The Old Desert Rat
The new Sun magazine has some letters from Ed Abbey, an iconic and complex figure of the environmental movement. A great critic, he was ,in my opinion, short on solutions. His theoretical work stopped short of systems analysis, leaving him unable to articulate WHY conditions and attitudes are how they are. He located power in "government" and corporations but never provided solutions beyond "monkey wrenching" or somehow changing your conciousness to embrace the "truth" of natural processes. For example:
"Having raised the question (concerning animal egalitarianism),I think I see the answer.In demanding that humans behave with justice, tolerance, reason, love toward other forms of life, we are doing no more than demanding that humans be human- that is, be true to the best aspects of human nature."
First of all, he mistakenly equates "egalitarianism", equality, with the question of being "better" than other animals. ( animals tend to overrun their carrying capacity, humans can prevent themselves from doing so) Having a "moral sensitivity unknown to other animals" would not make us unequal, it would make us dissimilar, a great distinction. But more to the point, who is doing the "demanding" in his answer? Having not located any power, such a demand rings hollow, and species, habitat and landscapes continue their decline. He hopes we would be true to the "best aspects of human nature" but it is obvious by now, certainly, that mere "hope" doesn't cut it.
Abbey famously opposed immigration and "massive tax-payer funding for the terminally sick", positions for which he got a lot of flack from the left , and which he spent a great deal of time defending. Seeing only the detrimental effects of over- population, he concerned himself only with stopping these effects at our national border. Once again, a lack of ability to see more than the "particular" limited his ability to strategize ,or effect real change beyond ,perhaps ,inspiration.
He states: "The ugliest thing in America is greed, the lust for power and domination, the lunatic ideology of perpetual Growth.." Reducing the problem to a pathology, his best advice is for humans to "learn to walk again".He strictly avoids the political realm, although in fairness, he does recommend Chomsky. I like this piece of advice, given to someone who wanted him to suggest a "great four wheel drive trip".
"The ideal off road journey? Ill tell you: under water.I would like to see every four-by-four on earth, every three wheeler, every dirt bike,trail bike andBig Foot truck driven straight into the Marianas Trench ..and parked there-left there-for the duration.
For the duration of what?For the duration of this techno-industrial-commercial slime mold that is transforming our planet into one vast battleground of Cretins against Nature." Sure, but what produces "Cretins" or "slime mold"? He never really suggested anything.
The old curmudgeon leaves us with this slightly pessimistic view: "No wonder the galaxies recede from us in every direction..They are frightened. We humans are the Terror of the Universe." It does not necessarily have to be so ,Ed.
posted by troutsky @ 9:27 AM
8 comments
8 Comments:
There are too many human problems, to make animal problems a priority.
I don't know why, but the post makes me think hippy, counter culture mode.
Interesting post fellow fresh water revolutionary
Have't heard the term 'Desert Rat' in years..... it's the name my son used to call me lol
We could learn from termites. They are a very smart sort of people. Little tiny things. Can hardly be seen. Work together. Great engineers. Stay in the dark. Destruct human creation.
In general it seems as though every revolution has intellectuals and those carrying out the thoughts. Of course there is some overlap. I think Abbey was the overlap. He was a pioneer of the movement. His rebellion seems to come from a carnal, gut instict - hey this doesn't feel right he probably told himself and he had to do something about it. Thus the monkeywrenching. His books were an attempt to put a face on what his insticts told him were bad or wrong. Could he have done more as far as articulating the causes for his anger? Probably. Then again he could have done a lot less. I bet alot of his pessimism had to do with being so isolated. The feeling of hopelessness has a tendency to creep into our thoughts when we are alone too much. Besides being in the desert Ed worked at the Numa lookout in Glacier National Park. I was there a few years ago and the guy working said I was the first person he had seen in days, so you can imagine how few people Abbey saw.
Old Ed was definately counter culture in the best sense.I respect himfor his devotion to a cause but feel that because his analysis was not deep enough the actions he took were, in the end, meaningless.The desert ecosystem faces unprecedented threats and the "movement" is powerless against development pressure.Ed was a human with relationship and booze issues and a great figure who could have done more. He would want us to learn from his failings.
Trout,
I disagree that his actions were meaningless. His actions helped inspire a whole movement. I wonder if some the more "radical" groups like Earth First! would have ever been borne or taken the trajectory they did hadn't it been for Ed. By not doing deep analysis did he put the cart in front of the buggy? Perhaps; but how many revolutionaries merely think about the issue and fail to take action. Of course action takes all forms but you know what I'm getting at. Also, I don't agree that the movement is powerless against corporations. That's a huge reason why I'm going to school. Increasingly, the fate of the deserts and forests are being decided in a court room. Whether that is good or bad is another can of worms. Finally, if Ed had never "failed", what could we have learned from him? Was it really a failure? It seems like anytime you fight the machine that tries to destroy who we are you are a success.
Good point John, he did inspire a lot of people and there is lasting value in that.I know law can be used to protect landscapes but these defensive postures are a clear indication of the deeper injustice.Why are they threatened in the first place?
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