SB: Re: A destructive perspective from Wendell Berry (fairlyshort)

[Derek Roff <derek@unm.edu>]

I appreciate the comments from David and others, who point out that 
in his other writings, Wendell Berry has some good things to say.  I 
have only read the posted essay, and can only comment on what it 
says, not on what he probably meant to say.

Maybe he was having a bad day when he wrote it.   I am told that, in 
other of his works, Berry calls for understanding of others 
positions, avoidance of antagonism, more compassion and doing 
something other than simply railing against the enemy.  However, he 
doesn't follow his own advice in this essay.  Berry's primary task 
seems to be promoting antagonism and railing against 
conservationists.  Unlike David, who speaks of the problems and 
contradictions the _we_ face, Berry, in the current essay, speaks 
only of "they" and "them," when he criticizes, which is most of the 
time.

I agree that we need to do everything we are doing better, or perhaps 
replace all of it with more effective, insightful approaches.  If 
only we had been, wiser, more compassionate, more knowledgeable, more 
influential and less egotistical years ago, we wouldn't have the 
problems that we have now.  Why didn't we realize that, back then?

Derek

Derek Roff
Language Learning Center, Ortega Hall Rm 129, University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131  505/277-7368 fax 505/277-3885
Internet: derek@unm.edu

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