I received a note from a friend this morning bemoaning that this country’s health care system is actually a sickness system. Words are important, and we who care deeply about the planet have repeatedly watched words get co-opted and twisted by profiteers and politicians. For instance, “sustainable” now means more of same: rampant growth at any cost. Even “green” is pretty washed out. One of my favorite loaded words, however, is “nature.” Most folks use this term to mean nonhuman processes and places that don’t involve people’s influence. I believe this is not only misleading, but truly dangerous. Referring to nature this way reinforces the rather romantic view that people are a separate and higher order of life. Nature is “out there,” while we’re safely in here (wherever that is). Implicit is the conviction that people are here to bring order to chaos, gain dominion, and rise above all other biology. Whether acknowledged or not, the entire civilized project over the last ten thousand years has been one of conquering the environment. It’s war.

Here’s the problem: we cannot dominate that on which we’re completely dependent. Humans aren’t the earth’s rulers, but just one of her products. The same forces that created algae, lizards, bears, and mushrooms created us. We moderns are very much part of the whole scheme, but the sooner more of us lay down our arms in this ongoing battle against that perceived outside, the better we’ll be able to reinvent a truly harmonious life here.

I see this as a great opening. Next time you’re standing in line at the grocery store and the guy behind you mentions the n-word, you can turn around and say, “I don’t believe in nature, and here’s why!”

***Thanks Northern Sun for letting us use the picture!***