Gustl Steiner-Zehender wrote:
> Hallo Friends,
>
> There is sometimes a comment on the list, usually from a newcomer,
> that this is a biofuel list and that we ought to be discussing
> biofuels rather than politics or religion or whatever.
I've been pulling a lot of what Keith calls "deep rooting herbs" in
my garden lately. There is very little lawn on my property, as a
ratio of land to grass, so I spend a fair amount of my free time
working with plants. I don't use chemical sprays. The pests that are
currently trying to kill my cherry tree get a soap and water bath
instead. I hose the leaves vigorously, then douse them in soapy
water. I watch my trees closely and try to interpret what they need
from their condition. I am a terrible gardener at present, but I'm
learning, and fortunately, plants are remarkably patient. My trees
provide some of the fuel that sustains life for me and my children, so
I try to be careful about how my trees get treated.
There's a religious reason for this. I could easily do what everyone
else in the neighborhood does and simply kill all the parasites,
molds, rots and other nasty afflictions with some chemical concoction
that would also kill me if I ingested enough of it. But I'm a devout
Christian. I believe that God made man to manage the earth and care
for it. Like any administrator, I'm accountable for the welfare of
everything under my control. How can I separate religious conviction
from my behavior? When people ask me why I bother with a garden, I
tell them that it puts me in touch with my God ordained destiny and
reminds me of my position in the order of all created things.
Growing a garden is also a political act. The vegetables sprouting
in my planter boxes are likely more expensive than those I can buy
from the supermarket, if I factor my time into the equation. Many of
the younger people in my neighborhood believe they are too busy to
tend a garden. (But the old folk are nearly unanimous in their
approval!) The time I spend watering and removing those "deep rooting
herbs" from the soil by hand is a political statement that everyone
driving by should recognize: I repudiate the principle of bringing
food in from afar that I can grow myself. I might be able to buy my
lettuce, conveniently grown, harvested, transported and packaged for
my benefit in any season, but I have to accept that there is a
significant energy cost to doing so.
So, I pull my weeds and note, out of the corner of my eye, the
disapproving glances flung in my direction by people who think I'm an
eccentric fool. (Did you see all that manure Robert unloaded the
other day? Hasn't he ever heard of "Miracle Grow"?) I hear what they
say, but I refuse to spray my property. I WILL learn how to be a
gardener one day; even though my hands throb with arthritis and my
knees ache from all the bending. If the complainers were hungry, I
would share my fruit and salad with them. I've read a holy book that
advises me to maintain such an attitude toward other people, and if
those words have no influence on my thinking, there is no power in them.
But the scriptures DO influence my thinking. As a result, working in
my garden is a powerful religious AND political act.
<snip>
> The sustenance of this list has been the love of ones fellow human
> beings, the ethic of care and the desire to serve others. The
> underlying commonality of this list is not the desire to make biofuels
> and put more money in the pocketbook but the humanity of the
> list members. This is not a list to aid individuals but a list of
> cooperation to aid everyone, particularly those of little means. It
> also, and in no lesser manner I think, aids the planet on which we
> live remain healthier.
This is why I like it here.
<snip>
> By using our peripheral vision we understand
> that there is only one race, human, and one country, our planet. We
> are one family living in one place and an offense against one is an
> offense against all. Family helps family. We are all brothers and
> sisters together.
Indeed. Sometimes families don't get along, but functional families
ALWAYS work in the best interest of sustaining relationship. The
seminal essence of functional relationship is the ability to listen
and understand. We cannot listen if we assume the person
communicating is wrong.
> I hope this helps in understanding how and why the biofuel list
> functions and survives as it does.
I think you've described it well. Thank you!
robert luis rabello
"The Edge of Justice"
Adventure for Your Mind
http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=9782>
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