The Bark
Beetles’
Tea Party
"Bark beetles often attack trees that are already weakened by disease, drought, smog, other types of beetles or physical damage. Healthy trees may put up defenses by producing resin or latex, .... Under outbreak conditions, however, the sheer number of beetles can overwhelm the tree's defenses, and the results can be disastrous."
Wikipedia
In good times, you hardly notice them. They are content to live off the largess of the forest, making an occasional foray here or there to scout out weaknesses, but living under sweet bark for the most part.
Their whole reputation is built during Hard Times. Destruction is their primary talent. Vulnerability provides the awaited overture for these Prima Donnas to appear on stage.
(Nibble, Nibble)
“What a mess, eh, Lucille?
“Yes, Marge. That’s exactly when we find our calling.”
“To clean up the mess?”
“No, Silly, To devour the problem.”
(Chew, Chew)
“Hey Sam. This one has been hit pretty hard. Jump aboard.”
“Yeah. After all, it’s their own fault. They got it comin’ to ‘em.”
“Wait ‘til they see what it’s like when we get through.”
“Hoo, boy! This is when we go to work.
Let’s see if we can bring the whole thing down.”
“Hmmm. What happens then? Won’t we run out of things to bite?”
“Not likely.”
Bark Beetles can’t offer really thoughtful solutions.
That’s called planned obsolescence.
And so it goes. Each generation must wage its own battles.
In fairness, I suppose it’s not so much that the bark beetles should be singled out. Some say that they do a lot of good when they bring down damaged trees. Drought is a villain which has no natural predator except Monsoons which often bring floods and mudslides as companions.
Nature seems to go in cycles. Left alone, forests become parklands, and streams only change their channels slowly. Each finds a way to accommodate to the other, and each enables the other to find its best possibilities.
Man seems to be the ultimate problem. Well, not completely, because man existed on earth for a long, long time before Pioneers or The Forest Service. Some men, then. Yes, but “some” becomes many. A new factor then takes on increased importance - Time.
Time is man-made. At least the calculation and division of time is certainly so.
Whether measured by celestial movements or by a pocket watch, man has learned to divide up his existence into certain segments and give different values to each. Time’s mandate creates urgency and immediacy. Man is, by nature, impatient.
A Pioneer has only the good summer months to cut down trees and build a house before the bitter winter sets in. Loggers have only a window of time to be able to harvest their product and get it to market. Lumber yards demand more and more raw material as they feel pressure from new building.
More and faster are the watch-words. More and faster.
Until today - when there is rarely time for forests and streams to recover under natural slow conditions. Balance must now be manipulated.
Then what? Well, some say this way is correct, while others say no, it’s another way. Groups form to gain leverage, then larger groups form to overcome them. A tug-of-war game is inevitable. The object becomes winning the game. The prize is secondary and tarnished by the process.
Hmmmm. I wonder if there might be some parallels here to the political process.
Time, for example, would appear to be far more demanding than in the past. Argument, discussion, debate all had more time to be digested in the past. And, while not all debate was respectful, most followed a certain decorum. Time was allowed for thoughtful conclusions to be drawn.
Decisions and revisions today have an immediate “Now” stamp upon them. Minds must be made up quickly and sides taken. “Form your lines quickly before you are overtaken!” “Join up now or be over-run!”
Overtaken by what? Over-run by whom? If that isn’t clear and logical, what’s the emergency?
There are legitimate emergencies, of course. The recent housing free-fall and subsequent financial Doomsday possibility had to be dealt with rapidly and forcefully. Bush acted. So did Obama when he came to bat. Wise men have saved the bacon for the present, but wise men got us into the financial mess, and different wise men must be trusted to help get us out. A tourniquet was applied to save us from bleeding out. Tourniquets must always be removed slowly and carefully.
Playing the blame game. Fighting by Tug-of-War, rushing to judgment - demanding blind change Now! without understanding the true problems or the best ways to fix them do not give much assurance that we can improve our lot.
Refusing to give some latitude to alternative visions through respectful debate keeps us mired in the same hole. Searching for a unified approach to a common challenge is the only resolution which makes sense. Like it or not - Like each other or not - We are all in this together.
Meanwhile the bark beetles are at work.
No comments:
Post a Comment