from Brazil’s Movimiento Sim Terre:
“Our Agreements with Earth and Life
1 . Human beings are precious because their intelligence, work and organization can protect and preserve all forms of life.
2. To love and preserve the earth and all natural things
3. To always improve our knowledge of nature and agriculture
4. To produce food to eliminate hunger in humanity. To avoid monoculture and the use of agricultural pesticides.
5. To preserve the already existing forest and to reforest new areas
5. To take care of the springs, rivers, wetlands, and lakes. To fight against the privatization of water
7. To make the camp and the community beautiful by planting flowers, medicinal herbs and trees.
8. To adequately treat the trash and to fight any threats of contamination and aggression of the environment
9. To practice solidarity and to revolt against any kind of injustice,
aggression, and exploitation against a person, a community, and nature
10. To fight against the large estates so that everyone can have land, bread, education and freedom
11. Never sell the land. The land is the supreme gift for the future generations.
Agrarian reform – for a Brazil without large estates”
“To love the earth, you must first know it, and by the time you do, we’ll be able to build a better world.”
“becoming indigenous..its not the colour of your skin, its not even about being
raised in a traditional way. It’s about being a guardian of the common
treasure of the land.”
I am in agreement.
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As Americans become fatter, stupider and more selfish, and our influence rightfully wanes, it's deeply encouraging to know that there are others who care.
8-D
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Elizabeth, you're right of course. I painted that picture with a very broad brush. I figured it went without saying that there are many, many exceptions. Nevertheless if you read the world press it's easy to see that much of the world thinks badly of us, and with good reason.
8-D
A new horseshoer (to the ranch) was working very gently with a horse while Rush Limbaugh bellered from his truck radio. He was good with the horses, I noted as I was doing my thing with baby horses that allows them to make decisions about what they want to accept in an interaction with a human. We are both very grounded in the land and these nobel creatures and yet...
We could find little common ground as to environmental policy, international politics or how either of us lives our lives in a sustainable way.
I don't get it...and I think he would have a different interpretation of these agreements. How do we let go of division must be first and foremost.
Tricia