I was recently asked to read some of my essays at The People’s Social, a local winery. It was a good event from my perspective, proving that a small gathering of like minds can be uplifting even when the subject matter is not. It’s not easy to be joyful when talking about biodiversity loss, the devastating consequences of climate change, and an administration that refuses to acknowledge any of it. But it’s inspiring when everyone at the table shares your concerns and respects scientific facts. There’s solace in numbers.
Towards the end my friend Natasha asked if I could find reason for optimism, however cautious, and my knee-jerk response was to say “no.” Maybe it was a defeatist’s mindset after reading a handful of depressing essays. But then my wife Lee spoke up about Jane Goodall, and how she believed that hope was not just a feeling but a tool that created agency and inspired action. Dr. Goodall understood how small, local victories show that change is possible— keeps us working towards a better future. Without hope, we’ve lost, thrown in the towel before the game is over, and we’re better than that.
Galileo said the world doesn’t exist for our comfort and pleasure but has a will of its own. The earth responds to our tampering with the carbon cycle, our contaminating land and water with plastics and long-lived toxins, but it responds without regard for our wellbeing. The laws of physics and chemistry aren’t altered on our behalf.
And yet, even as the earth heats up, our attention has been hijacked by another existential threat: the whims of a fascist government. I understand the priority shift. Once fascism takes control it’s not easy to reverse, but history shows it’s possible. Italy broke away from Mussolini’s regime after World War II. Germany established a democratic government after the fall of the Nazis. Spain transitioned to democracy after Franco, Portugal did the same after Estado Novo. It happens but it takes time, and time is something we can ill-afford on a rapidly warming planet.
Justice often depends on those willing to resist unjust authority. Thoreau said, “If the law is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law.” Committing ourselves solely to our personal lives— our jobs and ambitions and pastimes— and believing we can’t have an influence on governmental decisions, makes us complicit to the eroding of principles on which our country was founded. Remaining ignorant to the hatred and prejudices guiding current policy is inexcusable. Believing problems can be resolved through intimidation, by terrorizing legal immigrants and defying the law, takes a special kind of willful ignorance. Submitting to oligarchs fuels authoritarianism and puts us at odds with the framers of our constitution.
I’m beyond ignoring political reality, past holding my tongue out of concern I may offend someone. Complacency is a vote of approval. As the late Rep. John Lewis encouraged, “make good trouble” when necessary, and today it’s necessary.
Our niece Lydia and her delightful, inquisitive four-year-old Calvin are visiting for a few days. Calvin asks,“Why do butterflies exist?” He works his mouth as he contemplates gears on a honey extractor, squats to closely inspect a grasshopper, questions what animals might be tucked away in a hollow log. In the evening he makes the rounds to wish the pond and root cellar a goodnight.
The future belongs to him but the kind of planet he inherits is on us. French philosopher Albert Camus said, “No matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger— something better, pushing right back.”
That something is hope, and it moves us forward one victory at a time.
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