A. Wendell Berry's idea of a "rational" mind is one that analyzes things from an objective point of view, with the main goal being profit. A "sympathetic" mind is one that values intuition and wilderness, with the main goal being wholeness. One example of Reece's sympathetic mind is on page 210, where he refers to the land as "a badly wounded organism." He is using the word "wounded" to describe the damage done to the mountains due to strip mining, and he refers to the land as an "organism." This is a good indication that Reece believes that the mountains have the ability to do things for themselves, as if all of the parts of the mountain (the land, the plants, the animals) add up to make a whole. He also shows his sympathetic mind when he concludes that same chapter on page 213 with, "It is time we stopped thinking like those who conquer mountains and started thinking like the mountain itself." Here, he continues with the idea that the mountain can sustain itself, but he puts us in the equation as well. We are hurting this organism, and until we start thinking like it, we will continue to do so.
B. There are several quotes from the conclusion chapter that stuck out to me, but one in particular was when he was talking about the poem, "Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front," by Wendell Berry. The quote says:
One thing that doesn't compute within that logic is to 'invest in the millenium'- to think beyond short-term economic interests, to plant trees, as the Menominee Indians do, that someone else will harvest. The mad farmer instructs the reader to reject the linear, industrial model that beings with finite resources and ends with waste, but instead to embrace the forest's cyclical system where rotted leaves turn to natural fertilizer (236).
This is a very long quote, but there are two parts that really appeal to me. The first being the quote from the poem, "invest in the millenium," because it not only suggests that we put back what we take from the earth, but that we stop thinking about just ourselves and demonstrate altruism. This is difficult for most people, including myself, because we are so used to thinking in the "now" and only about our future. What that line suggests we do is set up future generations for success by replenishing the earth. The second part of that quote that I like is when Reece refers to the way we are living off of the planet now as "linear." We have learned about, and become accustomed to, cycles in our science classes, but we haven't applied that to the way we live. I have never thought of what we are doing as "linear," but that's just what it is. There is a beginning and an end, we put nothing back when we are finished.
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I agree with you that most people only think about "now" and what they need currently. No one really considers what the long term effects might be or the impact it will have on society. I like the way you ended your blog by saying that what we are doing is linear and that the resources we are using up, we are doing nothing to replenish them. I think this is a strong way to leave readers thinking about what we can do to fix this problem.
ReplyDeleteThinking long term is hard. It's easier if you have kids and think of their kids etc. Blood on blood. I hope it's not dependent on that. I think about the student who said he did not care about what happens to the world after he dies. Now that's 'narcissism.'
ReplyDeleteI never thought of our lives as linear until you mentioned it. I am used to thinking of my life as a cycle where I am born, but eventually I will once again be a part of the earth, like a cycle. However, you and Reece are correct; If we keep living the way we do, the cycle will be no more.
ReplyDeleteI liked the end of your blog when your talking about our current pattern being linear. The nice thing about a circle (or cycle) is that it never ends, we should remember that when we consider plans for the future.
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