As I intake the eloquent words of Paul Hawken in his newest novel, Blessed Unrest, I feel continually overwhelmed by the struggles enmeshed in our world, and surprisingly stimulated by the thought of people working towards restoration. He indicates there is a movement occurring ignored and tainted by the media, looked unfavorably upon by the majority of politicians, and dismissed by the public as illogical idealism. However, one million social and environmental justice organizations exist supporting a host of causes, causes which can range from community outreaches to large scale reactionary NGO’s against the destruction of the Amazon rainforests. Sometimes, the community battles are the ones we tend to overlook even right here within our campus. Looking upon the demolished buildings behind the Musser Farmhouse last night, the realistic understanding that we, Christians, are still following a culture, which forgoes tradition and is entrenched in materialism. Progression is not defined by advances in demolishing and constructing a mansion in a constrictive time frame. Progression is created by being informed by our “biological and cultural sense….and to watch the accelerating breakdown of our environmental systems, is harrowing and dispiriting.” And this decomposition of our culture is not merely occuring in places outside the walls of Messiah College. We are attending Messiah College in the midst of an economic development plan that intends to ignore the ecology of our commons, and will PR our college as a body of people informed and actively living the environmental stewardship lifestyle. We are far behind institutions in this respect, mostly secular, so what can we say about ourselves? The hope: those who supported the establishment of the garden, people working in the administration, faculty, staff, and students. There is also a vital underlying movement occurring within our community, ready to “march, speak, create, resist, and build (responsibly).” Conversation needs reinvented in a way at Messiah College where holistically our community knows the broad steps we are taking for future alum. Why this need for conversation and communication? One move the board (purely a trustees decision) believes is a solution to our money woes is constructing a president’s residence to entertain prospective funders. This house will, in turn, change the landscape of the area its constructed upon, uprooting tradition and ecology for development. The builders are tearing down all the old barns on the Musser Farm, and intend to tear down the farmhouse that boasts three types of architecture. The administration cites energy inefficiencies as the reason to tear it down. And will the new president’s residence a 7,250 sq. ft. home be energy efficient? We’ve heard no promises. Finding creative solution for money is so far not on the table. I bet if we used all those monies for the president’s residence to improve energy inefficiencies on campus, the college would both get better PR for their efforts and eventually see return on energy-efficient projects. Those were ideas not considered, or the idea that restoring the old Musser Farmhouse in a unique manner to house the President was never an option either. Options never heard, because voices making the decisions were behind closed vaults, excuse me, doors. Those with interests that go beyond pure economics–for the future of Messiah–need to start banding together, or decisions will continually be made without a “community” say, but merely by those with money and power. Patronizing the student body needs to end. We have the ability to understand the reasons behind decisions, and the ability to react against those decisions with wisdom. 7/24/07
that was a very good piece, dan. I’m glad there are English majors on the garden committee-us science majors would have a hard time writing something like that…maybe I should speak for myself…keep up the good work with the blog!
Daniel,
This is incredibly eloquent. I would have just said, “#*$& the Man!” and spray painted something - I think your way is better. Dan - you are not alone - we are not alone. I know you are doing God’s work in this garden. Everyone who stands up to this system of oppression and destruction, both at Messiah College, in the USA and in our global capitalist economy is living the truth. I read in this book once “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Before we can do this though, I agree with Dan - WE MUST SPEAK UP FOR OURSELVES. There is something fundamentally wrong with a “Christian” institution destroying community, disregarding tradition, ignoring and shutting out its students (who - if we’re going to get economical - are “the customer or consumer”) and destroying the environment in the name of MONEY. I think Messiah College needs a reminder “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” Huh.