permaculture

[Elfpermacl@aol.com]

In a message dated 10/31/98 6:23:27 PM, you wrote:

<<People are fools that think the government is going to do anything but screw

things up.

The way that the word organic worked was that you built trust with your

clientel and they trusted YOU not the word organic. Now it is another owned

word. If you don't pay someone to use that word then you will be fined or

worse. Everyone thinks that by having the government protect something that

they think is right they will get what they want. It never works that way,

the government sells out to the most money. Period.

Sorry for ranting.>>

Rant on, McDuff. And curst be he who first cries Hold, Enough!  (A minor
improvement on WS)  

Many of this were saying this 15 and 20 years ago when the organic movement
was trying to get the meaning of the word "organic" legislated.  The tactics
they used to try to silence others in the organic movement, including myself,
would curl your hair.  Organic growers can be facists too.  (I am stating a
possibility, not generalizing about organic growers.)  Words ought to be in
the public domain, not legal to use only in restricted meanings dictated by
interest groups.  By the legislation of meaning, the First Ammendment has been
sidestepped. (*Apologies to folks outside the USA on this list--we are being a
little inward-looking here and I think we need to be.)  

I hear people who a few years ago among the most fanatical (not necessarily
always the most ruthless) in pushing for legislated definitions now backing
away, seeing a mistake.  They think it was a mistake of tactics.  No, it was a
mistake in principle.  Language has its organic aspects too.  To impose on
people a definition for something is a small measure of attempted (and
generally accepted) mind control.  Many such small measures are a serious
matter.

Moreover, setting up one group to pass judgement over others always leads to
more ills than it solves.  It appears that as a species we may never get that
lesson right..   To bad, because it is central among the forces pushing toward
our extinction.

For Mother Earth, Dan Hemenway, Yankee Permaculture Publications (since 1982),
Elfin Permaculture workshops, lectures, Permaculture Design Courses,
consulting and permaculture designs (since 1981), and annual correspondence
courses via email.  Copyright, 1998, Dan & Cynthia Hemenway, P.O. Box 52,
Sparr FL 32192 USA  Internships. YankeePerm@aol.com  

We don't have time to rush.

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