Lake Chatuge Morning

I have just finished reading Monica Weis’ book, The Environmental Vision of Thomas Merton. The book is thoroughly researched and gives great insight into Merton’s growth into ecological consciousness. Careful study of Merton’s journals charts his progress.

Weis makes a distinction which is critical for us today. Merton thought about millennial consciousness and ecological consciousness. To me, millennial conscious is the old “eat, drink, and make merry for tomorrow we die” approach. A contemporary iteration of this trend of thought is encapsulated in “Drill, baby, drill” or “Drill now!” It is all about reaping (raping)the earth’s resources without regard to the consequences such as the dire consequences of environmental destruction in the tar sands oil venture. People who espouse, “Get it and get it now” would be more comfortable with Ronald Reagan than with Al Gore. People who are uninformed often attribute the downfall of Soviet Communism with Reagan’s stand down. Those who know the facts realize that the Soviet empire collapsed under the weight of its rapacious pillaging of natural resources. When these were depleted in Germany and other Eastern Block countries, the empire collapsed. Continue reading →