Lessons from Mother Nature

The Corona virus is BAD. There is absolutely nothing good about it, and this piece is in no way intended to say otherwise.

However…

I can’t help but notice some of the things the virus seems to be correcting. It is tempting to believe there is a mind behind it all—one with a not-so-hidden agenda—determined to take us back to a time before we went astray and began to believe our planet and all the magnificent life forms on it were not worth respecting and preserving.

Since the virus took hold across the globe:

·         Pollution has reduced dramatically. In Venice the canal waters are green, not brown, and fish can be seen.

·         People are craving personal interactions, bemoaning the fact that it is now limited to what can be transmitted  via electronic device.

·         Our local governments and a few brave souls in Congress have begun to fight for the welfare of the people.

·         We are actively showing our love and support for those who sacrifice for the greater good.

·         People are generously donating their time and money to those in need, not because laws are conscripting them to do so, but because they are compelled by the desire to be of service to others.

·         “Fake news” is now competing with reality such that even those most determined to remain ignorant will be forced to face facts.

·         Problem-solvers are leading even as designated leaders lacking problem-solving skills are fading into the background.

This pandemic is bringing out the best in many.  It is also showcasing the worst in some.

While I wish no one harm, I suspect the deniers of reality are going to be the hardest hit. Despite their insistence on minimizing the danger this crises poses; I fear they will realize too late that the virus makes no distinction between culture, ethnicity, religion, economic status, or political affiliation—it appears that only those willing to face the truth and take action to protect themselves and others will be safe.

Unfortunately, in the United States too many of our elected leaders have been painfully slow to catch on. The extraordinary individuals on the front lines of this battle are being sacrificed at an alarming rate while national leadership insists the administration is doing a “fabulous job”. Anyone who suggests otherwise is accused of trafficking in “fake news,” despite evidence that health care workers are dying because they lack the protective equipment needed to keep them safe.

Our Congress is impotent in the face of the Denier in Chief, with many choosing to repeat his lies rather than speak the truth, in an obvious attempt to avoid his wrath. Rather than working together to present a united front based on truth and science, Republicans have been focused on greedily grabbing the reigns of power, using Trump’s position to force their version of morality onto the rest of us. Even as recently as this past week the Trump administration is rolling back regulations designed to protect the environment, and is continuing its effort to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.

We are at a turning point in history. And while this crisis has already brought out the best in many of us, there is still so much more to do.

When the dust settles on this pandemic, we will need to rebuild our communities and our government. We must revisit the values and principles this country was founded on, including freedom of religion and a government of the people, by the people, for the people.

The only religious freedom guaranteed by the Trump administration seems to be reserved for right-wing judges who he’s scurrying to appoint to life-time positions so that they can promote his personal version of Christianity. His evangelical followers say they are pro-life, but their actions are pro-birth. They fight for the rights of the unborn while trampling on the rights of women. Rather than bringing us together in times of need, Trump’s vocal condemnation of Muslims and immigrants is fueling further divisiveness.

Our willingness to trust the government has been tainted by institutions like the FDA--once thought to be there for the protection of the people—now silent while corporate interests champion profit at the expense of health. Pharmaceutical companies push highly addictive substances to enrich their corporate coffers even as corporate food manufacturers poison us with chemically riddled processed foods that lack nutritional value.

Some of our most educated people, while struggling to help us find our way during this crisis, are publicly fawning over the most ignorant person ever to lead this country; reinforcing his pathological need for praise out a desperate fear that if they don’t, he may do even more damage to this great nation. Meanwhile, our Republican-led Senate and the President’s cabinet officials stand by like zombies, seemingly unaware of the danger that allowing an incompetent and amoral buffoon to remain in power poses to the future of our democracy.

And finally, at the risk of alienating many of you, I must ask: Is it a mere coincidence that this all started in an open market that sells for human consumption animals that have been stressed, abused, and often tortured?

Even before Covid-19 ravaged the planet, science has shown that our methods of animal food production are destroying the natural balance of the planet by contributing greatly to greenhouse gas emissions. Can we guess the lesson here?

Why has our patriarchal leadership consistently chosen to dismiss the nurturing part of the human spirit while celebrating our lust for profit, domination, and the urge to satisfy our basest desires, with little or no regard for the consequences? I do not know. But the consequences are real. We can no longer deny them.

It is time to rethink everything: how we eat, how we work, how we communicate, and how we govern. We have seen the world the white male conqueror has delivered, and it is grim and brutal.

We are in grave need of a re-balancing. We are in need of a mother who is loving, kind, and generous.

Thankfully, we have one. Unfortunately, our patriarchal leadership continually chooses to ignore her. No wonder she’s resorted to acting out. Perhaps it’s time we listened to HER.
--Laurie Fosner