If Trees Could Vote
Speak for the trees
Plants and more-than-human-animals constitute the majority of life on Earth but they have no say in political systems that define the world around them. We humans make up just .01 percent of the planet’s biomass and have altered the world for all other species.
Most of you are here because you love nature and want to deepen intimacy with Earth and your own animal body. And here we are on the cusp of a terrifying election where many of our basic rights are on the line. It's not just our rights that are at risk; the rights of nature and all our wild neighbors are also in danger. Like most of you, I believe our our animal kin are intelligent and sentient — and have even been found vote in their own cultures, but they don’t have say in the future of our planet.
Marine biologist
reminds us in her book What If We Get It Right? that individual actions create a ripple effect. Whether it's volunteering at a local park, learning more about your local ecosystem, or simply leaving the leaves, every action counts. As she shares in her Ted Talk, we can start by doing the work that brings us joy.As we face tomorrow’s election and environmental challenges ahead, we must care for our beloved planet and learn to coexist with all species.
The trees, plants, and all other animals deserve a voice in the future of our shared planet. I hope you’ll vote on their behalf.
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The True Nature Of Wolves
Wolf Awareness Week ended on Saturday. Since 1996, the third week of October has been designated as National Wolf Awareness Week. A time to dispel misinformation about wolves and advocate on their behalf. For centuries, the keystone species have been portrayed as vicious predators. This false narrative rooted in European and Biblical lore, has led to their persecution and endangerment.
In our hands we are,
the Earth and all its earthlings.
We will do our part.
RE:
"here we are on the cusp of a terrifying election where many of our basic rights are on the line. It's not just our rights that are at risk; the rights of nature and all our wild neighbors are also in danger."
I think that statement warrants deeper exploration as there is a lot to unpack there regarding what "rights" are, where they come from and lastly, but perhaps most importantly, the implied notion that democratic elections have the potential to either result in us (and/or our non-human kin) having rights 'taken away' or 'given to us'.
We have been indoctrinated into dogmatic system of belief since we were very young that involuntary governance structures (which use violent coercion and propaganda to enforce a multi-generational racketeering operation) are "good" (or at the very least "necessary") and that democracy is a moral and righteous system of governance. All of that is a lie.
We were born with all the same "rights" as any other being on the planet, no system of violent coercion, voting for who will rule over us, and/or thinly veiled corporate plutocracy can put our rights at risk. Each and everyone of us is the only being that can put our rights at risk through internalizing lies, propaganda, anthropocentric dogma and ego flattering nonsense about how "civilized" we all for participating in "democracy". We must all consciously know what is right and what is wrong through truly looking inward to know our Self, have a direct relationship with the Creator/Divine being and thus be capable of discerning what is moral and what is not, and then guiding our actions accordingly. No institution, no man in a suit, no writing on paper and no man with a badge or a gun can do that for us and none of those people can prevent us from doing that either. It is just a choice, each and every day, we have that choice.
Each one of us are co-authors in the story of our human family and how we interact and connect with our fellow non-human beings on Earth. Each action is a prayer that says to the universe "This is what a human being Is". Inaction or pretending that some institution is either preventing us from doing the right thing, or commanding us to do the wrong thing, is also a choice, and a prayer and it sends out ripples into the fabric of Creation.
Democratic elections are nothing more than an elaborate circus and the systems of governance they claim to legitimize are built on (and necessitate) industrial scale mass murder and ecological devastation.
I propose that involuntary governance structures (such as democratic governments) are inherently immoral, they breed corruption/sociopathy in the masses, attract psychopaths into leadership positions and they are systems that not only inevitably result in ecological devastation, they necessitate it.
We do not need democracy, it needs us, and it feeds on us like a parasite.
For nearly a millennium, our Druidic and Celtic ancestors the lived without a state under a legal system known as Brehon Law. They revered the trees and non-human beings and would have continued to do so were it not for the Roman Statists that decimated their culture and the sacred forests it was built upon.
I explore why I believe that to be the case and offer other historical examples of how ancient cultures developed a moral compass and thrived here on Turtle Island without any systems of government that used violent coercion (without police, without involuntary taxation and without prisons ) in this essay:
https://gavinmounsey.substack.com/p/why-involuntary-governance-structures
I agree with Dr. Lyla June in her assertion that our belief in the dogmas of Statism and "Civilization" has tricked and brainwashed us all. For more on her thoughts on that, watch: https://youtu.be/fYVBjgHRmus?si=j8KV138VmWoRFQKS
Thank you for evoking this strong emotion and line of thought in me through your post Vanessa.