Reader’s Corner
Reveling in and discussing ideas and books, together.
Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril
When the first issue of Orion appeared, in the summer of 1982, the magazine ran with an editorial from (then) editor-in-chief George Russell. As magazine editorials do, Dr. Russell’s attempted to establish things like voice and sensibility, but also the reason why Orion is printed. If there’s a thesis, it’s this:
“It is Orion’s fundamental conviction that man is morally responsible for the world in which he lives, and that the individual comes to sense this responsibility as he develops a personal bond with nature.”
Humans and nature, bound together. Orion has explored the moral dimensions of that relationship since the summer of ‘82, and it’s still the reason our pages go to press today. It was with great pleasure, then, when we learned of a new book, published this fall, titled Moral Ground. Co-edited by Orion board member and friend Kathleen Dean Moore (with Michael P. Nelson), the book contains over eighty essays from scientists, activists, religious leaders, politicians and others—all speaking up for the moral obligation to leave a world that’s fit for life.
We think it’s an important book; we know it’s an important contribution to the way our culture understands its future on a finite planet. To further that understanding—and to engage Orion readers and friends in a conversation about such a future—Orion is proud to launch an online discussion series that leaps from the book’s central question: If we have a moral obligation to honor life on Earth, then what’s next?
For the first discussion, “Is Morality or Greed a Better Motivation for Change?” click here.
Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril
Edited by Kathleen Dean Moore and Michael P. Nelson
Trinity University Press, 2010. 464 pages, $24.95 ($16.47 at Amazon)
www.moralground.com
1 Steve Salmony on December 07, 2010
Dear Friends,
If it pleases you to do so, carefully consider two words, only two, that we have seen and heard since the beginning of Western culture. If ever there was a timeless shibboleth of humanity, it has been eternalized in two words from Socrates, “Know thyself”. Unfortunately, self-knowledge of the kind Socrates spoke is not voguish or fashionable or easily achieved like accumulating money, gaining position and power, and doing politically convenient and economically expedient things. Educated sychophants, absurdly enriched minions and other vendors of words have been adamantly putting forward anything and everything imaginable that promote the supreme and selfish interests of the wealthy and powerful. Every bias and rationalization under the sun has been employed; every rhetorical device and ideological artifact used to minimize or deny the import in these words from Socrates. These two words tell us where we need to look for knowledge, finally, after we have looked everywhere else and regarded everything else in the Universe. I fear modern cultural determinants, the ones pervading human thought and action as well as leading us to ignore watchwords of the likes of Socrates and to leave knowledge of self to the very last, could turn out to be a distinctly human flaw. Let us agree here and now that this flaw is not necessarily fatal and that there is still time to gain knowledge of self, and respond ably to the human-induced global ecological challenges looming before human species.
Greed rules the world and rules it absolutely in our time; but that is not the way things have to be, I believe. The meaningful re-introduction of moral courage as well as intellectual honesty, personal accountability and the exercise of individual will power could change the human world fast and also save the Earth as a fit place for the children to inhabit.
Perhaps such attitudinal and behavioral changes lead us to restore moral authority as the centering guidepost for human action.
Sincerely,
Steve
PS: As for what to do about the dishonest and duplicitous employment of the governing principle of greed by the most foolhardy, arrogant and avaricious among us, I hope others will comment.
2 mike k on December 07, 2010
The answer to this question depends on what kind of change one is seeking to promote. If the change desired is to create an oligarchy of the rich and powerful by any means available, then greed will be an effective motivator to achieve that, and morality will be suppressed or co-opted and perverted as it is situationaly convenient.
If on the other hand one seeks to create a society where service to each other, and a good life for all beings is the goal, then a morality that supports those aims will be very useful.
Anyone who seriously considers our world today can see which of these directions is currently most in charge of our affairs today. Greed and lust for power rule the world, and moral aims are being swept aside on every hand. This is so obvious that anyone who does not see it is simply in the grip of profound delusion. Unfortunately, a large majority of humankind is rapt in the fantasies of wealth accumulation, and conduct their entire lives with this as their primary motivation.
How to transform people’s vision of the real meaning of life is the key problem facing those who would save our world from the ongoing nightmare of self-destruction our present course guarantees. The forces opposed to this awakening are powerful and pervasive. It will take the most creative efforts of those awake to our situation to find ways to awaken the sleeping multitudes. My thanks to Orion and all well intended efforts to help in this necessary struggle.
3 mike k on December 07, 2010
Steve—I had not read your comment before posting my own. I note with approval that you and I are pretty much on the same page, as usual.
4 Steve Salmony on December 07, 2010
Keep going, Mike
5 Byron Borger on December 09, 2010
I needn’t tell the Orion crowd about the dangers of losing a sense of place or yielding to the facelessness of bullying biggees like amazon. Orion gracefully offers a link to indie booksellers most of the time. So why the free advertising for the unnaturally low cost of a, here at this otherwise helpful review? Good grief. If we aren’t attentive here, about a book like this, well…
6 John Hartmann on December 09, 2010
Jeremy Rifkin has written a thick tome titled, “The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis”. I’ve read 200 pages so far. In the book he makes the case that the nature of humankind is more hardwired to empathy than to greed, selfishnes, agressiveness, or materialism. This has great potential for changing so much of the way we rethink our economic and social models. As we gain more communication ability we are in a race for global empathy before we are overtaken by climate change. I think we could make a large dent in the climate change malady if we connect to people exponentially on the social media, like FaceBook, and ask people to make a political message to their leaders. Friends tell friends, who tell friends, and all talk to family and friends and each person gets on their telephone (third world problem there I guess) and delivers their message in support of climate change legislation and world cooperation. Needs: person help, web site knowledge or a web site builder, money to pay for web site, alluring message, action request. Because you can only give brief messages on FaceBook the FB site could be an invitation to visit a web site where a full message1 lead people to have their voice heard and therefore spur political action. For an interesting 10 minute 40 second video featuring some of Jeremy Rifkin’s ideas check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7AWnfFRc7g&feature=player_embedded
7 John Hartmann on December 09, 2010
Kathleen Dean Moore, please make your book available on Kindle. Amazon does this and I would like to read your book. Anyone who has a computer can download Kindle for PCs for free on your computer. Once you have Kindle on your PC you can download many books at quite a reduced rate, and***you can get the book immediately. I would buy it right away if it were offered on Kindle!!
8 caroline fairless on December 30, 2010
I am very excited about this conversation and would like to introduce my own new book (out, but not yet ‘launched”) in what I hope will add to this rich conversation. Title: The Space Between Church & Not-Church ~ a sacramental vision for the healing of our planet.
As backdrop for my own thinking, I want to make it clear that my writing is grounded in the spirituality of what Thomas Berry named the earth community, and not in the religions of churches.
My reflections on the state of our planet in peril began with a simple observation leading to an obvious question. We have all the science we need to provide in exquisite detail, not only the damage we have inflicted upon the ecosystem(s) of the planet, but also the consequences. My question, then . . . with all this information, why are we not changing our behavior?
As my day job for the past twenty five years until recently has been as a clergy person in constant struggle with the institution of the church, my two words (maybe three) in response to the “Know thyself” offered by Steve, are the biblical injunction (God to human allegedly) to establish dominion and rule, subjugating everything, using (exploiting the non-human life forms) all of which is laid out in the first creation story. For my nickel, the separating out of humans from the interconnected network of all life has had and continues to have tragic consequences.
My recent writing calls for humans to reclaim their proper and appropriate place within the biotic world, and it is only from that perspective that we can begin to reconfigure our ethics.
Also, I am a firm believer in the power of the right brain contributions of art, music, poetry, dance, redefining the sacramental world so that it consists of earth, waters, wind and fire. Finally, designing celebratory ritual from within the natural world, as opposed to within churches.
The approach I take to answer my own question about why we have all the information but aren’t doing anything differently, is to note the absence of the right brain contribution.
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