confession

Much to my friends aggravation, I am an environmentalist.

It would be easier to be a communist in this state, and many consider them one and the same.

My favorite America conservative politician was an avid environmentalist. He was also a really great photographer. But that was a long time ago.

It is easy to push each other into big uncomfortable categories. Unless we are unduly shaped by an outside sources, most of our values and life limits are a mix, some of us have a real blender mix of ideas. But we still find ourselves pushed into these big generalizing categories.

At the least it would seem that it is our duty as citizens (not to mention christian citizens) to treat God’s creation with a modicum of respect. Nature was intended to be used, but not abused. Unfortunately it is easier to destroy than to nurture.

Christians who are sure that the 2nd coming is so soon that caring for our surrounding is a waste of time, might want to remember that every generation since the christian era began has had more than a few who were sure that their generation would be the last.

And as the old curmudgeon Edward Abbey once advised: "One final paragraph of advice: Do not burn yourself out. Be as I am-a reluctant enthusiast... a part time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it is still there. So get out there and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizz, climb the mountains. Run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to your body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk bound people with their hearts in a safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this: you will outlive the bastards."”

I didn’t say that word, I just quoted the man!