

We Are Not Debating Society
Dave Foreman

I  would like to go over some of the things that I think define
us. These are in no particular order, except the first one, and
the last one, which are probably two very important ones.
The  first  one  is simply "Earth First!" That we  believe,  in
every   decision  and  every  act  and  every   thought,   that
consideration  for the Earth must come first. As  Aldo  Leopold
said, "A thing is right when it tends to promote the integrity,
stability, and beauty of biotic systems. A thing is wrong  when
it  tends otherwise." You can take all your systems of  ethics,
all  your golden rules, all your rights and wrongs, and  that´s
the one that counts. That´s the one that means something. Earth
First! Not "people First," not "General Motors First," not "The
United  States  Government First," not "Power To  The  People,"
first, but Earht First!
Another  parameter is that we aren´t interested in  credibility
or legitimacy with the gang of thugs running this planet.
We  don´t  care  if Senator James McClure or Secretary  of  the
Interior  Donald  Hoden don´t want to let us in  their  office.
Because  they don´t have credibility with us. They are  just  a
bunch  of back street alley thugs that have power, and who  are
running things, and who have no moral or ethical right to  have
any  control  over  us.  So  why should  we  care  if  we  have
legitimacy?  If  we  have credibility? If some  congressman  or
forest  supervisor will condescend to speak to us?  They  don´t
have  credibility with us. So let´s not get sucked into it.  We
are  right. If they want to be right, then they can come to us,
and try to get credibility and legitimacy with us.
Another one is that we are offering a fundamental challenge and
critique of industrialism, "progress," and technology.  Are  we
Luddites?  You´re damn right we´re Luddites!  Do  we  love  the
sight  of  a  burning bulldozer? We LOVE the sight  of  burning
bulldozer!  We  have not had any progress  on  this  planet  in
16,000 years. Real progress, the only good technology, the only
good tool developed since the atlatl, is the monkeywrench.  And
so  don´t  be  ashamed or afraid or embarrassed  when  somebody
calls   you  a  Luddite,  or  challenges  you  for  criticizing
technology. We´re anti-technology. Somebody´s got to  be  anti-
technology.
We  also feel that linear logic and rationality aren´t the only
way  to  think. The only thing I can think of that arithmetic´s
good for is counting up my life list for birds, or for figuring
out  how many beers I have left in the cooler. There´s big  way
to  think other than this big left hemisphere up here. It´s the
emotional,  intuitive,  and -- in our  warped,  sexist  world  --
feminine  way of thinking: that we´ve got to get back in  touch
with  the  mind that´s in the whole Earth. It´s  not  just  the
intuitive  part here, it´s not just the reptilian cortex  here,
it´s  that canyon out there that´s thinking, that´s a big mind.
It´s  the  sky,  it´s  the  clouds, it´s  the  trees  that  are
thinking. We can´t go in and just supply rational arguments  to
everything,  facts and figures, economics, laws. Because  those
things  don´t count. What counts is the wisdom that comes  from
the  trees.  The  passion  you  feel  in  your  heart.  We  are
emotional,  and  we´re proud of it. Sometimes we´re  irrational
and  we´re proud of it. Sometimes we´re mystical, sometimes  we
connect with something bigger than ourselves. And we don´t need
our  pocket  calculators  to do that.  So  when  you´re  called
irrational, don´t worry about it. We´re irrational, and proud.
I  think we also recognize that even though we love this  bunch
of  three or four hundred people here, though we love  all  the
little  wolves, there are still too damned many of  us  on  the
planet. Overpopulation is a problem. Tomorow, July 11, has been
determined to be the day that the five billionth person will be
born.  Yeah, there are a lot of problems here on Earth,  human-
caused problems. But one of the big ones is overpopulation, and
there are too many of us.
Another  parameter is that we aren´t in the political spectrum.
We  are  "subverting the dominant paradigm." We´re against  all
those   platonic   heresies.  Christianity,  Marxism,   secular
humanism.  We  aren´t left, we aren´t right, we aren´t  in  the
middle,  we  aren´t  even in front or behind.  We  aren´t  even
playing  that game. We have to go beyond the tired old  leftist
or  rightist  or other political ideas. We are coming  up  with
something that´s new. And it´s also 16,000 years old.
Another principle, and one that´s hard for us sometimes, is  to
not put any human group on pedestal. Any ethnic, any class, any
political  group.  It´s real chic sometimes to  put  the  rural
proletariat  on  a  pedestal. They are the "nice  logger",  the
"noble  fellow" exploited by the corporation.  Or  to  put  our
group  off  on  a  pedestal. We´re all human beings.  And  it´s
racist,  it´s classist, to expect more out of any group  or  to
give any group more breaks. We´re all on this planet, we´re all
causing trouble, we all have to work together.
Another parameter, and very, very fundamental one, and the core
of  our  philosophy,  I think, is the idea of  biocentrism,  or
intrinsic value. The idea that all things have inherent  worth,
are  important for themselves. And tied into that is  the  idea
that humans are not the measure of all things. That you do  not
determine  the value for something by the good it  can  do  for
human  beings. Things exist for themselves, and not  for  human
beings.  There´s  no reason to even discuss that  one,  because
that´s  the motivation, I think, for all of us, the recognition
of intrinsic value.
Another is that wilderness is the real world. The concrete
boxes we live in, the freeways, the cities, the rural areas,
aren´t the real world. Your job back in L.A. or New York City
or Bozeman isn´t the real world. What is the real world? It´s
out here, in the arena of evolution. Wilderness is the essence
of everything we´re after. Natural diversity. We aren´t an
environmental group. Environmental groups worry about
environmental health hazards to human beings. They worry about
clean air and clean water for the benefit of people, and ask us
why we´re so wrapped up in something as irrelevant and
tangential as wilderness. Something as elitist as wilderness.
Well, I can tell you, a Kaibab squirrel doesn´t think
wilderness is elitist. Wilderness is the essence of everything.
It´s the real world. And our goal is the day when there is no
word, in any language on earth, for the concept of wilderness,
because everything is wilderness, and it just is.