Reply #17: Yeah, I know and I was balancing the reality of species interdependence with...

[warren pease]

...the need to insult conservatives of all stripes at every opportunity. I wouldn't want to be responsible for birds going hungry or bats starving just to serve my narrow interests.

I suppose even deadly viruses have their places in Gaia, or the planetary ecosystem, or whatever the contemporary term is for the earth as a wholly integrated and interdependent system rather than a bunch of discrete unrelated elements. Maybe they're used as population limiters or natural selection tools.

But my relationship to biology is pretty tenuous, so I could use some help with the concept of viruses as anything other than deadly pests, like the one that just got through living in my upper respiratory system and making life thoroughly suck for about four weeks.

And I'm right there with you re humans and their questionable contributions to planetary improvement. For every Mozart or Pavarotti or Springsteen or Chomsky there seems to be at least 10 million malevolent, unconscious, dimwitted, functionally illiterate, armed, dangerous and belligerent assholes ruining things for everybody and everything else.

For instance, on the one hand, here's Mark Knopfler, formerly of Dire Straits, appearing at a smallish concert hall and playing the most heartbreakingly beautiful electric guitar solo imaginable -- one of many preternatural feats of guitar virtuosity he'll unleash that night.

Slow, dreamy, peaceful melody in A Maj, punctuated by a couple of minor chords to provide counterpoint and generate a little push-pull tension-release. He sustains some notes so long you'd think it's impossible for a string to keep vibrating; other notes are more like brief hints of suggested tonality as he runs a string of 32nd notes from High G all the way to the fourth harmony on the A string. And then lands at the perfect millisecond, chokes the note off, and returns to the mic for another verse.

On the other, there's the Army of God, Operation Rescue, CPAC, Pat Robertson's TV congregation, Revs. Dobson and Phelps and their maniac adherents, Oral Roberts, the KKK and we'll throw in the entire cast of "BushCo: Seven Short Years to
Obliteration."

One brilliant virtuoso human, even the amazingly talented Mark Knopfler, can't exert enough positive force to overcome the malicious influence of all those vile bigots, religious nuts, pro-life murderers and genocidal maniacs.

But I'm a little out of sorts this morning. Maybe it's not that bad after all. Hell, maybe Oral Roberts really does need some money. I think I'll mail him a $20 and see if he gets a decent tie out of the deal.


wp