I generally don’t like to “show my hand,” politically speaking, and instead strive to gain and express a broader perspective that encompasses seemingly opposing attitudes and opinions, which is probably why, on occasion, I get letters in response to some specific column — from people with drastically diverging viewpoints, each certain that I think like they do, which is typically not the case.
I have been less restrained when it comes to expressing my concern for “the environment,” and the deleterious effects that poisonous chemicals, harmful radiation, crude extraction and production methods, and materialistic attitudes have on the Earth and its people, plants and animals.
This past spring and early summer, while some people were groaning over skyrocketing gas prices, I was saying it’s a necessary step in our breakup with oil. It has to happen if we are to move on to … a better way of doing things, which of course raises questions like: What are you calling “better,” and “better” for whom? I’m using it to mean an approach to technology that keeps pace with our knowledge while ever clinging to our wisdom — a way that supports our well-being, on all levels.