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Re: NFC: Sierra Club
I wish I was a member so I could say; "YEAH! What he said!" Good letter
Robert. It is sad when a potentially good group like this falls under the
spell of politics. They get so caught up in the lobbying and such that they
become demagogues. It becomes more fun to force your views on others then
to stick with the original charter or intent.
Ty
Dear Editor Sierra Magazine,
It is with sadness that I write this note. I will not be renewing my
membership or furthering any advocacy of the Sierra Club.The Sierra
Club has sadly become so entrenched, in politics each issue of Sierra
magazine now reads like the liberal manifesto. So much for enjoying,
exploring and protecting the planet. How about changing the motto to
exploring, enjoying and protecting the liberal agenda.
The typical response to such a comment is that only liberals care about
the environment. Nothing is of course farther from the truth. I am a
republican and a bit of conservative who has spent most of his adult life
working for and caring about conservation. What do I mean by care? I spend
20 plus hours a week volunteering with organizations that do conservation
work, I donate my money to conservation causes. Basically I am the
grassroots hands on type of guy that makes things happen locally like so
many others are. Folks who work for love, not money. We clean the streams,
pass out the fliers, educate the kids and do all the dirty little jobs
because we believe conservation matters. Yet, you belittle us because we
don't follow the political winds of the Democratic Party. I was so
offended to see the Sept/Oct issues waxing on about the virtues of Ru486.
Please! Where in the world is it written that you must be pro abortion to
be a conservationist? How offensive. If an article about creationism
appeared in the Sierra magazine exposing the point that only those who
believed in a creator could be conservationist the Sierra Club would be up
in arms. Instead of moral and social commentaries perhaps we could discuss
the science and ways to make a difference.
Somehow or another folks leading the Sierra Club have made the mistake to
so align themselves with a particular party that they have become nothing
more than a pawn of the democratic party. Claiming that republicans want
dirty water and air as part of their legacy is just foolishness. Most
likely the "offenders" as you call them are ill informed, not malicious,
however being called vile names in a national publication does nothing to
help the conservation cause. How do I know? I have sat across the
table with many supposed evil republicans senators and congressmen
discussing conservation issues in my home state of Florida. Did I get all I
wanted? No, did we make progress YES. Better, not perfect laws were passed,
dialogs were started and relationships formed.
Being rude and insulting will not help the conservation cause. It will
however start fights and make enemies. Take our pupfish's for example.
Most of them have no intact conservation plan because of the type of name
calling silliness you guys are engaged in. Lets demonize the other guy so
that he becomes so entrenched that the fish goes extinct. Follow your
motto instead of an article on RU486 in the Sierra Club magazine, how
about an article on one of the pupfish's and their conservation. Perhaps
the Blue Pike, or the Shasta trout, or the black-footed ferret,
or greenway laws or examples of local efforts etc
Have you ever considered that most folks love the natural world we have
been given and are willing to support its conservation? This unpleasant
cycle of constant bickering is very unproductive and I am sure Mr. Muir
would be aghast at your wasting of precious print resources to espouse
partisan politics and RU486 propaganda. Please do better.
I write this with sadness because the Sierra Club could have been so much
more.
Robert Rice
President of the Native Fish Conservancy
http://www.nativefish.org