North Woods Diaryby Robbie McKay |
Surf's up!
After years of puzzling over the massive environmental INDUSTRY
bureaucracy, it's increasingly clear: the wave has crested, ready
to break on the shore. A movement once based on good intent,
propelled into world-wide consciousness by well-meaning,
ideological individuals with legitimate concerns, has been
co-opted by big money, big power, big influence.
Don't misunderstand. My comments are not derogatory of people
with concerns for the environment. Everyone wants a clean,
healthy planet. But something happened to a once true, honest,
and well-timed movement: those in power "caught the
wave."
Movements are like the sea; waves build, grow and come crashing
down on the beach, wiping out all in their paths. They are
continual, non-ending. And there are many on the beach waiting
for each wave, "boards" in hand, eager to crest each
wave and ride it to the bitter end. When the environmental
movement began, those in power saw it as an excellent way to gain
control of the mass-consciousness of the population. No one can
say no to clean air, water, and healthy forests! What began as a
beautiful, true-hearted swell became and remains a tidal wave of
massive bureaucracies crushing the life out of personal liberties
and freedoms that once made this country
great.
Consider that "mainstream" environmental organizations
get a great deal of funding from trusts and funds which, for the
most part, are backed by big business. The same holds true for
scientific studies commissioned by these "environmental
grantmakers." When one has a preconceived idea of what the
desired outcome should be, funding goes to those with the
grantmaker's viewpoint, not those who disagree. Ponder this: Why
do environmental regulations continue to pile burdens upon those
who can least afford it (i.e. small, independent business), while
global corporations continue to get bigger?
A case in point is Maine's small fishermen, the individuals with
hopes and dreams for personal and financial security. Once again
they're under attack while big commercial fleets sail on.
Environmentalism is no longer a movement. It's an industry unto
itself. Monies generated by donations, lawsuits, salaried
regulators and bureaucrats, goods and services, grants, (and
jelly jars with endangered species on them!) has surpassed many
other industries. The wave has turned into a massive, global
tsunami squeezing the life out of every private individual who
ever wanted to just live and let live. The very people with the
most "sustainable" livelihoods are being criminalized.
Millworkers are made to feel they are the monster under the bed,
ready to pounce and devour all who draw near. Farmers, those who
live closest to the land, who provide for our most basic needs,
are experiencing challenges few in the business world can
comprehend.
Our children are assaulted daily by the prophets of gloom and
doom on television, radio, and in classroom materials provided,
in many cases, free of charge by foundations and environmental
groups. We wonder why our children are so unsure, depressed,
unfocused. Is it any wonder? Look at the onslaught they face
every day? All they hear is that we are all going to either bake
to death on an overheated planet, or die from some microscopic
bug that hasn't even been discovered yet!
Those who supposedly do battle for "the sake of our children
and our children's children," are poisoning our youth and
stealing their rights to a happy childhood and to dream. Leave
our children alone!
It's time to step back, take a deep breath, and think about where
we are as a society. In our rush to embrace Nature, have we
turned our backs on our own humanity?
Yes, indeed, surf's up. But those who stand ready, board's in
hand, need to be mindful: each wave has an undertow. And those
who fall subject to that force, rarely continue on. Environmental
industry! Your wave has crested. People are catching on to what
you are really up to. You are repugnant, repulsive. You do not
deserve to live in this fine country that guarantees your
freedom, while you are robbing us of our freedom.
More and more, people in this state and nation know now what
you're up to.
Surf's up.