Spoiled /spɔɪld/ 1. destroyed, damaged, or no longer able to be used 2. someone…who is allowed to do or have anything they want, usually with the result that they behave badly and do not show respect.

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You can decide which definition I intend for certain Americans and which I intend for the lands in their care. Funny how a single word can describe the perpetrators and the victim at the same time.

Anyhow…I’m suffering from a bit of writers block today. It isn’t so much that I can’t think of what to write about, but a lack of focus. Despite that, I can’t stop thinking about the idea of reciprocity and our gratitude towards the gifts that nature provides. Specifically, I’ve been thinking about why so many people struggle to appreciate all of the incredible biodiversity in this world enough to hold onto it and protect it.

I can not speak for everyone – not even everyone who completed a biology or other science degree – but I can say that so much of my appreciation came from my understanding of the natural world. Learning about diurnal cycles in plants and their molecular similarities to animals certainly reinforced the connection we have to these other than human species, beyond just food. They are prone to sickness and require medicines. They thrive when cared for and nurtured. They cooperate and even compete. This awareness for what nature provides and experiences isn’t acquired just through scientific inquiry, but can be discovered by anyone. While many of us do seem to appreciate our inter-being with these species, what is it that pushes other people so far into the opposite direction? One that leads to destruction, exploitation, and a total lack of care for the world around them?

Some say it could be biophobia. Some think it is a lost connection to the natural world, or modernity. Most think it could be a combination of reasons. What I do know is this: Nature is a petty bitch, and I am here for it.

Americans – well, the loud, obnoxious ones who give us the global persona that we have, but Americans as a whole…as a system – have denounced all that is healthy for our survival, so it seems Mother Earth decided to reciprocate. To give us what we deserve.

Clean air? F*ck that, here is smoke from Canadian Wildfires…enjoy those repercussions with that amazing healthcare you have in the U.S.

Vegetables? Let’s nope that right down. Cyclospora for you, and cyclospora for you. Cyclospora for everyone! Let’s up the game too by choosing a food borne illness that is no loner monitored by the great and powerful MAHA…so inspired.

This isn’t complicated math. When you shut down surveillance operations, or eliminate vaccine schedules for children, or desecrate the earth with selfish anthropocentric behaviours, you end up with a shitstorm of problems that will eventually catch up to the very humans who caused the destruction in the first place. But it will also take out everything else in the path towards environmental annihilation.

The part that makes me the angriest is that none of these choices have anything to do with helping the U.S. or its people. There is no economic rationale or long-term goal. It is just an attempt to undo the efforts of every democratic president that came before – those who are written about and remembered fondly. These are destructive decisions made by a mad man because of a weak ego.

They can buy an island immersed in European territory where the laws are imperfect, but more protective. They know their food systems will be monitored and sourced with scrutiny. And some, due to age, are aware that they won’t live long enough to see the outcomes of these choices. It is the rest of us who will pay for the sins of this administration and will suffer nature’s retaliation.

The reciprocity that we have shown nature is evident in the gifts she is now bestowing upon her most pestilent species: disease, illness, poor air, and environmental stress. She tried to give us biodiversity, oxygen, fruits, and connection, but her gifts were rejected and spoiled.

The scars this administration will leave on the lands are getting worse and will take years to undo. If you, like Teddy Roosevelt, like having green, pristine spaces to explore, camp, fish, and breathe in, you need to fight to protect them. You must show a reciprocity of care towards your natural spaces. Show that every grain of sand, every bird, every species matters. And if you want to know the latest target of this political sadism, stay tuned for what is happening to Bear Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah. To the spoiled go the spoiled spoils? Or something…