> Bush vs. Green: An Open Letter from Barbara Kingsolver
> Barbara Kingsolver, AlterNet
> March 27, 2001
>
> Barbara Kingsolver, renowned author of "The Poisonwood Bible" and "Prodigal
Summer," wrote this call-to-action against Bushwhacking and other threats
the new administration poses to the environment. It has been widely
circulated by email, proving again the Internet's potential as a method to
flex political muscle.
>
>
> Dear Friend,
>
>
> Okay, I'll admit it, I spent the inaugural weekend in denial. (He's not my
president. Most of us didn't actually vote for the guy ... ) Ignored the
smarmy front-page photos of parades and balls, skipped straight to Section B
to look for coverage of the protests. But the fact is, we now have a new
administration that's hostile to the things I love most: human kindness, the
dignity of diversity, and the wild glory of life on earth. It's time to move
on from denial to the next stage, which would be bitter cynicism or action.
>
>
> I'm opting for action, because I don't really have a choice. Looking out my
window right now I can see my two girls outside under the mesquite trees in
this precious riparian woodland where we live, and my heart starts to break
for all the beautiful things they'll never see if I allow unchecked
Bushwhacking in the next four years. Civil rights and reproductive choice I
suppose we could win back in time (though not the lives lost along the way),
but the waters and wild lands devastated will never come back. So I've taken
a vow to spend at least some part of every week protecting the truths and
places I treasure.
>
>
> Part of that commitment involves this letter asking you to do the same. I'm
fairly confident you'll agree with my concerns, because we're the majority.
Not only did most of us not vote for the guy, we also -- by a handy
majority, the polls say -- oppose the assault he and Gale Norton hope to
launch.
>
>
> To choose an urgent example, their plan to drill for oil in the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge is hugely unsupported by U.S. citizens, and has
even met some opposition from his fellow Republicans. Most of us want the
Arctic Refuge to remain pristine and untouched -- and we feel this way in
spite of current energy worries and the fact that this magnificent birthing
ground for Artic wildlife is, for most of us, a place we've only imagined.
The widespread reputation of Americans for selfishness notwithstanding, we
are wise and generous enough to care about lives and places beyond our own
backyards.
>
>
> Starting today, if you haven't already, I hope you'll do a handful of concrete
things including these: Post the addresses of your legislators somewhere
you'll see it, and make a habit of writing them weekly to help guide their
decisions about social justice and the environment. Think of the California
energy crisis as an opportunity to institute, in your home and your
conversations with friends, a policy of conserving resources that will
provide the only long-term solution. And get involved with your conservation
community, locally and nationally.
>
>
> A step I recommend is the Internet activist campaign called
www.SaveBioGems.org. When you visit this site, it will take you only about
ten minutes to send faxes to politicians and CEO's to voice your interest in
protecting places like the Arctic Refuge, Greater Yellowstone, the Macal
Rainforest of Costa Rica and Red Rock Wilderness of Utah. If you register
there, the Natural Resources Defense Council will send you email alerts
every so often (while also respecting your privacy) asking you to return to
www.SaveBioGems.org to participate in a crucial fax or email campaign.
>
>
> These things work. Every kind of communication adds up, and web activism is a
new force in the political landscape. Lots of effective campaigns have made
good use of the internet, such as the one against Nike, and it was web
activism that recently helped NRDC to prevent the Mitsubishi corporation
from destroying birthing grounds for the Pacific Grey Whale in Mexico. But
it only works if we all care enough to get involved.
>
>
> I believe the Bush administration has happened to us for a reason. Setting
aside election fraud, family connections in Florida, and the fact that
Republican districts almost everywhere have better voting machinery, the
reason is complacency: too many people must have assumed that the things we
cherish are permanently protected. We underestimated the power of wealthy
corporations to put a Petroleocracy into the White House. Now that it's
there, it's our obligation and our right as citizens to drown out its awful
agenda with our voices. We have majority support, now we just have to use
it.
>
>
> Please take a minute to visit www.SaveBioGems.org, and if you agree with me,
please extend this invitation to your friends and family. Thanks -- our kids
ask the world of us, and my greatest hope is to give them one, intact.
>
>
> Truly yours,
>
>
> Barbara Kingsolver
>
>
> Get a print-friendly version of this story.
>

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