"We have been carrying on two parallel conversations, one about respecting human diversity, the other about preserving natural diversity. Unless we merge those conversations, both will be futile. Our efforts to honor human differences cannot succeed apart from our effort to honor the buzzing, blooming, bewildering variety of life of earth. All life rises from the same source, and so does all fellow feeling, whether the fellow moves on two legs or four, on scaly bellies or feathered wings. If we care only for human needs, we betray the land; if we care only for the earth and its wild offspring, we betray our own kind. The profusion of creatures and cultures is the most remarkable fact about our planet, and the study and stewardship of that profusion seems to me our fundamental task."
Scott Russell Sanders
About the author:
Scott Russell Sanders was born in Memphis, Tennessee. His father came from a family of cotton farmers in Mississippi, his mother from an immigrant doctor’s family in Chicago. He spent his early childhood in Tennessee and his school years in Ohio.
In the past decade he has published A Conservationist Manifesto, his vision of a shift from a culture of consumption to a culture of caretaking; Earth Works, a selection of his best essays from the past thirty years; the novel Divine Animal; Dancing in Dreamtime, a collection of eco-science fiction stories; and Stone Country: Then & Now, a new and enlarged edition of his documentary narrative co-authored with photographer Jeffrey Wolin. His children's books include Aurora Means Dawn, Warm as Wool, Meeting Trees, and The Floating House.
He is currently at work on a collection of short stories, a book about the meaning of wealth, and a collection of essays about the role of imagination in an age of climate disruption. His writing examines the human place in nature, the pursuit of social justice, the relation between culture and geography, and the search for a spiritual path.
Published as his biography, June 2023
Hello,
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Scott Russell Sanders sounds like a great human being. Love the photos. Take care, have a great week ahead.
Enjoy your love of nature, Eileen!
Delete...why do some fear diversity?
ReplyDeleteThey were taught to have hate toward certainly people. They sure weren't born that way!
DeleteThat would be an interesting read: "the meaning of wealth".
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DeleteAh, the work of his present writing! Yes, especially with an ecologists viewpoint.
DeleteHi Barbara, Sanders makes a great point. Human diversity is important but we still struggle with it here in the USA and will for some time to come. Human diversity as regards religion is another challenge as many look at religion as "it's my way or you're wrong", and then lets fight about it or eliminate the other viewpoint. The same can be said about political views. Some countries such as China, India, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Hungary and others do not encourage immigration of those with different ethnic backgrounds...and those countries represent well over half the population of the world. As for diversity in nature, half the world is in such extreme poverty that they just don't care about anything other than survival. If that means destruction of habitat or the killing of an endangered species, than so be it... Here in the USA...and I'm sure in other industrialized countries, too many people don't care about nature and the preservation of species. They are on their phones checking out their apps and nature is irrelevant to a broad swath of the population. I know that I'm a bit of a 'Debby Downer' and I support diversity even though it can make my uncomfortable with the unfamiliar and we are definitely for the protection of nature and its amazing creatures and plants. We've belonged and contributed to "The Nature Conservancy" for over 3 decades now and they have done more for the preservation of lands and a multitude of species than any government. Despite all of the negatives, those of us who are supportive of human diversity, religious tolerance and saving the planets natural diversity, have to keep up the good fight, working toward a better world. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
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