If Biophilia is Radical, We Have a Very Big Problem
What do you value, and what inspires you? One of my consistent answers to both of those questions is nature. I’m a biophiliac. Biophilia is an innate human tendency to connect with nature and other living things. Perhaps biophilia is a radical ideology now, given the state of our government and its treatment of nature and human beings.
One of the many things I find so disturbing about the people running our government since January is their apparent lack of love and respect for living things (human, animal, plant) and nature itself. The constant “fires” set and stoked are a distraction, deflecting attention from the fact that our lands, waters, and physical bodies are under threat.
The current administration seems committed to the fundamental destruction of life. They are biophobic. Nature and other living things are useful for providing more wealth for a handful of incredibly rich people. Nothing else seems important. Shame and conscience seem absent entirely. This is a perilous path that easily leads to the destruction of our health, our communities, and our beautiful planet.
If you also have biophilia, I hope you will embrace it too. Even imperfectly, even when it feels futile, even when we feel like our actions won’t matter, even when we feel alone, even when we disagree, even when, even when. Let’s stand up for living things who do not have currency, who can’t sell their condos and move to another country. Let’s speak up for those whose voices can’t be heard directly through their purchasing power, or calls to elected officials, or in protests.
Living things of all kinds are at our mercy. Let’s find new ways to act up, to speak up, to utilize whatever spiritual and practical resources we have and to stand on the side of living beings—human and non-human— with whom we share this world.
If Biophilia is Radical, We Have a Very Big Problem
Resources (work in progress)
There are many people writing about our current extraordinary point in history. There are many organizations doing their best to put good people in office and to do good in the world. Here are a few.
News
Heather Cox Richardson. Historian. My morning read for honest, straightforward analysis of daily news. The added benefit of a historian’s eye for what much of it means in context of the big picture through time. You can get a free daily newsletter via email or Substack or do paid.
Legal Organizations
Earth Justice – “Because the Earth Needs a Good Lawyer” One of my favorites for standing up for nature in a practical way.
Organized Protests
I am not vouching for any organization especially, but I heard recently that some people weren’t aware that there are active consistent protests happening. Here is a place to start if you want to become aware or involved. 50501 and Indivisible.
Local Food Banks
Porch in Durham is awesome. Focused on kids.
Animal Rescues
Independent Animal Rescue in Durham is non-stop making a huge difference for the animals in this community.
Photo by Dietra Alyssa Semple