I have on more than one occasion talked of the forest being for everyone. It, like every word on this site, is a metaphor. When I talk about the forest in this way, being for everyone, I’m talking about the future. So when I say the forest is for everyone, what I’m saying is the future is for everyone.
What does that mean? Well—it would appear to be straightforward enough to me: the future is for everyone. Once more? The future is for everyone.
…I can tell from the latest Ontario election results some of you are still not getting it. I can tell from a lot that’s going off the rails all over the world that a lot of you are still not getting it.
Perhaps a distillation into the simplest of terms will help: since the future is for everyone, it’s logical to presume everyone will be in the future. Who is everyone? Who do you think? Again—it’s fairly straightforward: everyone.
So if you want to be in the future and you’re sexist, sorry—everyone is going to be there. If you’re racist, sorry—everyone is going to be there. If you’re homo– or trans–phobic, sorry—everyone is going to be there. Basically, if you have a problem with anyone because of what they are, you’re going to have to get your shit together, because—and I hope it’s starting to sink in—the future is for everyone.
I like the metaphor of the forest for the future because a forest represents a complex system of interconnected processes which combine into something larger than the sum of its parts. Any disruption in those processes threatens the existence of the forest, yet no one process is any more important than any other other. A forest works because all within it have come to understand the inherent rules of the forest—the pursuit of balance, the cultivation of stability, and the need for resilience since what’s pursued or cultivated does not always come to fruition.
To the people in Ontario who thought cheap beer on Tuesdays was more important than developing a sustainable and profitable wind energy industry—congratulations: you can use the money you’ve saved on drinking to pay for the soon to be rapidly rising price of non–renewable energy. To all those Ontario parents who didn’t want their child exposed to a modern sexual education program—congratulations: the child you claim to be protecting is now an easier target for sexual predators. And to all those Ontario motorists celebrating 10 cents off the price of gas, again—congratulations: you now owe the federal government about $3 billion dollars starting in January.
I could go on, but I won’t. All I will say is Rob Ford didn’t understand the forest—now he’s dead. Doug appears just as ignorant…
This post doesn’t have the usual refinement, structure, or nuance I usually like to weave into my writing. My words are solely fuelled by my waning patience for those who do not understand the difference between being a taxpayer and a being a citizen.
So—to the taxpayer: remember…
…the forest is for everyone.