Jack Burns Lives!

2009 wasn’t a great year for a lot of folks, but overall, I’ll give it a C-. We got rid of the Bush Crime Family, and while the replacement seems only marginally better, he is better. At least our President doesn’t stumble over his words like a third grader that just got caught throwing spitballs or pulling a little girl’s hair.

Cracks started developing on Wall Street, as the great mother ship of our capitalist dreams took on water and listed heavily to port. One can look ahead and hope the Peak Oil tsunami will finally finish it off.

One child finished his undergrad while yet another started grad school. I’m enormously proud of both, as each have chosen non-destructive paths that will reward them personally while contributing to their communities.

Many lost their jobs in 2009, but my own capitalist endeavor did quite well. I’m not proud of being a successful capitalist, but the horse is out of the barn, and I have to do something to pay the rent. I am proud of constructing a democratic workplace that fosters creativity and freedom. I hope that the unemployed will find meaningful work in 2010, but I believe it’s going require decisive action by our President for things to improve. He’ll have to start acting more like FDR than a Wall Street puppet.

My garden was a disappointment, but in failure there is learning. I won’t make the same mistakes this spring.

I didn’t ride my bike enough, but I will improve and ride regularly in 2010. No more blaming it on cold weather or the paltry 24 miles (round trip). And I’m proud to announce our little firm will reward its employees with extra vacation days for accruing commuting miles in 2010. You can earn extra days for simply riding your bike to work.

Most Americans, it seems, won’t do what’s good for the planet unless there’s “something in it for them.” Nevermind the kids and grandkids, the lynx, the polar bear or the eagle. There’s got to be some tangible benefit now and for the person that put forth the “effort,” otherwise, the same old selfish behaviors endure. On the whole, we’re a pretty selfish, apathetic lot.

More goals for 2010? No air travel. Save more. Give more away. More hiking, writing, reading and birding. More time with friends and family. Finding new and inventive ways to be a speed bump on the road to “progress,” especially locally. Better yet, a barrier.

I was extremely discouraged by two major losses in late 2008 and early 2009. A road through a forest two miles from my home and the loss of a wetland on the riverfront. It’s doubtful anything can change the tide against these sorts of developments other than a horrible economy. I’m definitely in the minority, but I hope capital and credit remains as frozen as Denali in winter. Once the back room deals are done between the developers, bankers, lawyers and politicians, it’s game, set, match. Only after these deals are brokered do you ever see notices of “public hearing,” spectacles that are often little more than announcements for what will happen, not what is “proposed.”

Yet, we can cause them all sorts of troubles in the media and make them spend far more on studies and lawyers than what they’d planned. And with today’s thin margins, enough trouble might kill a project.

My grandmother taught me to be kind to people and to always be willing to help others. Approaching 50 years of age, I still agree with that, although with a caveat. I believe those that willfully destroy our home and that bring death and destruction to humans and non-humans deserve condemnation in the strongest terms. They’ve earned public obloquy and scorn. They don’t deserve pleasantries or even common courtesy.

Is that being an asshole? Perhaps. But isn’t destroying the planet so you can live a life of opulence worse? I say it is.

We need more Ed Abbey’s in 2010. People willing to be curmudgeons or “assholes” when necessary. People willing to stand up and say “We’ve had it with this shit!” Folks are too scared to be political or vocal for fear of being ostracized and it “affecting their business.” And to that, I say, you’re as bad, if not worse, than the guy plowing through the forest. Don’t be a coward. A coward that stands by and watched voiceless, defenseless animals lose their home.

I suppose we also need some silent operators. Undercover types that stay under the radar and infiltrate the enemy. They can leak information to the press and environmental groups. And we also need “moderates.” People that can’t easily be marginalized as “radicals.”

It takes all types to slow the tide.

So, in 2010, I vow to be more like Edward Abbey. I promise to be a better and more vigilant defender and protector of life. I promise to stand against those that would destroy the earth for non-sustainable, capitalist gain. I promise to go to the front lines and not lurk in the shadows like an apathetic coward unwilling to act.

I consider it the pursuit of a noble life.