“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.”
— Thomas Paine
I’ve been trying desperately the last few days to shake a miserable “runny-nose-stuffy-head-fever-achy-all-over” illness. Despite dozens of “winterizing” chores to do around the house, I spent much of Friday on the couch watching in awe as Senator Bernie Sanders made his marathon statement on the American condition, and all day Saturday in sweats, wrapped in a blanket in front of the TV with a box of tissues and a massive supply of hot tea.
One excellent show I caught on Saturday was an NJN Classics episode from 1976, Crossroads to Victory on New Jersey and its impact on the American Revolution. (By the way, if you haven’t yet, go to http://www.keepthenjinnjn.com/ immediately and sign the petition!) The show quoted Thomas Paine from his essay Common Sense (above), and detailed the struggles of Washington’s army as they wintered at Jockey Hollow in our own Highlands – described as a rugged area, difficult to traverse by Washington’s untrained soldiers of freedom. It was a stark reminder of the dedication and sacrifice that took place right here in our home state – on ground that many of us tread daily – which brought about the freedoms that all Americans enjoy today.
It started me thinking about the similarities between Washington’s army of yesterday, and our “activist army” of today. Many of us are “holed up in the Highlands” and caught in a battle with unfriendly forces in Trenton. We’re not fighting the British, or their hired-gun Hessians. We’re fighting big business and industry… and their hired-gun lobbyists (and legislators, often from both sides of the aisle!). These too are times that try men’s souls.
We cannot afford the loss of “summer patriots” and “sunshine environmentalists” in this crisis. We cannot shrink from service or the challenges that lie before us. Greed and irrational thinking, like tyranny, is not easily conquered. Our “armies of the night” (as Jeff Tittel calls them) – the multitudes of concerned citizens who attend drawn-out local, regional or state governmental hearings & meetings to oppose or champion projects and causes, are going to be needed now as much as ever in the past.
I received a comment recently about the “tone” of the quotes at the top of Highlands News emails – that the “war on the Highlands” reference and the Ansel Adams quote (“It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment.”) were perhaps inappropriate. Something expected of a “school aged brat.” I don’t necessarily agree with that opinion, but maybe I deserved that comment? And maybe the “tone” comes from mimicking the attitude and actions of our current Governor?
Let me tell you this. I strongly believe that it IS horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment. If you read these stories daily, you will see what this administration – with ample assistance from our legislature – is doing to weaken the protections so many have fought so hard to put in place for years.
This is not a time for complacency, friends. Paine came to this conclusion in his first essay as well:
“There are cases which cannot be overdone by language, and this is one. There are persons, too, who see not the full extent of the evil which threatens them; they solace themselves with hopes that the enemy, if he succeed, will be merciful. It is the madness of folly, to expect mercy from those who have refused to do justice; and even mercy, where conquest is the object, is only a trick of war; the cunning of the fox is as murderous as the violence of the wolf, and we ought to guard equally against both.”
This is a battle, a war, a struggle for the things that all of us hold dear, and many have spent a majority of their lives working in a dedicated and devoted manor to protect or achieve. Personally, it seems to me that there is no “working together” with this governor…he is a bully and it’s his way or the highway, and this is a battle for the health and well-being of future generations of this state.
So what are we going to do about it? Perhaps it’s time for more of us to begin to make a few sacrifices for the cause. Time to band all these local, rag-tag armies of the night together and make our own declaration? I’ll quote Jeff again: “The key to having a good environment is really public involvement.”
Are you tired of what’s happening to our state, or country, our health and well-being? Tired of seeing history not being respected? Or of seeing history repeating itself?
Friends, the revolution starts with you. What are you willing to do about it?
Here’s a place where you can start. Our good friend Abbie Fair, from ANJEC, asked me last week if I could circulate this fact about environmental regulation, from a Boston Globe OpEd piece on the EPA by John P. DeVillars. Facts seem to point out that strong environmental protections can and will help make a strong, healthy economy. The quote:
For every $1 of public investment in achieving these advances, there have been $30 of public benefits in reduced hospital admissions, fewer premature deaths and lost work days, and the creation of a world-renowned environmental technology industry that last year alone contributed more than $250 billion to the US economy.
Here is where you can start – read articles like those linked in this post, understand them and the consequences of what is happening around us, and then help spread the word to others. The key to good public involvement is education to the facts and their impact on the individual.