TALES FROM THE BACKCOUNTRY

FAITH IS THE JOURNEY

TALES FROM THE BACKCOUNTRY

One June a group of us found a very pretty campsite next to one of the forks of Cathedral Creek in Yosemite.  A large flat rock next to an open area attracted us.  Rick pointed out some interesting round depressions in the rock.  They were Ahwahneechee grinding pits where the women ground acorns.  On the ground there was a lot of chipped obsidian, the work of the men.  Years ago the Ahwahneechee would sit here and tell stories as they worked.  What a privilege to sit and tell stories in the same place. The oral tradition is still strong in the backcountry.  I am going to share a few backcountry stories and explore whether we can gain faith from journeys into the wilderness.

In the summer of 1977 I was teaching a high school summer school course in Sierra ecology and backpacking. I was leading a group of students on a nine day backpack trip out of Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite.  After dinner the first evening we helped the students hang their food, since this was a common area for bears.  Shortly after nightfall a fairly large bear wandered into camp.  Of course, most bears look large when viewed from the ground in a sleeping bag.

The bear looked well fed and was a bit lazy as it ignored the hung food sacks. It did go right to a pack belonging to a young 14 year old on his first backpack trip.  His mother had made him a ham sandwich, but he only ate half of it.  He put the other half in his pack pocket.  He forgot it was there.

The bear took the pack in his mouth and dragged it off into the trees.  The boy was obviously upset, but without a bit of mercy, I said, “You need to go find your pack!”  Off he went into the dark.  Then we heard a small voice from way off in the trees, “What do I do now?  He’s eating my sandwich and sitting on my pack.”  He waited, the bear finished the sandwich, no damage was done, and he retrieved his pack.

I doubt if that boy, who is now about 47, has ever forgotten that incident.  If he has children he has probably told the story many times about how he faced down that bear. It  may have now grown from a 300 pound black bear into a 600 pound grizzly.  That bear is a permanent part of his memory, which came from a real, vivid, first hand experience. These are the most valuable kinds of experiences. 

I also took Field Biology students on shorter, three day trips, during the regular school year.  My favorite in the fall was a moonlight walk up an unofficial trail to Cathedral Lake in Yosemite.  The climb is about 1000 feet and part of it goes up a ledge with a sheer granite wall above and a view down to Tenaya Lake on the other side.  Doing this in the moonlight is pretty dramatic.   On one trip in 1981 we started walking on a Thursday evening in late September, about 9:00 PM, and got up to the lake about 11:00.  Everybody crawled into his or her sleeping bags under a clear moonlit sky.

Even though there was no forecast for weather about 1:00 in the morning I felt snow hitting my face.  Not good!  My first impulse when this occurs is to turn over and pretend it’s not happening.  It never works!  All over the campsite kids were getting up and putting up tents.  They did a good job and soon most were in their tents, dry and warm.  Two girls however, were not.  They were just standing in the snow, confused and frightened.  I asked, “Why aren’t you putting up your tent?” “We don’t know how!” I became a bit unglued and said, “Didn’t I say to practice putting up the tent before coming?”  “Yes, but we didn’t!”  They were only wearing sweatshirts in the storm so I asked, “Where is your raingear?”  “We left it home!”  “What?”  “It was warm in Livermore.”  I said, “You’re going to die!” This was not the best thing to say. 

A couple of others pitched in and we put up their tents and got them in.  If they had been alone without help, they well may have died.  When you get wet hypothermia can happen incredibly fast.   Typically, these fall storms don’t last long and I expected it to be over by morning.  Wrong!  By mid-morning over a foot of snow had fallen and I was worried.  Normally, in a storm,  you leave your tents up and stay put.  But this was getting deep and we only had 2 miles downhill, so I decided it was prudent to bail. We packed everything up wet and went back down where we thought the trail was, at times sliding down the snow on our rears.  As we walked across the flat in the forest the same two girls kept asking, “Do you know where we are?” “Do you know where we are?”  Finally, we spotted the van and one girl turned around and yelled to the group, “We found it!”  After getting down we found that the road had been closed and was never reopened that fall.

This last August I backpacked with Vaughan, who was on that trip 27 years ago.  He is a bit older now but he still talks about that snowstorm on his first backpack.  He remembers it as quite an adventure.  He handled himself well on that trip and gained a good deal of confidence.  His faith in himself also grew.

This is a different kind of faith from what many of us learned in church.  There. we may have been taught we had to have faith in the teachings of the church. This faith is personal and is gained through experience. It helps you understand yourself.  As these experiences and memories grow they can become very important to you.

Learning humility is also a part of the backcountry experience.  One summer seven of us did a trip down the Tuolumne River to Waterwheel Falls, about eight miles below Tuolumne Meadows. Here the river cascades down 300 feet over steeply sloping granite, hits some rocks, and whirls back up in a giant waterwheel.  In June, when the river is in full flood, it is really awesome.

We got a late start and didn’t get there until close to dark.  We were tired, grumpy, and hungry.  We had a quick meal and went to bed.  All of us but Michael had brought bear canisters.  Michael had to hang his food and in the growing darkness, didn’t do the best job possible.  It wasn’t long before he heard the thump of the two food sacks, which were connected by a rope, hitting the ground.  The bear took off into the huckleberry oaks, dragging the food sacks, with three guys chasing it, throwing rocks.  They noticed one of the sacks lying on the ground with the rope going into the bushes.  They picked it up to pull it out, when suddenly they found themselves being pulled into the bushes.  They were in a tug of war with the bear.  The bear won!

Now Michael went to bed really grumpy and tired.  When he woke up in the morning he realized he had forgotten about a grapefruit in his pack, which was about three feet away.  The bear had taken the grapefruit out, and without waking him, sat down, ate the grapefruit, and left the skin about a foot from his head for him to clean up.  You begin to gain wisdom and humility when you recognize you aren’t the only intelligent critter in the woods. Howard Zahnhiser said, “We deeply need the humility to know ourselves as dependent members of a great community of life, and this can indeed be one of the spiritual benefits of a wilderness experience.”

Humble lessons can also be potentially more serious.  A friend Don, and I once left on a week long trip from near Tioga Pass going south.  On the second day we went over 11000 foot Parker Pass, which is wide, open and gentle.  You then drop slightly and hike along a spectacular bench with peaks approaching 13000 feet on your right. To your left you can see down 4000 feet to Highway 395, north of June and Silver Lakes. The tallest trees, whitebark pines, are about waist high. Ahead of you the trail switchbacks up a talus slope, past the Koip Glacier, to barren Koip Peak Pass at 12300’. . Cumulus clouds were rapidly building up that day and we decided it would be stupid to climb the pass, so we set up our tents.  We were camped, not by choice, in a very exposed area.

By early afternoon a ferocious wind was sweeping down the mountains, accompanied by thunder, lightning, and heavy rain.  We hunkered down hoping our tents would hold up.  This continued all night but let up enough in the morning to make breakfast.  The clouds were building up again so it didn’t take much thinking to decide to retreat.  There were now streams in places that had been dry the day before.   As we went back over Parker Pass the light was amazing, but there was no way we were going to stop and take pictures.  The location was too exposed and we were frightened.  About a mile down we walked into a meadow with forests on both sides and felt relief.  Suddenly, lightning struck in the trees to our left.  It wasn’t fair!  A large hawk came flying out of those same trees and I can imagine what he was saying in hawk talk. 

At times like this you feel very small and insignificant. In our man made world everything is so centered around us that we get a false feeling of security and importance.  Many are very frightened by the nonhuman world we call wilderness.  In Desert Solitaire Edward Abbey describes this feeling eloquently.  He wrote, “Alone in the silence, I understand for a moment the dread which many feel in the presence of primeval desert, the unconscious fear which compels them to tame, alter or destroy what they cannot understand, to reduce the wild and pre human to human dimensions.  Anything rather than confront directly the ante human, the other world, which frightens, not through danger or hostility, but in something far worse, its implacable indifference.” Learning humility means you are learning to respect the wilderness.  This respect leads to understanding.  Understanding contributes to your faith.

On a summer school trip in early August one year we ran into what may have been the all time rookie.  Our group was camped at Garnet Lake, near the Minarets.  It was a cold drizzly day and we were already settled in.  A slim young man in his mid 20’s set up camp nearby and was trying to build a fire. Not easy in the dampness.  He was carrying a knife big enough to skin a bear, and had a chrome plated 22 rifle.  He had never backpacked and his fantasy was to live off the land, like a mountain man, which is pretty tough at 10000 feet.  That rifle wouldn’t do much good against a bear or deer, plus its illegal, and I’ve never known anyone who has eaten a marmot.

The next day we were headed north and I walked for a while with a young lady who was hiking the Muir trail solo.  She let the young man share her tent because all he had was a tropical sleeping bag and no shelter.  The next morning he was headed out of the high country in a hurry.  Only later did I find out that one of my kids sold him a torn tube tent for $5 (Little capitalist).  The next evening 4 inches of snow fell.  Without help he would have been in trouble.  In his naiveté he failed to respect the wilderness.

Why do we go into the wilderness?  Aldo Leopold, in Sand County Almanac, says most people start as trophy hunters.  The desire is to get to a lake, bag a peak, catch a fish, or take a picture.  Some never go beyond this trophy phase and that’s OK.  For many, there is a transition to another level, where proving yourself is not why you backpack.  Being there is more important than getting there.  The wilderness becomes part of you.  Joe Porcino described this beautifully with some excellent advice for all aspects of our lives. “Live each day as you would climb a mountain.  An occasional glance towards the summit puts the goal in mind.  Many beautiful scenes can be observed from each new vantage point.  Climb steadily, slowly, enjoy each passing moment; and the view from the summit will serve as a fitting climax to the journey.”  Faith grows from this journey.

Sometimes there are special moments where the reasons for going into the backcountry become crystal clear.  One moment for me was when we were climbing a talus field  towards Tower Peak and ten bucks pranced down a big sloping snowfield next to us, all in a line.  Or, one evening high up at Tallulah Lake, when a golden eagle flew low over the lake as the full moon came up in the east.  Moments like these are special.

Another time was one night at a remote lake in the Clark Range.  Fermin was telling stories from his childhood.  Fermin is Apache and at that time spent his winters as an artist and his summers as a seasonal ranger in Yosemite.  He was telling traditional coyote stories, but these were not the ones you usually hear.  These were a bit more risqué where Coyote is always trying to seduce Indian women.  Just like the Coyote in the Roadrunner cartoons, which are based upon Indian tradition, coyote always outsmarts himself.  How special to hear these, in that setting, from someone who grew up in that tradition.

I had a recent moment one morning last August in Upper Virginia Canyon, in eastern Yosemite.  We were in a huge glacially carved amphitheater with green meadows, flowers, and towering peaks on three sides.  I was in my sleeping bag looking up at a hanging valley, from which a stream ran sparkling down into the canyon.  The sun was just hitting the top of the peaks.  The night before I had put my stove, water, and coffee next to me so all I had to do was roll over and make a cup of coffee, without getting up.  Then I could lean back on my pack, while still warm in my bag, let the coffee further warm my insides, wait for the sun, and contemplate the morning.

Friendships are also an integral part of one’s wilderness journey.  I have been fortunate  as I have had many friends to backpack with over the years.  I went on a lot of trips with Yosemite Association groups and now the Sierra Geezers, a loosely organized group of about 50 friends.  These friendships are very important to my spiritual well being.

One very close friend is Stephen, a free spirited artist, who has made a living doing etchings since college.  Stephen is the subject of many stories and the best kind of friend.  The first time I hiked with him he hiked 8 miles and climbed 2000 feet wearing just his pack, hiking shoes, and a Speedo.  He used to carry a 12 pound inflatable boat, rather than his current three-pounder, and I still couldn’t keep up with him. He loves snakes and once captured a garter snake in Cherry Creek.  For some reason he loves to put snakes on his head and put his hat on.  There was a hole in his hat and soon a snake head came out of the hole and calmly surveyed the situation.  There was the evening he went down the rapids in Horse Canyon without telling anyone. He soon came walking back, soaking wet, laughing like crazy, carrying his punctured boat like a trophy.  The only time I have seen him truly angry was when a young bear tried to eat his boat.

The first time Karen, who is now a professional guide in the Sierra, went with us we told her all the Stephen stories.  Later that same summer Stephen, Karen, and myself were all on a Yosemite Association trip.  The first night at Booth Lake a bear came prowling around and Karen heard a noise.  She looked out and saw a bald headed, naked man, running across the granite throwing rocks at the bear, yelling something about “Hominids rule!”  She thought, “So that’s the Stephen they were talking about.”

Once in a while, both in life and in the backcountry, you will encounter more serious challenges.  For me, it was when one of my students was bit by a rattlesnake, just as he went in swimming.  We were a number of miles up Cherry Creek Canyon, which is very rugged and has no trails.  I had taken a course in mountaineering medicine and knew how to treat the bite, but we were unable to get a helicopter in until the next day.  By then, he was swollen from his toe to his armpit, which is incredibly painful.  He survived with no permanent damage.  I felt no anger towards the snake.  If I had I would not have been true to my beliefs as the snake too is an integral part of the wilderness.

There is no mysterious wisdom hidden in the wilderness.  Wilderness gives you a deeper understanding of yourself.  These experiences and friendships become so much a part of you that they obviously influence your faith. John Muir said it so well, “Wilderness is a necessity…There must be places for human beings to satisfy their souls.  Food and drink is not all.  There is the spiritual.  In some it is only a germ of course, but the germ will grow.”

I would like to close with a wonderful incident described one night by a Yosemite ranger.  This was in 1988 and I was with a group camped in Matterhorn Canyon in Northern Yosemite. A young woman (mid 20’s) who was working as a bear specialist camped with us that night.  Her job that summer was to travel the backcountry and teach people bear etiquette.  This was particularly important in pre-canister days.  That evening she described a beautiful scene she had witnessed.

She was camped alone in some trees on the edge of a moonlit meadow.  She saw something in the meadow and sat up in her sleeping bag.  It was a young bear wandering alone in the meadow.  The bear stopped, looked upward at the moon for quite a while.  and then raised his front legs as far as he could. While gazing upward at the moon he began to shuffle from side to side and twirl.  He was dancing in the moonlight!  Bears are special people and there is magic in the woods.

Kirkwood Lake - 2003

THE NEOTENOUS APE (Homo sapiens)

I'd like to take a look at some of the insights we have recently gained about ourselves through the study of human evolution. I will also discuss how science, when ethics and morality fails, has been misused to justify some of the worst things that humans can do to other humans. This will take us into social Darwinism, Eugenics, and current politics and religion.

On November 20^th, 1974, in the remote Ethiopian campsite of anthropologist Donald Johanson, there was much singing, dancing, and yes, drinking. Johanson’s team had been searching for hominid fossils and had been very lucky. The family Homonidae includes ourselves and our immediate ancestors. We are the only living hominids, unless someone proves the existence of Bigfoot. Over a three week period the team had collected several hundred pieces of bone, which was 40% of a single female individual, Australopithecus afarensis. She was between 3.2 and 3.8 million years old. Finding this much of a single skeleton was very unusual. Normally, all you find are teeth and bits of skull, which are more resistant to weathering. As they were celebrating a Beatles tape was playing “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” Perhaps helped along by an alcohol infused mood (I say this because none of the participants remember exactly how it happened) the new fossil gained a nickname that was much easier to pronounce: Lucy.

A question plaguing anthropologists for a long time was, which came first in human evolution, a big brain or erect bipedal walking. Most assumed that a larger brain came first. Lucy’s legs and pelvis showed she walked erect, stood, three and a half feet tall, and weighed sixty pounds. But, she had a brain about the size of a chimp. So, erect walking came first. In addition, in Tanzania, Mary Leakey found a set of 70 perfect footprints that had been made by the same species, walking along in soft lava as it cooled. What a feeling it must have been to gaze at those beautiful prints, showing an ancient ancestor clearly walking erect along the plain, over three million years ago.

Charles Darwin did not have the luxury of hominid fossils to fuel his speculations. He did assume, based on physical similarities, that the great apes (Orangutans, gorillas, and chimpanzees), were our closest relatives. They all lived in Africa. So, he said, we would probably find evidence of our ancestors in Africa. How right he was.

You don’t need fossils to see the similarities between humans and apes. Look for a moment at your fingers. Notice that you have hair going down to the first knuckle and then it stops. Were our ancestors knuckle walkers? You can also look at your teeth. We have the rounded teeth of an omnivore; similar to bears, pigs, and raccoons. Some of us though have sharply pointed canines; others don’t. In the other great apes, the canines are quite prominent and pointed. Males use them in threats against other males, like antlers in elk. We have mostly lost the large canines but the vestigial trait still persists. We might still grimace and make threats, but we lack the weapons.

Look at the picture of a baby chimpanzee . Isn’t he cute! His cuteness comes from his large bulbous cranium with his head sitting erectly on top of his spine. Note that his face is pushed in and flat. As he matures his jaws will grow, but not his cranium, giving his face a sloping ape look. His head will rotate forward on his spine so he looks forward while knuckle walking. He will lose his cuteness.

Now, look carefully at the people you know. Note all the flat faces and bulbous craniums, sitting erect on top of spines. We look like baby apes, not adults. The resemblance is striking. The term neoteny is used in science where the adult of one species has traits of an embryonic or young ancestor.

There are also some striking resemblances between humans and embryonic apes. Your big toe lies straight alongside the other toes. Both humans and apes have the same type of big toe while they are embryos. As the ape develops its big toe rotates to the side becoming opposable. This is very helpful when climbing. Our toe stays straight in the embryonic position. This helps us walk erect. Again, this is neoteny. In both embryonic human and ape females the vaginal canal points ventrally (forward). It remains in that orientation in humans but rotates to the rear in apes as they develop. Male apes consequently find it more comfortable to mount from the rear when mating. Humans find it more comfortable to mate face to face.

Chimps and humans are very close and diverged from a common ancestor about 6 million years ago, gradually evolving on separate tracks into what we see today. Present day chimps are not our ancestors. Gorillas and orangutans branched off earlier, so chimps are actually more closely related to humans than they are to gorillas. Chimp and human DNA is about 98.6% the same. Chimps are our closest living relatives, almost kissing cousins. I don’t really think I like the idea of kissing a chimp.

A major difference between chimps and humans is that human skulls continue to grow for some time after birth. Chimp brains don’t. We thus develop a much larger brain and greater intellectual capacity. This does not mean we are more evolved, it just means we are different. In the mid 1800’s assumptions were made that cranial capacity could be used to compare the intelligence of the different human races.

Samuel Morton (1799-1851), an American was a prominent researcher promoting this idea. He assumed that whites had a greater intellectual capacity than other races and set out to prove it. He took skulls of various races from his collection of 600 and poured lead shot in through the foramen magnum. He then poured the shot into a vessel where he could measure the volume and thus the cranial capacity. This is a valid method. He found exactly what he was looking for, and concluded that whites had larger brains and therefore were smarter than other races.

The late Stephen Gould of Harvard, one of the foremost evolutionary theorists of recent times, tried to duplicate Morton’s results and couldn’t. Neither could anybody else. Gould didn’t feel that Morton was cheating. He said if he had been cheating it wouldn’t be interesting. He thinks Morton may have subconsciously fudged, getting the results he wanted. His error may have come because he didn’t take enough care to make sure he picked representative skulls. This is not an unusual mistake in science. There is no statistical difference in the cranial capacity of the different races.

Here are a few of Morton’s conclusions. “The Caucasian Race is characterized by a naturally fair skin, hair fine, long and curling, and of various colors. This race is distinguished for the facility with which it attains the highest intellectual endowments.” “The Mongolians…so versatile are their feelings and actions, that they have been compared to the monkey race, whose attention is perpetually changing from one object to another…”

“The American Race (Native Americans) are crafty, sensual, ungrateful, obstinate and unfeeling. They devour the most disgusting foods uncooked and uncleaned, and seem to have no idea beyond providing for the present moment. Their mental faculties, from infancy to old age, present a continued childhood.” “The Negro is joyous, flexible, and indolent’ while the many nations which compose this race present a singular diversity of intellectual character of which the far extreme is the lowest grade of humanity”. Was Morton racist? Yes! Did he subconsciously misuse science to justify his racism? Apparently!

The proponents of these racial biases embraced Darwin’s ideas on evolution. Borrowing from natural selection its proponents argued that it was normal and natural that the strongest or fittest people should survive at the expense of the weak and unfit. This came to be known as “social Darwinism.”. The term, “survival of the fittest,” was coined, not by Darwin, but by Herbert Spencer, who is associated with social Darwinism. The social Darwinists envisioned a ladder of evolution with blacks at the bottom, Orientals in the middle, and white European males at the top.

Social Darwinism justified colonialism because of the assumption that people of color were weaker and more unfit to survive so it was okay to seize their land and resources. Since whites were superior it was only fitting that they should commit genocide against the Native Americans. Slavery was simply a normal and natural process. Even after the American Civil War these philosophies were the backbone of the vicious “Jim Crow” laws that lasted for 100 years in this country. Social Darwinism also provided a justification for exploiting workers and refusing to acknowledge labor unions. Government should not interfere with private business. The poor were poor because they were less fit. Ironically, the majority of the people promoting this claimed to be Christians. You wonder if they had any idea what Jesus Christ taught about helping the poor.

Social Darwinism was a perversion of evolutionary theory and Charles Darwin repudiated these ideas. He was a long time abolitionist and believed that our urge toward helping the weak was part of our evolved instinct of sympathy. He said we “could not check our sympathy, even at the urging of hard reason, without deterioration in the noblest part of our nature.” Darwin never clearly stated his religious views but it is worth mentioning that his wife, Emma, was a long time Unitarian. She must have been a pretty spirited lady because, when attending the Anglican village church, she had the family turn their backs to the podium, and stand in silence, when the Trinitarian Nicene Creed was recited.

Modern science gives us a very different view of the races. Genus Homo, the toolmakers, evolved from Astralopithecus. Four species of Homo are generally recognized: habilis, erectus, neanderthalensis, and sapiens. The Neanderthals were not ancestral to humans, but lived at the same time and died out about 40,000 to 50,000 years ago. They were very close to sapiens and a very recent DNA study shows there may have been a bit of “hanky panky” between the species. Both fossil and mitochondrial DNA evidence shows Homo sapiens emerging from Africa just 100,000 years ago, and then spreading across much of the world. In evolutionary terms 100,000 years is not a long time and the differences between the races, including intelligence, is insignificant. You can not justify racism by turning to science.

Between 1910 and the 1930’s in America social Darwinism led to the pseudoscience of eugenics. By the mid 1920’s twenty five states had passed laws allowing sterilization of mentally deficient, criminally insane, and “genetically inferior people.” Marriage between selected races was illegal and California led the way. The idea of a white, blond-haired, blue-eyed master Nordic race did not originate with Hitler. Financing came from the Carnegie Institute, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Harriman railroad fortune, among others. Eugenic practitioners ultimately subjected 60,000 people to undergo coercive sterilization and barred the marriage of thousands. The stated goal of the practitioners was to defend the nation against national degeneration. Social Darwinism is not science and has no valid relationship to biological Darwinism.

The increasingly powerful Nazi party in Germany copied America but went even further. Nazi eugenics dictated who would live and who would die to create a master race. By 1934 sterilizations of German citizens determined to be mentally or physically disabled went beyond 5,000 per month. Eventually 70,000 Germans were executed. People were being killed simply because they were mentally deficient. This was before the Holocaust. What is the tipping point causing a country to go in such a brutal and tragic direction? Ethics and morality failed. The Nazis used an immoral interpretation of science as an excuse. Ironically, we know from genetics, that inbreeding in a small population (i.e. the Aryan Nation) creates greater risks because of the exposure to recessive genes, which are more frequently harmful.

Although few today promote eugenics, social Darwinism has not gone away. I am going to cite three examples and I’m sure you could come up with many more.

During the last presidential election Pat Buchanan, a one time presidential candidate, should have heeded the words of Mark Twain who said “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” Buchanan made the statement that “America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known. We hear the grievances. Where is the gratitude?” Does he want us to forget the chains, the slavery, the ten decades of Jim Crow? Here again the basic tenant of social Darwinism is evident; the idea that one group is innately superior to another.

Many of the loudest political voices of today are strongly influenced by the thinking of Ayn Rand. She first achieved fame for her writings with the publication of “The Fountainhead” in 1943. Later she said, “My views on charity are very simple. I do not consider it a major virtue and, above all, I do not consider it a moral duty.” She felt that the government had no obligation to the poor and less fortunate in society. After all, nature intended that the strongest should survive. Does this theme sound familiar? If you don’t have to concern yourself with the less fortunate life is so easy. Her views were completely contrary to the views of Unitarian Universalists.

“Social justice” is a central concept in the philosophy of this fellowship and most Christian churches. Its basic tenant is that we should not just give to the poor, but should also work to correct unjust conditions. I don’t think many of us would question this. But Glenn Beck, another influential voice to many on the right, said about social justice on his TV show, “If you find it run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words (for Nazism and Communism). Am I advising people to leave their church? Yes!” I think Glenn Beck is a fool but it is not uncommon in history for fools to gather great followings.

I don’t want to live in a country that lacks compassion for the unfortunate. I don’t want to live in a country that denies people social justice and I don’t want to live in a country that treats some as lesser people because they are seen as different or poor. I believe strongly in the principles of this fellowship and I agree with Hubert Humphrey who said, “Compassion is not weakness, and concern for the unfortunate is not socialism.”

In concluding I would like to briefly go back to science. Last year the discovery of a new hominid, Ardi, short for Ardipithecus ramidus, was announced. She lived 4.4 million years ago, long before Lucy, and was very complete. She looks like she may have been a quadriped in the trees and a biped on the ground. Even though much older than Lucy her canines were already reduced in size, a modern feature. Because of this, researchers speculate that fighting among males for mates may have declined. Instead, a male would probably have supplied one female with gathered foods, gaining sexual loyalty, and possibly a partner in return. Although the competitive side of evolution is usually emphasized, social and cooperative behavior is as old and important as competition in human culture and history.

An anthropologist friend of mine pointed out that young children are often frightened by people who appear different, especially when confronted by people of another race. This is understandable with children. But as adults, even if we are neotenous apes, why can’t we outgrow these childish fears.

NOSTALGIA

THE ANIMAL COMMITTEE

by Rolland Carlson

A long time ago a group of animals that lived around a large pond gathered together to talk about a perceived problem.   They felt uneasy because they thought the Great Spirit was unhappy with them.  Each one of them knew they had certain strengths but they had to admit that they also had weaknesses.  How could they make the Great Spirit happy?

The rat, as was his nature, spoke first and suggested they design a new and perfect animal to please the Great Spirit.  Since all the animals believed that rat was clever and smart they agreed to go along with him.  Rat said, “I think we should start with a body like mine, but bigger.  I have a generalized body that is suited for all kinds of places.”  The animals nodded their heads in agreement as this seemed wise.

The duck started quacking loudly and wanted to make a suggestion.  The animals all cringed because the duck always talked too much so they considered him to be a bit of a fool.  When the beaver spoke up they all turned their backs on the duck and listened to the beaver.  The beaver didn’t talk a lot and when he did he talked slowly.  So, they reasoned, he must be wise.

The beaver suggested that the new animal should have a tail like his.  After all, living by this great pond he would spend a lot of time in the water and the tail could be used to help him steer.  The other animals clapped their paws and wings in agreement as this seemed like a really good idea.

The duck started quacking again and there was a collective sigh from the animals.  They were relieved when the otter broke in saying, “I think the new animal should have webbed feet like mine.  It is such an advantage when moving in the water.”  This idea met with instant approval.

The duck began to quack again but shut up when mother hen spoke.  Nobody ever interrupted wise old mother hen.  She commented  that “the animal looked like it was some kind of mammal.  She added that mammal birthing is such a mess with all that blood and stuff.  I think our animal should lay eggs.  It is so much cleaner and easier and all you have to do is keep them warm for a while and out bounce healthy babies.”  This seemed quite unorthodox to the other animals but they did want something creative and besides, Mother hen made the suggestion.

After this the duck really started jumping up and down and making a lot of noise until the cow stepped on his foot.  This hurt so he was quiet.  The cow wanted the animal to produce milk like she did.  That way the babies would have food as soon as they hatched out and it was so much better than grubbing around looking for bugs.  There was instant approval for this idea.

But, as soon as they made the new animal a milk producer the duck really went through a hissy fit.  He stomped his feet on the ground and quacked and quacked until his face turned red.  He began crying because no one would ever listen to him.  Because of this outburst the animals forgot to put nipples on the new animal so the babies would be stuck forever after licking milk off of their mommy’s fur.

The duck screamed that the new animal would have to eat and, because it lived much of the time in water, it should have a beak like his that would allow him to easily eat.  The group was stunned;  This was a good idea.  So, they did as the duck suggested.

The animals assembled to show their new creation to the Great Spirit.  The Spirit looked long and thoughtfully at the new creation.  After a considerable amount of time he slowly declared,  “This looks like something put together by a committee.”

Now, a fable is a fable is a fable.  But the duck billed platypus is real.  Even nature can produce something that looks like it was put together by a committee.

Snowy Lane

Fences

Bennettville