realized that if this continued, she only had so many pieces before there would be nothing left. This was the exact act which she had performed at the museum. When we take from nature we are like that girl and the mummy.

In 1963 one of the most prominent wild animal parks in the world had an exhibit called “the most dangerous animal in the world” ………… what species do you think was on display? …………… it was a mirror! The most dangerous animal is the human animal. We humans vilify the wild animals with traits which are purely human. We imbue the worst characteristics of humans upon other living beings so that we may feel superior. We destroy habitat and turn a blind eye to the suffering we have caused but assuage our guilt by proclaiming the false statement ‘nature is cruel’ ‘let nature take its course’. 

Far too many view nature as a place to ‘wreck-reate’ or a place to exploit for sheer financial gain. It is imperative the lessons of cohabitation are shared freely. Leave the leaves in the autumn. Leave plant stalks and seedheads. Use no pesticide or lawn chemical. Mow less by planting native plants for year-round foraging. Reduce light pollution. Protest using poisons (aka herbicide, insecticide) on our foods.

Shift your perspective. What we do to our home and wild neighbors, so too we do to ourselves.  This planet is not ours to use up and appease our every want; this planet is merely on loan to us from our grandchildren so they may simply live with needs fulfilled.

The word radical is synonymous with fundamental, essential, deep rooted, extreme, far reaching. Are you a radical?

There is a coffee mug a friend showed me with the saying ‘sedate women seldom make history’. That can easily be applied to current times. Unless we are radical about saving the wild species and spaces of North Idaho we do not deserve to show sorrow for the loss.

Yes there are developers altering habitats and creating homes for residents. Yes there are more people moving to Idaho and calling it home. Yes we are seeing declines in native animal species and rises in human wild animal conflicts. Is the answer to post a picket sign in your yard or type franticly on a keyboard in retaliation – NO! Nothing will change except your blood pressure.

Being a warrior is about standing for and abiding by a cause. Being a visionary means there is hope for the future. Change the perspective from ‘make the best of today’ to ‘We borrow this land from our grandchildren’. See the habitat as a community where you are one small part instead of a society where you must be bold enough to dominate.   

Once upon a time the land spaces were filled with diversity of species. It is painfully clear, as more and more species are listed as endangered of being extinct or are now gone forever we must ALL become a radical to save what we love. The truth is, how we treat our home is a reflection of our destiny. What we have done to our native neighbors, so shall become of us.