“My heart is moved by all I cannot save:
So much has been destroyed
I have to cast my lot with those who, age after age,
perversely, with no extraordinary power, reconstitute the world.”
This poem by Adrienne Rich comes to me as the Eagle Creek fire continues to burn nearly unchecked in the Columbia River Gorge. Like so many others I am grieving the destruction of our forests, the eradication of habitat, the terror unleashed for humans and animals trying to escape the smoke and flames. Within this horrifying scene are those ordered to evacuate their homes as well as those placed on alert who must prepare to leave at a moment’s notice. I see anxiety in the faces of those being interviewed by reporters and I think of the 800,000 young people across our country who have been placed on an even more devastating alert. They may be deported to countries they don’t remember, whose language and culture they may not know, for reasons that are baffling and beyond their control. Unlike people in the path of Hurricanes Harvey and, Irma or Jose, those facing the devastating fire in the Gorge as well as the children and young adults facing deportation know their personal disaster could have been averted except for the foolish or callous choice of one individual—a boy of 15 in one case and a man playing to his political base in another. One individual choice, one decision, can have such far-reaching, devastating consequences on the lives of millions—of trees, plants, animals, humans—on the fabric of communities large and small. (more…)