Monday, January 18, 2021

Watering The Tree By Which You’ll Hang: The Liberal Path to Utopia

roads i love tree lined

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Along that road you will come upon many trees.

amazing treeThe Tree of Life and Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil among them

Some you will climb, some will provide you with fruit in season, some you will cut down for firewood or to build your house. And some will die due to lack of nutrients or water, or simply old age. But some you will return to time and time again: to seek it’s shade or simply to admire its form and stance upon the landscape.

tree in hand

Some people don’t grasp the value of a tree – oh they may see it and say ‘what a great tree’ – but they miss it’s point, its true merit. They think it’s deep roots a nuisance that get in the way when they wish to excavate, forgetting that they keep it strong and allow it to stand upright and steady in a storm. They either ignore or minimize the fact that it’s those very roots that allow the tree’s outstretched branches to offer shade from the scorching sun of summer and shelter in the dead of winter.

Beautiful cardinals in snow covered tree <3 reminds of Christmas time at my  grandparents when I was little. | Snowy trees, Red birds, Beautiful birdsLook at all those little red hats perched in those snowy branches!

Yes, some people miss the point of trees altogether and choose simply to remove them as inconvenient obstacles standing in the way of building their progressive utopia; like their new suburb called “Maple Lawn” in memory of the maple trees that once grew there.

Neighborhoods without trees | Chaz Hound - Dog Forums

That’s essentially the difference between how conservatives see trees –

lion in winter treeThe Trump Tree – strong, proud leaning into the storm

And how liberals view trees.

liberal voting tree

Footnote: In the “Tree of Knowledge” vein and knowing that many of us believe Joey B when he says “this is going to be a dark winter”  may I direct you to a great sale going on now at Great Courses.

Online download for $25 or DVD for $35 for many of the Great Courses offerings normally running between $250 – $350. Something for everyone! Sale is on through February 4th, and no it’s not a sponsored link, it’s just a great deal and I like some of their offerings. I think you might too: Great Courses Sale now through February 4th.

The Great Courses – Audio Books, Best Sellers, Author Bio | Audible.com