We are living in a science-fiction nightmare where children are gasping for breath on bad-air days because somebody gave money to a politician. And my children and the kids of millions of other Americans can no longer go fishing and eat their catch because somebody gave money to a politician.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the negative consequences of political corruption on the environment and public health.
In this quote, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. expresses deep concern over how political decisions, influenced by money and lobbying, directly harm the environment and the health of children. He underscores the irony of living in a society where children are unable to enjoy simple activities like fishing due to the pollution caused by a lack of environmental regulation, driven by financial interests within politics. This reflects a broader commentary on the corrupting influence of money in politics and its far-reaching implications for public welfare.
In practice
Using this quote in a speech about environmental protection policies.
Like other Americans, I've reconciled myself to the idea that an animal's life has been sacrificed to bring me a meal of pork or chicken. However, industrial meat production - which subjects animals to a life of torture - has escalated the karmic costs beyond reconciliation.
It's easy for people in an air-conditioned room to continue with the policies of destruction of Mother Earth. We need instead to put ourselves in the shoes of families in Bolivia and worldwide that lack water and food and suffer misery and hunger.
Harvest moon: around the pond I wander and the night is gone.
Nature is probably quite indifferent to the aesthetic preferences of mathematicians.
Out of the bosom of the Air, Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken, Over the woodlands brown and bare, Over the harvest-fields forsaken, Silent, and soft, and slow Descends the snow.
If we can't afford to take good care of the land that feeds us, we're in an insurmountable mess.
We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.