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Frances Hagberg (Graham)
Writing from Minnesota at this time: I’ve read with interest, sadness, appreciation and frustration the comments about science and the environment. There’s a weariness on reading too. Thank you to those who have taken the time and effort in writing and presenting your views. Here are a couple random additions to the discussion.
In New Mexico in 2020-21 winter I found beautiful dying large song birds on my property. I held some in my hands, frustrated there seemed no way to rescue or save them. Horrible.That year Arizona was burning. Then Colorado. Smoke dimmed the sun on some days.The birds were dehydrated and when it got cold they fell from branches and died by the thousands in New Mexico that year.
I haven’t seen those beauties since. My birdseed lasts way longer than it used to in New Mexico and the finches have disappeared from both Minnesota and New Mexico at my feeders. Now the cardinals haven’t been back since the bird flu hit Minnesota. (That was before the fires in New Mexico).
Something awful beyond words is happening no matter who says what.
I’ve wept more than once over seeing fewer bees, bumblebees, insects of all kinds and I miss the song birds and the families of finches. I have a hard time watching PBS nature shows.
The fireflies seem few and far between in Minnesota. The weather is uglier and meaner. With the bird flu here there’s been death of all sorts in raptors and domestic flocks. Millions of deaths. I am not blaming it on any one phenomenon but something about the weather has become fearsome and loathsome in the midst of all that I personally witness in Minnesota and New Mexico. Minnesota is way hotter than it used to be – look at the statistics.
My physical world has changed so much. In New Mexico we have not had the monsoons anymore for a few years (such a funny term for short afternoon rains in August and September in the mountains).
Louise Erdrich wrote of old Natives sitting silently after their forests had been felled. Knowing there was nothing they could do.
How does seeing the difference between the nature of our childhood and what we now have make us feel? Powerless? That our own deaths are closer at hand? What can we do? Can we at least admit to our powerlessness to each other? (Not a very Oberlin-idea grant you). Is there something we can do? Something meaningful and engaging to silent members of the class too?
We are now rather on the old side of life, fellow Class of ’68 writers. I appreciate maintaining vigor in thought and discussion. I do. Yet, we are largely more outside the wheels of power than ever. We have turned over what we’ve created largely to others. That doesn’t mean we can’t speak and matter.
At the same time I feel like many of us are as much strangers to one another as we were when we were young. Yes I hear individual “voices” in what people write and I recognize their positions. (Bernie’s comes to mind).
Is it possible we might make a bigger difference in each other’s lives and hence in others if we somehow overcame showing up merely as intellectual points of view? (I wonder how Thich Nhat Hanh would have reacted to the discussion in this forum – he who aggravated the North and South Vietnamese regimes enough to have to repair to France).
When I read the words of the men writing, I see few if any words that come from the heart. The anguish of what we see happening is horrible.
I do not understand Dick Hobby’s position in part because it seems to simply say “Do nothing unless there is 100 percent unanimity” – which is unachievable. His favored scientist has a bent toward disagreeing with the larger more established group of scientists. And he seems satisfied to stop there. Would you have us do nothing about anything, I wonder.
I have sorted out over time as much as possible for me not getting caught up in the kick that righteous anger can provide. I favor helpful strategies for finding emotional resilience in the personal and bigger strategies that tend to be useful in the world of political, enviromental and social action.
As to signing petitions:
I am one of those people who is willing to take action based on what “may” make a difference AND at the same time I am one of those people who recognizes that it is foolish to take a position just because feels better than doing nothing. Taking action for a purpose has to have support in the universe of facts to justify the opportunity value of not doing something else. In addition, and equally important, is the question of whether I am in a solid position to justify second guessing someone else who has authority in the first place. There can be so much looking over the shoulder of someone in a position of authority that it becomes sport. Even if my own position may be better, not everything should be changed by external consensus. It's a balancing act.
None of us has endless amounts of energy. Age 75 seems for me a time of what comes next for the remainder of my life. (After all I have several horses, and I see that riding may not be the best activity for me anymore. I thought I’d be able to ride into much older age from others I’ve known who have done so, but I am questioning myself, and it is hard).
In other words I’m not sure the choices I have made so far should remain unexamined for the future. I’m not sure it’s wise for me to think I know enough to tell Oberlin how they should invest. I want to do things that matter. Contribute where it can make a difference. I am puzzled, perplexed and sad about what I see. How do we deal with the mundane day-to-day including that the deli counter uses so much plastic (I agree with Rich about how we’ve been misled)? My world is so beautiful and yet so fragile. I need all the advice I can get that helps me live well into the uncertain future. Do we listen well enough? Do we hear ourselves?
Sincerely, Frankie Graham
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