The theologian Thomas Barry wrote that the great work of our lives is to reconcile with nature, to come to establish a communion with every living species on the planet--with all humans, all animals and plants, with the land, the air, and the water. As children of a common Creator, we are part of every living thing. This requires reverence for the natural world. When we look at the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, we learn how far we must journey to reconcile with nature. The false doctrine of subduing the natural world puts us in danger of extinction because it ultimately attacks the precondition of human existence and because it separates us from an understanding of the essential interconnectedness of all life. So we're lulled into distancing ourselves from the oil disaster, from its effects on the natural world, from its effects on future generations. Nature's God is not just up there, but it's in all of us. And only when we truly understand the deep significance of the Deepwater Horizon disaster will we be prepared to take a new direction not only with our energy policies but with our way of life.
Editor's note · Context
Kucinich addresses the need for reconciliation with nature in light of the Gulf oil disaster.
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