Water: A VERY Big Concern, But . . . .

The sign above is popping up around Sanibel.  There are three things you might consider as you vote, it seems to be saying, whether or not someone is a Republican, a Democrat, or concerned about water, but water is most important.  It is, in many ways, the overriding concern here on the island these days. 

This past summer our waters were turned virtually poisonous by red tide.  And across the Causeway in Fort Myers and beyond, canals, streams and parts of the Caloosahatchee River were covered with blue green algae. Dead fish covered our beaches, as well as turtles, manatees and even dolphins.  The birds that normally flock here were often missing.  I can't tell you when I last saw a pelican.  The human cost has hit many a pocket book as tourism virtually disappeared.  Millions and millions of dollars were lost by island businesses and those they employ.  It has been an economic and environmental disaster.  Make it your chief concern as you decide who to elect to office, the signs imply, and first and foremost ask, "Where does this candidate or that one stand on the water issues?"

Which is, indeed, vital.  We absolutely must elect candidates who are committed to the environment, committed to resolving the water issues and committed to addressing the other pressing ecological concerns like climate change.  But, and this is an important but, most if not all the candidates I've read about, heard about, listened to, at least here in Southwest Florida, seem to fit that criterion.  They are all saying we need to address the water issue. We can (and should) weigh out the depth of their commitments by examining their track records. We should ask questions about their ideas and plans for addressing the problem.  But ultimately any politician worth his or her salt, realizes this is non-negotiable for most all of us living here.  Water is not the distinguishing issue--not for most candidates.  Rather other matters are.  

Said another way, while it is vital that any candidate you vote for be committed to resolving the water issue, the responsible voter needs to look at other issues as well.  Where does a particular candidate stand on other environmental issues?  How do they suggest addressing the concerns of the poor?  What's his or her position on guns?  What has he or she said about race relations?  What is his or her position on immigration?  Education?  Women's rights?  Trade?  And perhaps most importantly, how willing is a candidate to reach across party lines to solve the issues that face us as a society?  Which may, in the end, be what the sign is trying to say.

Having the franchise, being a voter, should mean being willing to do a little work before you head for the polls.  Whomever we elect as Governor, Senator, and for all the state and local offices, isn't just going to be involved in decisions about water--they are going to make policies or cast votes on a wide array of issues.  Yes, I along with so many others, want action on the water issue and I want it now, but we all have a whole plethora of other concerns and issues as well.  Let's not forget them when we vote!

   

This past summer our waters were turned poisonous by red tide.  And across the Causeway in Fort Myers and beyond, canals, streams and parts of the Caloosahatchee River were covered with blue green algae. Dead fish covered our beaches, as well as turtles, manatees and even dolphins.  The birds that normally flock here were often missing.  I can't tell you when I last saw a pelican.  The human cost has hit many a pocket book as tourism virtually disappeared.  Millions and millions of dollars were lost by island businesses and those they employ.  It has been an economic and environmental disaster.  Make it your chief concern as you decide who to elect to office, the signs imply, and first and foremost ask, "Where does this candidate or that one stand on the water issues?"

Which is, indeed, vital.  We absolutely must elect candidates who are committed to the environment, committed to resolving the water issues and committed to addressing the other pressing ecological concerns like climate change.  But, and this is an important but, most if not all the candidates I've read about, heard about, listened to, at least here in Southwest Florida, seem to fit that criterion.  They are all saying we need to address the water issue. We can (and should) weigh out the depth of their commitments by examining their track records. We should ask questions about  their ideas and plans for addressing the problem.  But ultimately any politician worth his or her salt, realizes this is non-negotiable for most all of us living here.  Water is not the distinguishing issue--not for most candidates.  Rather other matters are.  

Said another way, while it is vital that any candidate you vote for be committed to resolving the water issue, the responsible voter needs to look at other issues as well.  Where does a particular candidate stand on other environmental issues?  How do they suggest addressing the concerns of the poor?  What's his or her position on guns?  What has he or she said about race relations?  What is his or her position on immigration?  Education?  Women's rights?  Trade?  And perhaps most importantly, how willing is a candidate to reach across party lines to solve the issues that face us as a society?  Which may, in the end, be what the sign is trying to say.

Having the franchise, being a voter, should mean being willing to do a little work before you head for the polls.  Whomever we elect as Governor, Senator, and for all the state and local offices, isn't just going to be involved in decisions about water--they are going to make policies or cast votes on a wide array of issues.  Yes, I along with so many others, want action on the water issue and I want it now, but we all have a whole plethora of other concerns and issues as well.  Let's not forget them when we vote!

   

Tears in the Wake of the Storms

I was watching the news last night and saw story after story of disaster and dilemma.  Somewhere along the line I started to tear up.  I'm not sure if it was the pictures of strangers rescuing folks trapped by the flood waters of Florence.  Or the police officer who had tried to rescue a man caught under a car due to the gas line explosions in the Boston are, even while his own home was going up in flames.  It may have been the follow-up story to the ongoing post-Maria crisis in Puerto Rico, or the story about the typhoon in the Philippines. Whatever the case, I had reached a point where I just could not hold back the tears.

I've heard it referred to as compassion fatigue.  Getting so worn down by disasters, natural and otherwise, that you just can't handle one more story, one more disaster.  And maybe that was it.  Even though I was only tangentially impacted by the stories above (I had to cut short a retreat to fly home a day early due to Florence) I couldn't help but remember my own experiences of Hurricane Irma, 9/11 and other calamities I have faced.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized the tears were primarily related to frustration. We human beings have a lot with which we must cope.  Things that are (basically) out of our control.  Hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, volcano eruptions.  Why then, do we insist on making more problems for ourselves by perpetuating the injustices of violence, racism, sexism, homophobia, environmental degradation and economic disparity?  I know, because, as the old catechism puts it "we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." But that's too easy an excuse.  We can't help ourselves?  It's in our nature?  I'm sorry, that's just nonsense.  We can.  We can choose to ally ourselves with love, with peace, with justice.  We can choose to ask God to fill us with whatever we need to do the right things.  I'm not saying it's easy.  I'm just saying it is possible.

Thanks for letting me vent.  Now, on to working for the change I want to see.  So help me God. 

Butterflies Will Soon Be Free

I was away for part of this week at a retreat center on the shores of Lake Erie.  The retreat was conducted by my religious order, the Brothers and Sisters of the Way, an order for ordained clergy.  Our retreats are  precious times, filled with good conversation, much laughter, powerful readings and worship, and treasured times of extended silence.

One morning, one of the retreatants came in through the back door and said, "Guys, you've got to see this.  There are hundreds and hundreds of butterflies out here!"  We all rushed out the door and there, covering three or four trees were indeed many, many monarch butterflies, no doubt resting in the midst of their migration south.  It was a beautiful sight.  It was a hopeful sight.  Monarchs are facing certain environmental challenges these days, and it was good to see them--so many of them!

Butterflies are a traditional sign of resurrection.  The transformation that happens in the dark of their cocoons is reminiscent of the transformation that took place (however we understand it) in the darkness of the tomb that first Easter.  In fact, the night before we spotted the butterflies we had sung Natalie Sleeth's delightful hymn, "In the Bulb There is a Flower."  A hymn that speaks of the various metaphors we have created over the centuries for resurrection, including the line, "in cocoons, a hidden promise; butterflies will soon be free!"

I don't know about you, but I need every sign of hope I can get these days.  I need every reminder that God is at work, even when it doesn't seem very obvious.  I need every assurance that even when it seems that hatred and fear are winning the struggle for the hearts and souls of humanity, love is still silently at work, bringing about transformation in the lives of people everywhere.

Have You Forgotten Jacksonville?

I think it has finally happened.  What many of us worried about ahs come to pass.  For some time I've been concerned that a time would come when mass shootings would become so commonplace that we would lose interest in them.  That they would fail to prick our hearts and instead become "same-old, same old".  And I think that's where we are at the moment.

On Sunday, August 26 around 1:30 in the afternoon, 24 year-old David Katz opened fire at a video game competition and shot and killed 27 year-old Taylor Robinson and 22 year-old Eli Clayton.  Eleven others were injured in the gunfire, and Katz finally took his own life.  It was reported in the news, but then, essentially disappeared.  Not in Jacksonville, but around much of the rest of the nation.  Even here in Southwest Florida.

Do we no longer care?  Does the fact that it was a video game competition and not a school or church make a difference?  Does the fact that the weapons were legally obtained make a difference?  Does the fact that the shooter didn't use a so-called long gun change it?  Three young people have died.  And others have had their lives scarred in more ways than physically.  It matters.  There are issues to address.  Let us not forget, there are issues to address.