Live and Let Die

Live and Let Die is a 1973 James Bond Movie. I think it is also a great phrase describing how most Americans live their lives - “I live and let everything else die.” In a world of processed food, mass produced food, modern-day slavery (paid or not paid), oil induced war, and so on; as long as the status quo (aka me) isn’t messed with who the hell cares. Christians and non-Christians still treat the earth and animals with little disregard or respect. And apathy is killing our earth. Just look at the trash that litters the roadways, highways, streets, rivers, and lakes of this country. Forget the local landfill – the earth has become the landfill. In The Late Great Lakes, William Ashworth explains that the rich resources of trees, fish, ore, and water of the great lakes which were at one time thought impossible to exhaust or pollute are now exhausted, made extinct, or polluted beyond repair because through history people were apathetic about the earth’s resources and what the damage could be. It’s clear by the continued polluting, lack of care, and over recreation today that people still are apathetic and down right don’t care. It is too bad that we still have not learned what these damages have done and have kept to business as usual.

Disney, the most magical company on earth, who is usually devoted to consumerism, marketing kids, and building more and more theme parks came out with a recent movie by Pixar: Wall-E. Wall-E, a movie which I thought would be another clever, funny Pixar movie (which it was) had an underlining theme about the environment, consumerism, and healthy living. I’m not sure if this moral of the story reaches kids or even some adults. However, the moral was clear: if we do not change our habits of killing the environment and using the earth as our trashcan, future generations will be paying the consequences. It was a glimpse into the future and it was not a good one.

Why should we care about the environment? 1 Cor. 1:20, Gen. 1:20-25, Ex. 23:12, Hosea 4:1-3 to name a few. Is it too hard? Will the earth really not be destroyed by our harmful ways? No. Simple as that. In a world however that is becoming closer and closer to that of the people in Wall-E, maybe anything is too hard. Is it too expensive? No. Because of the growth of the fast food industry and other cheap manipulated food, the real cost is in the inhumane treatment of animals, workers, and consumers. If justice rose, food could be distributed fairly and equally and at an affordable cost to all.

Will the earth and its resources be damaged, exhausted, and polluted? For us rich Americans I think we have a while before we will see any changes. As long as the water continues to come out when we want it, movies continue to make more and more money, and dirty processed food continues to be served to our liking we may never notice. For others around the world - they do not have the same luxury. Global warming is already affecting the poles and is showing glimpses of affecting other parts of the world. Lack of grain, corn, rice, and any food is affecting the world poor and is even affecting the farms of the United States. Fat is becoming the norm, and fast and convenient is becoming the mode. Irradiation, processing, and chemically inducing food is becoming more and more popular as less safe and healthy foods are being destroyed and wiped out.

Live and let live. Let us not be paralyzed by apathy, laziness, and consumerism and care for God’s creation.


Additional Resources:
Fast Food Nation
The Late Great Lakes
Unfettered Hope