Barry Benjamin's Blog

Excerpt from opening remarks by Nina Simones(Bioneers Conference 2008): Ecological bioneers..... recognize that every step we take is on a full Earth populated by a tremendous variety of species.... The pioneer 'empty land' ethic leads to violence against species and to genocide.  This idea of a 'pioneer' or a 'bioneer' as a person who explores our world investing time and effort to create a greater wholeness for EVERYTHING exists, in my opinion, only in humans. I believe that much of recorded history shows the abuse that this attitude can have on the environment and other people. The idea of a 'bioneer' is not new in history but the moniker I guess is recent. When humans step back from the idea that creation was only meant for them we find a process that allows us to create a home (societies) that further the process of creation (not just wealth, but ALL creation).
For me there is no more difficult thing to do than to get out of my own way and let whatever power is greater than me run the show; it seems our society has the same problem.