Brain or no brain... and agency, acting, or just sommer being acted upon

 

I was clearing aliens at Bothasig Fynbos Nature Reserve and found this black bag
with several items of litter lying around it.

I am sorry that I did not take a photo of what I saw at the time, but it clearly had been picked up outside the reserve, taken into the reserve, where things were then taken out of the bag and left lying around. There were some baby nappies (diapers), some popcorn, and other litter that had been in the bag, but now they were simply under the power of the the Cape Doctor - the wind.

Some person with a brain did this. 

Someone outside the reserve had placed his litter into this black bag. The person who picked up the bag then surrendered their control over the litter that they had taken out of the bag to the wind.

The wind has no brain. 

This human with a brain allowed the wind that has no brain to blow the litter wherever it listed to blow. This litter was then driven by the wind and tossed. The person evidently ate some of the things that had been in the bag, as unhygienic as that might have been since they had been together with the nappies that were in the bag!

I was in the reserve with three other volunteers. We were removing Port Jacksons (PJ), the common name for the species Acacia saligna. They are growing in the reserve and are highly invasive, although biological control is helping to reduce its invasive impact. We were removing seedlings of PJs that had been brought from Australia to the Cape in the mid 1800s for the purpose of stabilising sand dunes and for firewood. It has been somewhat useful for that, but has become an aggressive alien invasive species. 

A gall forming rust fungus (Uromycladium tepperianum) has been introduced as a biological control. This is a natural pest from the natural habitat of A. saligna that greatly reduces the densities of populations. This fungus has a negative impact on the PJWs, but it does not eliminate it. A biological control is very helpful in managing invasive species. It spreads naturally, attacks the target species, and has been very carefully tested to ensure that it will not impact negatively on any indigenous species. It then spreads and does its work, even when you and I are asleep. It does not kill the target species, but limits it and reduces its invasive potential.

I was saddened to see the number of items of litter, as well as seedlings of the PJWs. People who are employed by the City of Cape Town to maintain the reserve have not removed the litter or seedlings, even those seedlings and litter that are right next to indigenous plants that they have planted for restoration purposes, and that they water and care for. These employees have not removed these other problems right within reach. Volunteers do alien hacking with no financial reward - but we do get to enjoy nature, our wonderful natural environment, and we certainly get a lot of good exercise!

The failure of the employees to clear the litter and invasives makes me think of something that my mother often repeated to me - 'The world needs street sweepers. But, more importantly, the world needs excellent street sweepers.' 

I have reflected at length on this and other gems that she shared. One day I realised something of importance about streetsweepers. I find it very saddening that many people deliberately litter in order to make sure that there is work for the street sweepers to do. 

People with brains litter! 

But - what if everyone in our dear land were to be responsible and never litter? The Spirit reassured me that there would always be work for street sweepers because the trees would continue to drop their leaves. 

We, as human beings, have brains. We have the charge to 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth' (Genesis 1:28). Well, this black bag or litter may not be a 'living thing', but we are charged to replenish and subdue and have dominion over God's creation.

Well - let me consider two questions that I pondered as I cleared the aliens. Let me pose a question to every reader. 

Do you consider Evolution, natural selection, survival of the fittest, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life to be what led to the existence of all that we have in our amazing and beautiful and diverse and successful natural heritage that surrounds us? Then - when you die, what legacy do you want to leave? Do you want your friends and loved ones, when they formulate your epitaph or obituary, to commend you for contributing well to being part of the solution to the problems of society, or do you hope that they will express retribution for being part of the problems in society? You have a brain. Now is the time to lay the foundation for your obituary or epitaph.

Or - do you consider the God of Abraham, Heavenly Father, or some other 'force or power or influence' to be our God and the Creator of all that is wonderful in our natural heritage that surrounds us? If so, then the time will come that He will ask me - and you - what we did with the wonderful natural resources that He gave to us. 

He will not ask me what you did, but He will ask me what I did. 

I want to be able to say that I tried to be fruitful, to multiply what He has given to me and within the circle of my influence, that I tried to replenish, to subdued it, and tried to have righteous dominion over it. I hope that He will say 'Well, done, thou good and faithful servant'. I am far from perfect, but I do try to use my time, talents and resources to build up my family, community, and those with whom I come into contact.

I think back to what I heard as a little boy when Boyd K Packer spoke to civic leaders in Carletonville that we, as disciples of Jesus Christ, would be 'part of the solution and not part of the problem'. I am far from perfect, but I do hope that when I die my epitaph will mention more solutions than problems as my legacy. I hope that I may have an epitaph somewhat like that of Sir Christopher Wren (1632 - 1723) 'Reader, if you seek his memorial - look around you.' A similar epitaph '‘If ye seek his monument, look around you’ is a fitting one for the man whose vision and energy led to the establishment of Kirstenbosch' appears on the gravestone of HHW Pearson, the first director of Kirstenbosch. He died in the third year after the garden was established and beside a magnificent Atlas cedar overlooking the Cycad Amphitheatre and the Dell.