Wrote this blog first thing this morning. It surprised me when I read it. I told myself, “You can’t post anything that political.” Is this really the inspiration I asked for in my prayers this morning? Guess it must be. It sure flowed off my fingers unto the keyboard. So here it is. If you have comments, no matter how critical, I’d love to hear them.

Listen to the Wisdom of Our Ancestors.

Today, I read the Broadview Magazine article “Listen to the Knowledge Keepers” by Dave Courchene, an Anishinabe Elder. Dave says:

            “What humanity needs most now is to learn the rules of conduct we must follow in defining a sustainable relationship with the Earth and each other. Some examples include: don’t take more than you need from the land to   survive, because if you take too much, your greed will increase;  treat all life with respect, and abundance will return to you; and show gratitude for whatever you receive from life, and life will return its blessings.

Simple principles: why can’t we follow them? Is it because our greed is already totally out of control? As I read this article, I thought, I’m one of the converted. That’s why I subscribe to and enjoy Broadview. I know already that our aboriginal peoples have wisdom. It’s not new. The same wisdom can be found in the Bible, the Koran, the Talmud and other sacred writings. The Book of Genesis 1:28 says, “Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.” For centuries we in North America have ignored the wisdom offered by our ancestors and our aboriginal brothers and sisters. Now, our children are offering us the same wisdom. It’s the young people that are rising up and pushing us to do something about climate change.

And still, I have conversations with people of my own generation who are denying that our greed is leading us into sure and certain annihilation of all life on our planet. This week I talked with a man who was convinced that our refugees arrive with the right to vote. He railed at their taking something that was rightfully his. He had no interest in checking his facts, or rather lack of them. We are so gullible when it comes to believing negative statements, and so slow at taking in wisdom for our lives. God must weep at our inability to help ourselves, to listen to the knowledge keepers of every tribe and nation. What will it take to wake us up?

There is an election coming this fall. Could we, just for once as a people, respond to the environmental crisis in our world and vote for those who would risk real action? Could we just for once forget the squabbling and name calling and look at policies? This time we need to listen carefully. What has our present government done to save the environment? How have we reacted? Who is willing to do even more?

Yes, action is tough. In the short run it might raise our taxes, cause job loss. We now have no choice. We have to stop talking about how awful it is that Nestle’s takes millions of gallons of our precious fresh water from the ground, pays next to nothing for it and sells it back to us for $1.75 and more for a pint plastic bottle. We have to stop ignoring the scientists. It’s good that we’ve made some little changes, but that’s not enough. We need leaders who are courageous in fighting this battle, whatever party they represent.

God gave us the job of caring for this beautiful earth. Let’s choose leaders who will help us.