Get common sense back into public affairs

 

The other day I overheard two people arguing. One guy walked around, waving his arms and going on about “planned obsolescence” and “pillaging Mother Earth.” The other fellow condemned recycling as “tree hugging environmentalist twaddle.”

Neither of them listened to the other, but I think the emotional, knee-jerk homage to the environment of the first man is the most dangerous point of view. That skewed view of life has proved to be one of the most destructive trends in our society. It is inconvenient at best and economically devastating at worst.

Whole industries have been toppled by the new Deist religion of “Earth first.” Industries based on forest products, from lumber to cattle, have nearly been wiped out. The Earth First religion relegates man to a little lower than the apes, instead of a little lower than the angels, because it sees angels and God as fairy tales.

I think it’s time that the majority of people, who believe men and women were created by one God and are, therefore accountable to their Creator, take back the reins of government. We must put common sense and good science into our laws and regulations. Where’s the logic in dedicating millions of acres to certain species of birds, reptiles, or insects when we could maintain “green zones” on fewer acres, while producing important energy and food stuff on the rest?

Let’s stop “throwing the baby out with the bath water” an old saying that illustrates the violence and absurdity of focusing on one idea (dirty bath water is “bad”) without considering the ramifications (the safety of the baby is more important than disposing of dirty water).

Radical environmentalists have managed to inculcate trees and plants with value way beyond reason. They’ve taken a little bit of truth and twisted it into a weapon to remove man from being the apex of the ecosystem with a responsibility to exercise stewardship over the natural world to being an unnecessary part of the picture. The Sierra Club has actually divided the United States up into “eco-zones,” where they want to completely eliminate the presence of human beings. People will be piled into cities, leaving the “natural world” to go back to what it was 200 years ago. Touting the value of wilderness as a place of peace and reflection for those who are lucky enough to experience it has become the means of stopping people from setting foot on it.

Roads are being blockaded and land that was once used has been removed from usefulness, so it can be “reborn.” All of this is done in the name of ‘preserving our priceless heritage.” We’re throwing the baby out with the bath. Of course, keeping some lands for their esthetic value is worthwhile; keeping others for unique uses is also part of stewardship, but people are part of the ecosystem and they have a right to use the land in a responsible and loving manner.

When pundits start saying that the cryptobiotic crust and desert varnish are to be preserved to the exclusion of grazing cattle and extracting minerals, then the world is turning upside down. Let’s stop the extremists and find compromises that enhance the natural world and retain its place as the home of mankind.

Let’s get together, through civic action, volunteer efforts, and personal accountability, to restore good sense to government and public affairs.