[at-l] What's Your *ism? (was AT on FOXnews)

[bullard@northnet.org (James Bullard)]

At 01:26 PM 8/31/01 -0400, Gary Ticknor wrote:
>Hear, hear!!
>
>- Gary from Fairfax, descendant of Western European Christian Capitalists,
>who never noticed that the Godless Russian Communists, for example, had
>much regard for the environment. I  could give other examples...

My original comparison was with indigenous cultures who were dependent upon 
the land and was not intended to demonstrate that any brand of greed was 
superior to another.  That the history of this land involved a contest 
between capitalism and native society rather than another whateverism and 
native society is simply a matter of history.  And before someone gets lost 
in the bad aspects of native culture (which I'm sure can be enumerated by 
anyone in a combative mood) I will reiterate my original contention, namely:
"It's a shame that the notion of stewardship took a back seat in the whole 
process of arriving where we are today. If it had been a cornerstone of our 
attitude toward the land we probably wouldn't need the intervention of 
government to preserve wild areas."
Surely you are not contending that an attitude of stewardship toward nature 
is a bad thing.  All I was doing is outlining the path that got us where we 
are and expressing the wish that it needn't be that way.

sAunTerer