Respect Science, Respect Nature, Respect Each Other

Thomas Friedman wrote an op-ed for the New York Times (Friedman ) in which he argued "respect science, respect nature, respect each other" should be Biden's bumper sticker for the 2020 campaign. The phrase was suggested to him by environmental innovator Hal Harvey in their correspondence. Friedman argues this statement "summarizes so simply the most important values Americans feel we've lost in recent years and hope to regain from a post-Trump presidency."

I love this line and feel my mind drawn to it like metal filings on a long bar magnet. Respect science: follow medical advice surrounding COVID-19 and protect the earth and its inhabitants against further climate change. Respect nature: repeat the mandate to protect our earth and its inhabitants by pursuing green energy and conservation policies. Respect each other: welcome everyone to the table, listen to different opinions, protect the vulnerable, prioritize human dignity.

Harvey's words went around in my mind as I hiked the Tanglewood Trail outside Bailey the other day with Aden and Heidi. We climbed four miles up a quiet, forested route alongside a stream, with yellow daisies, purple columbine and pink primroses dotting the hillside. Few hikers joined us on a cool weekday morning and those we saw provided social distancing as we passed. The noise of rushing water and our own deep breathing was drowned out only by the wind through the trees. The strenuous climb made me grateful for my health and the beauty of the mountains made it easy to commit to respect for the earth and all its living and nonliving components.

It's a bit harder to remember down here in the suburbs, where the heat and noise of civilization contrasts against the quiet and cool spaces at 11,000 feet. Headlines rush at me and incite me to fury. I have to go back in my mind to our hike, the memory of marmots gamboling about the snow-fed pools at the top of our trail, the echos of woodpeckers' beaks hitting pine, the natural waterfalls and plank bridges we crossed. I wish we could have a national hike, a day when everyone could take a time out in nature and rededicate energy to respecting our biology, our natural world, and our communities. Maybe then we could re-embrace our national values and get our country back on track.