Readers write: Fighting for land, and progress

Missing the big picture

The Nov. 27 Weekly cover story headline states the bitter irony quite well: “Suing the world to save it.” 

Due to the “only if it’s in my own backyard” mindset, the prevailing collective attitude, however implicit or subconscious, basically follows: “What’s in it for me, the taxpayer?” or “Why should I care? My family is immediately all right.” 

While some people will justify it as normal, and thus moral, the self-serving mindset can debilitate social progress, even when such progress is so desperately needed – such as trying to moderate human-made global warming.

Collective human existence is still basically analogous to a cafeteria lineup consisting of diversely represented people, all adamantly arguing over who should be at the front and, conversely, at the back of the line.

Many of them further fight over who should receive the last piece of quality pie and how much they should have to pay for it – all while the interstellar spaceship on which they’re permanently confined, and which is owned and operated by (besides the wealthiest passengers) the fossil fuel industry, is on fire.

As a species, we can be so heavily preoccupied with our own individual little worlds, however overwhelming to us, that we miss the biggest of pictures.

Frank Sterle Jr.
White Rock, British Columbia

The fight for land 

I thank the Monitor for two articles in the Dec. 11 Weekly: “Why one grandmother’s house has become a national cause” and the cover story, “In a return to forgotten lands, young farmers go small, demand less.”

The first calls attention to an easily overlooked problem that has major implications for social justice in the United States: the loss of ancestral lands and Indigenous communities by disadvantaged groups, in this case African Americans of the Sea Islands off the Southern coast. The article provides some hope that new legislation and activism can help to reverse this trend.

The second article takes a look at why some young people are returning to the land to practice sustainable agriculture, and how this can address the effects of a warming planet, toxic consumerism, and unsatisfying lifestyles driven by monetary concerns. The focus on a less familiar region of Portugal makes the article especially interesting, and helps to show the breadth of this movement.

It is encouraging to see greater attention to these problems, and some progress in addressing them.

Jennifer Quinn
Abingdon, Virginia

Finding joy and balance 

What a wonderful Monitor Weekly we have in its first publication for 2024 (Jan. 1 and 8)! Its focus on “reflecting on the year’s progress” for 2023 gives such hope in every feature and article. I read nearly all of it in one sitting and finished it the next day.

I was especially touched by the joyous montage of photos from around the world that each Monitor photographer presented. These pictures brought the reader into the world’s family of hearts.

Also, you gave us balanced views about the Mideast conflict in “What Israelis see, and don’t see, about the war in Gaza” and  in “Schooled in ‘social justice,’ more students flock to Palestinian cause.” And your article “To curb migrant numbers, Italy looks to Albania for help” showed a fresh view by reporting on countries that we don’t hear about too often.

I’m sending this issue to my brothers! Much love!

Natalie Coleridge
Alton, Illinois