|
If you need further proof that we are the earth, look to the patterns of tree branches and the branches of alveoli in our lungs. Look at the cells and the elements that hold us together; we are no different than any plant, animal, mineral, or even a drop of water on this beautiful blue planet! If we are the earth, then aren’t we obligated to fight for our collective survival? If the bees die, don’t we die too? If the rivers dry up, what happens to us? I recently read the book How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue which tells the story of a fictional African village called Kosawa. Over decades Kosawa fights against Pexton, an American oil company whose wells are responsible for poisoning the village's air and water. The people of Kosawa fight in many ways. They try to negotiate with Pexton and their country’s government. They appeal to the American media and seek help from nonprofits. They send their children to school and secure the help of American lawyers who take Pexton to court. They even burn down Pexton property and take Pexton workers’ lives in retaliation for the lives of their own children. The people of Kosawa fight for their families and their children’s futures, and they also fight for their ancestry, land, and way of life. They fight for the health of their crops and the fish in the Big River nearby. They fight because they are the blood of the leopard and their ancestors made this valley their birthright long ago. There are so many lessons to be learned from Imbolo Mbue’s beautiful story, and one of them is that we must fight—not because we must win or because we must be strong, but because we cannot not fight. When we are the blood of the earth and our bones are the soil, we cannot turn our backs on the fight for our shared home. This is what it means to me to belong to the earth. What I learned from the people of Kosawa is that no matter how big our challenge, we can always fight. No matter how large our losses, we will never stop being of this earth. As earthlings, it’s our birthright to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and to be stewards of this planet we call home. When we garden, when we eat, when we play, or simply lay out in the sunshine—we are tending the earth. When we speak out against extractive industries or exploitative governments, we are fighting for the earth. To fight for earth is to fight for ourselves.
|
