APRIL 1, 2006
Traditionally
a day of practical jokes and good natured kidding, April Fools Day has its origins sometime in the 16th century when clocks first changed to reflect that spring had arrived. Because communication was slow, some folks did not get the message and were operating on the old time, and thus were labeled fools by those in the know. Nice bit of trivia, but the issue is anything but trivial today.
Who are the fools today? Who are in the know as to what is really going on, and are the rest of us fools? Some among us believe we are fools to listen to politicians because they tell us what we think we want to hear, or they distort the truth. Others think we are fools to listen to corporations because their profit driven way of doing business is never fair. Some, say we are fools to listen to environmentally conscious folks because they are alarmists and distort the truth.
I do not think of anyone as a fool, though there is a lot of foolish behavior on the part of all of us when it comes to preserving that which we love. If we say we love our country, God, or our family; and if we took a survey we would probably come out close to 100% on this one, are we not exhibiting foolish behavior in all three categories?
Patriotism is love of country, and that has disappeared once again.
Love of God means working to preserve and restore God's creation for all generations and not everyone is committed to that.
Love of family would be first on everyone's agenda, but we have a 50% divorce rate, 50% extra-marital affair rate, and many dysfunctional intact marriages that do harm to those in the family structure.
April fool's tricks can be fun, but it is also a sober reminder of how foolish we have responded to the environmental crisis; because we put that in fourth place behind love of family, country, and God.
We are foolish if we do not re-arrange our priorities because an eroded Garden of Eden will mean the elimination of our ability to sustain families, nations, or the entire creation if it continues to collapse at the present pace.
Put creation first, and then everything else takes on an added meaning. A healthy home means a long term healthy family of nations, and family of humankind.
--Peter