MAIL CALL: We should all respect the Earth

July 01, 2009 11:38 pm

— I am left shaking my head, as the vandalism at the East Texas Arboretum is beyond comprehension. It appears that a reckless mind with a can of spray paint wrecked havoc on an innocent place of tranquil beauty.
The word that comes to mind is respect, or in this case, the lack of respect. Of course there was a lack of respect for property and the rights of others, but more importantly there was unequivocal disregard for natural beauty. There is something sinister about spray painting a flower garden. I just cannot get my head around it.
But society, on a much larger scale will go into pristine woodlands and dig out a large basin for water to be sold and piped into a concrete jungle. We will also drill holes in any place of beauty where another pint of oil might be retrieved. Whether it’s water or oil, we find it very hard to think outside the hole in the ground.
What is the difference between spray paint and an oil spill? Recovery from spray paint cost thousands of dollars; recovery from an oil spill, billions. And trees submerged beneath a reservoir of water, no amount of money can resurrect that beauty. Believe it or not, a monetary debt is not the greatest debt we can leave our children and grandchildren.
As a society, we might look around at all the natural beauty that gives us pleasure, and just ask: do I really want to spray paint what God has provided?
Jerry S. Phillips
Athens