Nastiness and Pestilence

What a lovely and positive set of editorials and letters greeted us in this morning's paper!  We hear from Ms. Coulter that the evil genius Ted Kennedy is the cause of all the immigration problems and we coulda, woulda, shoulda, solved them years ago if we had made a few "Irish need not apply" signs.  Our very own "Mr. Sunshine" laments that if the Albanians love and adore Mr. Bush so why can't everyone, and besides that really, truly, convincingly proves that all those sufferers of the "Bush Derangement Syndrome" are wrong about him.  

The most positive news of all however came in the big headlines at the top of the page, where we find that the legacy of environmentalism begun by Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring, was based on BAD Science!  DDT doesn't kill humans!  It only kills nature! DDT actually saved the human race!  DDT can free us all from all of those

"nasty little insects that spread disease."

  The editor goes on to say that

"Nature is savage and cruel,"

with pestilence and disease all around.  If DDT could save us from all of that why not use it? Perhaps this “Bad” Science from a beginning Chemistry class at Duke University would clarify.

“When DDT gets into our bodies, it is stored primarily in such fatty organs as the adrenals, testes, and thyroid. DDT is also stored in smaller concentrations in the liver and kidneys. 

So exactly how much DDT can my body tolerate before I should really start worrying? That depends on how much you weigh. At concentration above 236 mg DDT per kg of body weight, you'll die. Concentration of 6-10 mg/kg leads to such symptons as headache, nausea, vomiting, confusion, and tremors.”

The ravings of a Mad Man? Today it stuck me  that our Editorial Pages are filled each day with such negative, fearful, and hateful rhetoric because of a world view stating stating that Man IS supposed to control and exert Dominion over the world, that the world's resources are ours to use as we see fit, and that the strongest, meanest, most aggressive humans get the most.  It's survival of the fittest, the modern jungle, and the medieval mentality, all rolled into one. 

"Perhaps central to Ms. Carson’s view is that it was arrogant of man to try to control nature – that nature is beautiful and benevolent. Yet this is utter nonsense. Nature is savage, cruel and full of nasty little insects that spread disease."

In this blockbuster quote, the Editor sums up his world view.  We live in a nasty, dirty place filled with criminals, terrorists, disease, pestilence, and evil.  His railing against "lily-livered Liberals" and "Irrational Environmentalists"are simply cries for help against this tidal wave of destruction.  He can't understand why everyone else is blind to the nastiness. I mean, why do they call it "Wild" life anyway? If only everyone could see the danger he sees we would all agree and would also be terrified.

Mr. Editor, I feel your pain and your fear.  Those nasty bugs, those creepy immigrants, even "LIBERALS" for heaven's sake! Pestilence is everywhere! While you cower in the corner and rail against evil, squawk about bad science, and cry helplessly in the dark, it would be better if you actually could come out of your bunker and maybe try to actually solve some of the issues that scare you so much. Hiding behind the symbol of American Freedom and Liberty, the Bald Eagle, won't help you much, either.  It is still recovering from near extinction caused by the spraying of DDT.