I recently read the following article in UTNE Reader mag and it made me think more about WHY this concept of granting the Earth constitutional rights (I know–sounds funny. Read the article!) sounds, well, sounds funny to Americans.  Hubs and I were discussing animals, creatures of this Earth like us, and how many people fail to see spiritual and emotional similarities between humans and animals. Hubs conjectured, “most people don’t understand things unless it’s in their face. ..” Mistreating or disrespecting animals isn’t something they can comprehend because it’s not affecting them directly. “It’s the same reason why people aren’t concerned with genocide or bombings,” he said, “they care only if it’s happening directly to THEM.” Ah, my wise husband, right again.

And it’s the same with the Earth. A dog craps on someone’s lawn, he’s angry about it. A power plant dumping toxic substances into natural waterways? Fuh-get-about-it!  Whether it’s apathy or ignorance, it’s annoying and enraging, and part of the reason I get frustrated living where I live. The majority of the population is in the “fuh-get-about-it” category. Or, more appropriately, the “I ain’t care” category.

George Orwell says in 1984, “the hope lies with the Proles…” Where do we go from here?

Check out this article: The Emancipated Earth