“But that’s what all our lawgivers gave us–inventions. Contrivance. Not things that had proved out over thousands of generations, but rather arbitrary pronouncements about the one right way to live. And this is still what’s going on. The laws they make in Washington aren’t put on the books because they work well–they’re put on the books because they represent the one right way to live.” -Ishmael 205
In Greek mythology, the Titan Atlas holds up the sky on his shoulders and absolutely cannot let it go lest the entire world collapses on itself and on him.
Likewise, in the world of nations, our respective governments hold up our world and with each different mentality that develops in society in each generation, new laws are formed in order to contain beliefs into a supposedly acceptable fashion. Essentially as Quinn believes in Ishmael, we are in a “Taker” culture in which we rely on “contrivances” to only allow us to relinquish responsibility for our actions. Many of us claim that we are seeking the ‘right’ way, when a much simpler guide lies in the peace keeping law that nature can only inform us of.
But do these government laws really tell us what is right or wrong? Do they tell us the ‘right’ way to live?
In the end that answer is a personal one and a worldly one that affects all of us. If a law is created in Washington that is against the typical laws of nature, how would our nation react? Are we so absorbed in our Taker culture that we cannot see what is dissolving around us?
If Washington is our Atlas, and if it does not care about our Earth, it is the same thing as shrugging off a problem. They can make laws on what they think is ‘right’ in terms of saving resources, but ultimately each law is one a generation has to follow.
Negatively, each law can either protect or destroy what we have left of our land as a country and therefore as an Earth.
And if Atlas ever shrugged, the sky would fall.
-Felicity Duran
Facets of Sustainability 