Earth Day ~ “It’s Not Nice to Fool with Mother Nature” ~ #ScienceMarch

Earth Day brought this infamous quote to mind today. Do you remember the old Chiffon Margarine commercial famous for the one liner, “It’s not nice to fool with mother nature!”? Of course you do! The actress Dena Dietrich delivered her lines with such style they lasted longer than the commercial, or the margarine!  A classic commercial, you can still hear the one liner spoken today, at least by our generation!

These are crazy times. It’s a pleasure to escape back in time for a moment and revisit simpler times. Old movies, classic music, and even commercials remind us of simpler times when our world seemed safer.  Back then we weren’t afraid to eat Chiffon Margarine or drink out of a hose.  Drug stores did not sit on every corner and we didn’t even consider that the food our parents served us might be harmful to us.  Most of us grew up in a world in which a visit to church or synagogue was a part of week.

THE GIFT OF THE EARTH

Romping in the woods was a natural part of my life as a child, and Earth Day gives me an opportunity every year to reflect on the value of the natural world. For me, it’s not just about global warming and National Parks, although it is that, it’s about the restorative life energy nature gives to each of us when we seek it out.  It’s the interior value of a walk in the woods, or watching a sunset or the waves as they crash on the shore. There’s nothing else like it.

I can easily imagine life without Chiffon Margarine, which had a long an interesting history. It seems those who created it first began selling it in 1954. A corn product out of Texas, it was the first soft tub margarine to come on the market.  My family used it, did yours? I never liked the taste. Butter was infinitely better in all respects.

Chiffon Margarine sold to Kraft in 1985 which became a part of Nabisco in 1995, and then became a part of Con-Agra in 1998. Con-Agra stopped distributing Chiffon in the United States and Canada in 2002. It can still, however, be purchased in the Caribbean. (Wikipedia) So went the fate of Chiffon Margarine. We are healthier for its absence from our diet, that is, if we ignore the rise of fast food restaurants and snack foods!

THE GIFT OF SCIENCE

The events that gave rise to the Science March on Earth Day this year have given us  an opportunity to reflect on what really is good for us, as individuals and as a nation. Like the earth, we have taken so much for granted in our lifetime. We were so busy with our lives we lost sight of the bigger picture. It wasn’t that we weren’t doing our best and contributing to the betterment of our corner of the world, we just became a little too self-focused.

We’re a nation of individualists. That has its advantages. The disadvantage, however, is the tendency to believe that everyone else thinks like we do, and that everyone else’s life is like ours. Being self-focused may get things done day-to-day. It doesn’t mean things will continue as they are in the world unattended to. We became so accustomed to our government watching our backs about everything, from the quality of our food to the quality of our earth. We trusted them implicitly. There didn’t seem to be any reason not to. After all, the government managed to impeach Nixon when he crossed the line. They generally know what they’re doing. They will keep building National Parks, and maintaining our highways, and protecting the environment from big business.

The upside of the political nightmare is that we are now taking the time to revisit our values as a nation, to remember and restate exactly what it is we stand for.  We had forgotten who we were. Complacency had taken up residence.  So lost in the minutiae at election time, we stopped paying attention to whether or not the people we elected shared our deepest values. Furthermore, we assumed that we were all, more or less, on the same page, but without open dialogue and communication we can’t know this for sure.

POLITICS & MARRIAGE

Our political world is much like a marriage. Communication is foundational and without it, problems will and do arise. It is time for us to collectively restate our values, beliefs and goals as a nation. Only then can we unify, stand together and work together to keep this country great. It’s up to us. It’s not just up to our leaders. So I say march on scientists! March on women! I am thrilled you actively voice your values, not only to the listening ears of our leaders, but to the people who elect them.  The majority of us are cheering you on and stand to benefit from your tireless efforts to make the world a better place.

The earth is a gift. Science is a gift. Freedom is a gift. Let’s never forget it, and let us continue be vigilant and stay informed. As we work together to get our already great nation back on track, know that we are becoming stronger than we were before.

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