Walk #105: Sliding Into Barbarism...

Got up early and drove the three hour plus drive to work. I was homesick when I left our cabin, knowing that it would be a week before I returned.

Still, it was a special drive. About sunrise, I drove on highway twenty and looked to my right. About eye height, with a wing span as wide as my Toyota Echo, a Bald Eagle flapped--keeping up with my car. As I glanced, I swear I caught his eye, as he flew above the river--through the canyon that we both were sharing. "Hello Mr. Eagle", I said.

The wisdom of Eagles.

As we act towards our brothers and within our economic lives--so shall we treat the natural world around us. That is why I'm not all that hopeful regarding our relationship with nature. Why? Back to walking.

As I began my walk this evening (while I washed some clothes) a new Security Guard stopped and asked me if I knew what building I was in. Obviously, he didn't. You see, our hospital has fired all the old Security Guards. The hospital administration has discovered outsourcing--and have contracted a new security force to monitor our hospital. What does this mean? The old Security Guards lost their decent health benefits and took a huge cut in pay. They had to reapply for their jobs (most said "forget it").

So the hospital saves a few bucks an hour. What do they get in return? I do not mean to put the new folks down. They are just working folks trying to make a buck. But there is an expression: "you get what you pay for".

This hapless Security Guard told me it was his first day on the job and he didn't know where he was. I told him.

When I returned from my walk, there he was again. Lost. Not knowing how to show a family member where to go. And he didn't know how to use the key to the building he was in. I showed him.

So to save a few bucks an hour, we have now hired Security Guards who are obviously less talented than the ones who preceded them. The old Security Guards were loyal to the hospital. And since I work on the Psychiatric Unit, I shared many tense moments with them.

The thought of sharing the same tense moments with the bumbling fellow who couldn't work a key (and sadly, makes much less money with fewer benefits) makes me cringe. It puts my safety at risk.

What does this have to do with walking? Or nature? Plenty. Saving a buck by screwing the worker has become an American Tradition since 1980. When times get bad (or money is to be made) our natural resources and fur bearing cousins also will be sacrificed to the All American Dollar.

I saw an Eagle this morning. Moral outrage stopped this beautiful creature from going extinct. Will we do the same for our brothers who are sacrificed to save a buck? The Eagle gives me hope; my encounter with the new Security Guard provides despair.

Despair mostly wins out: The Eagle was saved because of actions which were done in the 1970's. That was the high point for both environmentalism and for the worker.

I am afraid we are sliding into barbarism.