Today I went to a rally outside the legislative office building about hog farm waste. It was an interesting mix of seasoned grassroots organizers and over-the-top cheerleading. At the end, they said a prayer. Cause that's how they roll in rural North Carolina. Gotta give them credit, they were certainly creative and fairly effective. No matter their rallying technique, the fact is that hog farms produce a ridiculous amount of waste that pollutes the lakes and streams, as well as the air that farm neighbors breathe, and thus far the politician have been mostly willing to let the huge factory farms do as they please. There's a bill up for discussion that would change that, so perhaps the state will see some change soon.
Other summer activities have included the farmers market, where I bought blackberries so delicious, it's hard to believe they're the same fruit you can buy at the store for twice the price and half the flavor. Real blackberries have almost a hint of spearmint to them, and they don't just taste like dark raspberries. I've also been hiking in the Umstead state park and Eno River state park. I had forgotten how much I missed real hiking. As my friend put it, that is my religion. Who needs a stuffy synagogue and boring rabbi when the sights, sounds, and smells of the outdoors are so much more moving. My new bedroom window faces a little wooded area between the building and the fence that separates the apartment complex from the road. Each morning, I awaken to a bird symphony, complete with a bird call that sounds kind of like a duck but surely isn't. My kitchen window also overlooks the area, so I can gaze at the trees while I do dishes.
I have also been taking advantage of the free or cheap learning experiences my school offers. I'm learning how to use the Geographic Information Systems program to create maps, and I took a class about environmental sustainability and Capitol Hill. That class was most inspiring because after marveling at how little must actually get done in government, I heard from some people who actually got stuff done. It gave me a ray of hope through the cloud mass that is the 2008 presidential candidate roster.
Speaking of politics, I've heard some interesting discussion happening here and there about where our country is and how it got to this point. After many years of Iraq, of corporate ownership of our government, of food unsafety and health problems caused by pollution, we're still looking to others to place the blame. How could Bush lie to us? How could the pharmaceutical companies deceive us? How could bacteria-ridden spinach sneak onto our grocery shelves? By now, we need to stop asking how others could do this to us, and start asking how we could let them get away with it for so long. We voted for these politicians, and we didn't protest hard enough against their policies we don't agree with. We rely on giant corporations to give us the food, clothing, medicine, and a surprising array of other things at cheap prices, without asking how they're doing it or what the environmental and social prices are. We don't hold others accountable for their actions. So now here we are; some people are starting to ask the right questions, and some things are starting to change. I believe I criticized John Ashcroft at some point years ago (if not here, then certainly in conversation) for being an overall scary conservative who lost to a dead guy in the 2000 US senate race in Missouri. The big joke now is that he's starting to look like one of the good guys in this administration.
