On using wedges

A wedge is a very handy tool if one wants to split wood. It is also a very handy and oft used tool of political parties and the government in general. Both major parties use them. The idea is to split the populace over an issue. Now if this was just to generate debate over a hot button issue that might be OK. Wedges used by politicians in America are used for different purposes, namely distraction and diffusion of the power of the people. That power they hold is an illusion. They only have it if we give it to them by continuing to fall for their tricks--like using wedges.

This week the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments about the "gay marriage" issue. Why the government or citizens think the government needs to be involved in human relationships is a total mystery to me. It seems like there would be far more important things to concern politicians and bureaucrats but here we are. My personal opinion is this, get government out of people's bedrooms and personal lives. Period. Marriage is between consenting adults. Not courts, not politicians. Yet, it is a highly charged, emotive issue for many who have had basic rights denied them and for those whose religion is perceived by them to be against love. This dynamic creates a convenient wedge to be exploited by the power hungry politicians and their corporate paymasters. And while attention is focused on this (just look at the media these days, so called progressive politicos are shouting about it from the roof tops) backroom deals that affect the lives of all citizens are taking place.

One of these deals is the so called Monsanto Protection Act. This makes it possible for Monsanto to create and sell whatever poisons they choose with absolutely NO RECOURSE when those "products" turn out to be lethal either for the environment (which we all depend on) or the people who are duped into eating them. This rider was attached to a completely unrelated bill and just signed into law by Obama without public debate despite it being blatantly unconstitutional. It was brokered by the former Monsanto executives now serving in Obama's administration (both at the EPA and the US Department of Agriculture) and by politicians on the take from lobbyist. This is what Corporatocracy looks like (or as Mussolini called it Fascism) not democracy, particularly not progressive democracy.

Why should the average citizen care? There are a lot of reasons. Undue influence and control of the food supply by a major, mega-wealthy corporation whose sole purpose is to generate profit is one reason. Monsanto does not care if their products are safe (in fact they know that they aren't hence the Protection Act). They only care about money. Their motive is to control all food from seed to plate. Think about that for a second. This company's stated goal is to control every thing YOU eat. Everything YOU feed your kids. This is the same company that said Agent Orange was safe and that DDT was safe. This is the same company that makes potatoes that are classified as a pesticide rather than a food yet still end up as fast food fries. Around the world other nations are making Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) illegal or at the least are making laws that these must be labelled so people know what is going into their food. In America, Monsanto has spent millions to ensure that that labeling never happens because an informed public would never buy them.

Another reason average citizens should be concerned about Monsanto's GMO "crops" is that these crops require more pesticides and fertilizers to grow. This is important because these pesticides kill the soil creating a hard pan of inert dirt (which creates run-off of soil and chemicals whenever it rains). Soil is alive but cannot survive when drenched with chemical agents designed to kill everything except the crop. Without healthy soil our planet does not survive. Your kids don't survive. It really is that simple. Recall the Dust Bowl of the 20th century. Greed and poor farming practices created a national crisis and an enforced migration of thousands of people. Growing GMOs will kill the grain belt of the U.S. creating another dust bowl, this time laced with chemicals.

Along those same lines is water quality. When a farmer applies chemicals (or a homeowner on their lawn for that matter) some of the chemicals are taken up by the plants (be it grass or crops) and the rest filters down through the soil and into the ground water or runs off. German researchers found that people living in cities had Round Up in their urine. How could that be? Basic hydrology. When the chemicals end up in the ground water they eventually end up in the water supply. When it rains some of the chemicals run off and end up in streams, rivers, and creeks poisoning the watershed and people end up drinking it later. Water is the basis of life on this planet. We all need it. We all need it to be clean. There is no way to have a clean water supply while also allowing GMO crops to be grown in vast swaths of mono-cultured corn, wheat, potatoes, rice, etc.

Pollinators also seem to be reacting very badly to GMO crops. Bees are dying off in an epidemic called Colony Collapse Disorder. These die offs are being attributed to GMO crops and certain pesticides. This is a true national (and global) emergency far more important than if Junior has two daddies or Sally has two mommies. Without bees and other pollinators our food cannot grow. Anything that destroys the things that make life possible should immediately cease to be produced. The societal love affair for the "free market" however could condemn us all.

The moral here is to beware of wedges and the politicians who wield them. Wedges come in such disguises as a two party system (not at all subtle), abortion, patriotism, and gun rights. To change the political discourse and the results, it is important to get to know where we live. Ask yourself the following questions. Where does our food come from? How healthy is the watershed here? What companies and industries are present? How are they treating the land, water, and air? How will those actions affect me, my family, and future generations? When we really know and LOVE our life places we begin to see how important it is to nurture those physical places rather than exploiting them. Then we stop GMOs from growing, cease all fracking, strip mining, and clear cutting. We refuse to participate in the exploitation of our life-place or the people that inhabit it. We foster life and the conditions which favor it. We become intimate with our community.

The following is a quote from Aldo Leopold: "In short, a land ethic changes the role of Homo-sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it. It implies respect for his fellow members and also respect for the community as such."

Most politicians and corporations want exactly the opposite. Their goals are to exploit (wedges, people,"resources") and to silence those who oppose them.