To Weave The Future
…we have entered a period in which global relations
are defined by new nationalisms, religious fundamentalism,
developed world hubris, stepped-up environmental damage,
and everywhere
expanding problems
of health and poverty.
What was to have been a
“New World Order”
is revealed as a greater disorder,
much of it flowing from
the top down.
Disorder is nothing new in the human world. p. 22
A society that treats its natural surroundings
in a harsh and exploitative way
will do the same with “other” people.
Nature and human ethics
are not unconnected.
What we refer to as nature or “the environment”
or the wild world
is our endangered habitat and home,
and we are its problem species.
Living in it well with others
and with all other beings
is our ancient challenge.
In this time of New World Disorder,
we need to find the trick
of weaving civilized culture and wild nature
into the fabric of the future.
This will take both art and science. p.25
The Chinese word for nature is zi-ran
(in Japanese shizen) meaning “self-thus.”
The English word “nature”
is commonly used in its practical science sense,
referring to the material universe and its rules.
In other words nature means “everything”
except perhaps the “supernatural.”
The rural and the urban
are part of the phenomenal world natural.
Wild nature is that part of the physical world
that is largely free of human agency.
Wild nature is most endangered
by human greed
or carelessness. p. 25
Back On The Fire, essays by Gary Snyder, Ecology, Literature, and the New World Disorder (based on a keynote talk at the Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment international conference held in Naha, Okinawa, March 4-6, 2003)
The library that I own is adequate to my needs. A sizable number of the unread books were purchased on account of an enduring interest in the subject, or on account of the reputation of the author. The book of essays by Gary Snyder was purchased for both reasons. As I review the essays I am impressed with Snyder’s prescience, the ability to describe conditions that are coming to a climax 23 years later in 2026.
2 thoughts on “To Weave The Future”
Indeed, as I read through Mr. Snyder’s essay I assumed it was written within the past month or so. What it tells me is that the warning lights have been flashing for decades. Very few of those with any authority have brushed aside the overt suggestions that humanity is headed for an existential crisis. Even now, as his words become more and more relevant, we continue our march towards self-annihilation. As the old folk song goes, “When will we ever learn?”
There is nothing more “real” to a capitalist than “more.” Nothing whatsoever ought to obstruct the maximization of profit. The earth is expected to take care of itself, given the assumption that nature is a resilient resource. This ideology truly presents a new definition of evil.