I can’t keep quiet about this subject any longer. I’m outraged, not at this poor mother who is now getting hit by a society looking to point a finger of blame, but I’m outraged at our entire society for not seeing what we are really dealing with.

Yes, it’s outrageous a poor gorilla had to lose it’s life. Yes, it’s outrageous a mother had to go through the worry of the safety of her child. But, let’s look at the big picture.

Why is a gorilla in captivity? Is it for education? Really? Or is it about our entertainment value? And, let’s be real about it. There is no need for these magnificent creatures to be locked up for us to stare at. It’s sanctioning business interests, not education.

Most children can’t even identify the trees outside their bedroom. Most adults could not even begin to tell you about the diversity in their local hills. During the filming of Racing with Copepods children interviewed local adults who couldn’t even tell you that San Pablo Bay, a huge Bay, was five miles down the road. I’m not joking. We are so out of touch with who we are and what we have around us. And we are losing it.

Stop with the zoos, I say. And stop the monkey business of how we value life.

What you can do:

1. Petition your schools to stop zoo visits
2. Support PETA and their efforts
3. Wild orangutans are under assault because of palm oil plantations. Rhinos could be extinct in 10 years because of the ivory trade. Respect life. All of it.

4. 

   Find local walks with biologists and discover the wild magic you have locally. In Marin County, Marin Open Space, specifically David Herlocker, has created an incredible model of nature education, activities, community building and respect. Vilda Foundation is another one for children to engage in their local nature, learning to be the stewards of it. Find inspiration in these models for your own communities.

5. Hold a film screening in your community, library or school of valuable films and raise money to support local animal causes. Remember the film Born Free? It’s message is stronger today than ever before . . .
6. And most importantly, look at what you have versus looking at what you don’t have and shouldn’t have to begin with. And if you’re quiet about, then you’re not helping anybody. And, please don’t even tell me you “have peace in your heart.” Good for you, but it takes people with courage and honesty to use their voice in order to create that peace for everyone. Use your voice and your actions to create a better world.

 

A huge thank you for your support these last two years. It’s been a ride and the ride is just beginning. I finished my graduate work at Dominican University of California and will receive my Masters of Arts and Humanities at the end of the year. Because my final project is political, I’ve opted to finish my final paper in December in order to use this upcoming election as fodder for my project.

As the daughter of a “federal criminal” under Ronald Reagan, I have a few bold statements to make about energy policies set under Reagan after the Carter Administration (see Crisis of Confidence Speech – 1979) that have resulted in the acidification of our oceans and global climate change. We had been on a good track under Carter with the newly established Energy Department, solar panels on the White House and 17,000 wind turbines in the state of California. We were on our way to independent, sustainable energy. Today, The Republican Party and big business, primarily OPEC, need to come clean with the propaganda they used for that pivotal election between Carter and Reagan and the fossil fuel legacy that have polluted our children’s world, in the name of money.

The biggest lesson of my life started when I was 13 years old in 1981 when my father, a union man, striked against Ronald Reagan in what has been called the second greatest labor event in American history – stand for truth and honesty, even if it hurts. That strike had nothing to do with money, as the media, influenced by OPEC, portrayed it. Instead, it was about integrity and being your word.  No university degree or money could ever give me what my father gave me – and that is it takes guts to do what is right in this world. Stand by it, because there is nothing else in life worth more than those principles, even in the face of losing everything. Truth always reigns. Thank you, Dad.

We have a generation of children coming into this world facing climate change, melting polar icecaps and acidification of oceans. They are angry and one day they will be asking us adults big questions. “Which side – which side are you on?” Jackson Brown sings in his song. If there was ever a time in the history of humankind to take a stand, unify, get creative and make change for the positive, it is now.

A little picture to share with you all. Thanks, again, for all your support. I’ll be sharing a message in about three weeks and I hope you’ll support me.

My two children have been troopers these past two years. My son tells me he now has a new Halloween costume, so I’m happy my gown and hat will continue to serve with meaning and purpose!