Vote at your peril
In 1962 Rachel Carson’s book “Silent Spring” came out. She was a marine biologist, and had written several books about the ocean prior to “Silent Spring.”
Her love of nature had given her an intuitive sense of the connectedness of all living things. She understood the Web of Life. “Silent Spring” became an expose about the devastating e ects of the uncontrolled use of chemical insecticides, especially DDT.
DDT was rst used by the American government during WWII, to control typhoid, spread by lice and malaria, spread by mosquitoes. Both were a problem overseas. In 1944, Time Magazine called DDT one of the greatest discoveries of World War II. It was later released for civilian use. It was cheap and long lasting. Millions of homes in the American Southeast were sprayed, and by 1951 malaria had been eradicated in the U.S. The U.S. Department of Agriculture promoted DDT to farmers, and in conjunction with the military, sold them thousands of decommissioned WWII planes to spray crops with. Agricultural yields went up. It was deemed harmless to anything but insects. The results seemed so impressive that there was little testing or regulation of its use, and no consideration of long-term e ects.
In 1957 the USDA doused 20 million acres. Birds, animals, and sh started dying. Oddly, no real connection was made to DDT. At least not enough to hold its progress.
Rachel Carson however was very suspicious. She was a brilliant researcher, and due to her background, knew how to access all the data she needed to make her case.
“Silent Spring” came out and exposed the dark side of the unrestrained use of science and technology. The American public believed what they had been told by the government and the USDA that DDT was safe and e ective. But the truth was that DDT accumulated and concentrated in lower organisms and moved up the food chain. Some species of wildlife nearly went extinct as a result.
“Silent Spring” caused a great awakening, and environmental laws began to be passed.
Farmers, by nature, need to be trusting and optimistic. Plant your crop and believe it’s all going to be well at harvest. All around the county there are “Farmers For Trump” signs.
But guess what? Donald Trump is the psychic, moral, and spiritual equivalent of DDT. Except he’s even more toxic than DDT. He’s not just a danger to the environment, by lifting crucial protection laws, but he’s also poisoning the hearts and minds of the American people.
Vote for him at your peril, and the peril of your children and grandchildren. And everyone else's.