The Irony of Who Might Save Us

An indigenous female in traditional clothing holding the earth with two hands

Traditionally, members of industrialized societies have no patience for indigenous cultures that cling to the earth as a mother. What mother? It’s land and resources and untapped wealth! Profit is the god industrialized societies honor. They shrug when they’re shown photos of melting glaciers or proof of human biological damage from mass produced foods or waters contaminated by poorly run mining operations. Killing off inconvenient predators seems logical; accidentally wiping out innocent bystanders such as pollinators seems inevitable. The United States elected a leader whose fame is wealth and despoiling natural resources—including people. Like those in many powerful factions, he believes poor people to be lesser, even expendable. It’s their fault they weren’t born into money. Wisdom and future mean nothing to him. He has no clue about the power of community and love to maintain health and mental balance. He follows ugly precedents.

How ironic the facts are. No wonder the powers are anxious to cancel PBS. They don’t want real information cluttering up their propaganda. In a series titled SACRED PLANET, journalist Gulnaz Khan not only involves herself on site in the works of various indigenous faith leaders who are struggling to honor and serve the earth and the highest good of humanity. She also explains in plain language what those leaders are attempting to preserve for all of us with their hope and action. She has sworn to those leaders that she will carry their message to the masses who generally have no idea they exist or matter. Hers isn’t the only media warning to the materialists. Even animal populations seem to be sounding alerts of disaster that may come as they try to adapt as quickly as they can.

World ecology depends heavily on the many species that helped develop it. We live tottering on a fragile balance that has sustained us thus far. Celebrity William Shatner wept as he shared the terrible fear he experienced when he traveled to outer space, looked back, and saw how vulnerable humankind truly is. The truth is that lands tended by indigenous peoples who comprise only 6.2% of earth’s population contain 80% of the earth’s biodiversity. We may owe our lives to date to these primitive believers. We don’t have to believe the same way to be operating on the same page.

We in so-called modern society cling to our foods that have been reconstructed to look like what Grandma used to make but bear almost no nutritional similarity. Fake images sell us fake cures and questionable treatments. We gulp down water that’s usually contaminated but inevitably filled with microplastics to clog our bodies. Our technology can rebuild hearts or limbs, but we wreck more than we save. For reasons I can’t comprehend, we’re shutting scientists out of their labs and real history out of our world view. The conditions in the novel BRAVE NEW WORLD are no longer difficult to anticipate. Citizens are mere cogs in the wheels of industry. We’ve made tentative progress toward more peace and cooperation over the years, but the powers are in a hurry to wipe away our new awareness, to discourage honesty, compassion, and truth. Diversity provides broader perspectives that rattle the corporate cages. Greed is more popular than sharing. Ignorance is touted as being more fun.

We as a global population don’t have to go along. We can refuse to be blindfolded. We can insist on surviving in peace. Many are already working on the problem. In 1975, Ed Ames sang,  “(We’re)…asking for some kind of clue/ Or road to lead us to the truth/ But who will answer?”