At 11:00 AM 6/20/96 -0700, you wrote:
I don't think that lawns originated as a show of mastery
>over nature. Now I think it is just culturally accepted as the norm,
>and how lush and green and manicured your lawn is has become a show of
>wealth and status. So I would say lawn maintenance is often classist.
>Gardens could be seen as a mastery of nature, but I think they could
>also be seen as a harmony with nature.
>Speaking of imbalance, I don't want Richard and I to dominate the
>discussion here. Are there others out there with opinions on this?
>
>--Stephen
Stephen, Richard et al,
The lawn discussion is interesting. My husband & I are planning to
move to Alaska when I complete my Nurse Practitioner program. Our
groundrule is, "We're not having a lawn!!" Following that smelly, noisy
lawnmower around every Saturday IS a sad use of our time & energy.
Here in the midwest, what is even more disturbing is the use of
every tillable inch of land for growing grain. Farmers work the land as
close to the road as possible, & then mow or burn the road ditches. (I'm
serious!) Minnesota is better than some states at setting aside land for
waterfowl reserves (ironically, for the hunters), but the more valuable the
land, the narrower the ditches.
As I little girl, I thought my father was busy growing corn flakes
and oatmeal for everybody. It came as quite a shock to find out that nearly
all the grain grown in this country is fed to livestock.
Worldwide food shortages and widespread famine are predicted within
the next 20 years. We in the US are growing more & more grain to feed to
domesticated livestock, with no workable plan in sight to grow food for the
rest of the people in the world. People in this area say it's a
distribution problem, & that being a vegetarian wouldn't get the grain where
it's needed anyway. Perhaps it's a greed / addiction / classism problem
instead?
Turn that lawn into potatoes and squash!! And flowers for your spirit.
Patty Lokken
