Bee-ing a Good Citizen

      The idea of being a good citizen means different things to different people, but I think that, at it's core, good citizenship refers to doing not what is easiest or best for oneself, but focusing more on what will contribute most to the common good.  Some will explain it as being helpful to one's neighbors, others may describe it as loyalty to one's country.  What creates variations in our definitions of good citizenship is our individual perspectives of what larger context we are considering ourselves a part, and, what obligations we feel toward that larger context.

     My beliefs lead me to view the entire planet as the larger context of which I am but a small part.  I believe that we are all - the plants, the animals, all of humanity - part of an interdependent web of existence.  We are all part of one large ecosystem and our obligation is to ensure the well-being and continuity of that entire system and all of its members.  While I know that some may not share these beliefs or simply may not care enough to have given it any thought, I am happy to see that, little by little

humanity is beginning to come around to this larger understanding of community and citizenship one person at a time.

     While large, organizational or national attempts to save the environment, rescue various species from extinction and improve the quality of life for people frequently get the spotlight, small, personal acts of kindness and compassion for the living beings with whom we share our world often go unnoticed.  That's a shame, because these smaller, more personal acts are the best indicators of how successful we will be in the long run at preserving the world that sustains us. These individual acts of good world citizenship, the brief moments when one of us takes a moment to nurture the earth that in turn nurtures us, are signs that there is a shift in consciousness beginning to take place.

     I want to share one such act of good citizenship that happened in my neck of the woods this past week.  I found it to be uplifting and it, like any story of people choosing to "do the right thing" helped to restore my faith in humanity and our future.  I hope it will do the same for you.

     So first, a little introductory information.  Insects, as we all know, can be a nuisance and we have all wished at one time or another for the world to be rid of them.  But we also know that every living thing on this earth has a function and wiping out any group of insects, let alone all of them, would lead to devastation.  (We do know that, don't we?) 

      Insects are a part of this world that sustains us, and bees are a part of the insect community.  Honeybees have recently been the focus of much concern and for good reason.  Honeybees are the pollinators of choice for much of the insect-pollinated crops that are grown to feed our growing numbers.  While other types of bees and insects also pollinate crops, honeybees do the bulk of the work because there are so many more of them, and, because large numbers of them can be moved to where they are needed without disrupting the hives. 

     Unfortunately predators, diseases, improper pesticide use and many other factors have contributed to a severe decline in the honeybee population.  This is dire news for the bee keepers who make their living transporting bees to farms for pollination, for farmers whose crops will not exist without the pollination provided by honeybees and for the consumer who will have less food choice and significantly higher prices.  The reduction in the honeybee population is a worry for all of us and the potential extinction of the honeybee is true cause for alarm.  As Albert Einstein said, “If the honeybee becomes extinct, mankind will follow within four years.”  Kind of scary, huh?

     But many of us fail to see these connections or simply choose to not even bother contemplating it.  Mankind has become so cut-off from nature that we humans sometimes actually believe that we are above it.  We fail to recognize our dependence on other people, animals, plants and, yes, even insects. But whether we choose to acknowledge this interdependence or not, it exists.  You may want to believe that honeybees aren't important to your life but you would be wrong...dead wrong if Einstein's theory is correct.

     That's why it is so heart-warming to hear stories of people who do recognize this connection we have to all living things and who recognize the entire world as our community and are willing to act on their sense of obligation to it.  Especially here is East Jabipp (okay, not the real name of my town) which is not exactly known for it's progressive ideas.  We're easily ten to twenty years behind the times in general.  But even here, there are those who seem to get the bigger picture and who are brave enough to act on it even though others may think them crazy. 

     Most people, ignorant of the plight of honey bees or link between their well-being and ours, wouldn't think twice about calling an exterminator when a beehive turned up in an inconvenient place.  But fortunately, some of my neighbors did choose to think twice and we are all better off for it.

     A hive of honey bees recently formed in the parking lot of a local social club.  The bees were originally living in an abandoned apartment building (in a hive, not a two-bedroom)   The new owner of the building, wanting to do renovations, considered them a problem and (big surprise) tried to exterminate them.  Many of the bees survived however and some of them moved out, setting up house in the nearby social club's parking lot.  Members of the club and local residents who have some respect for other living things and who also understand our reliance on honey bees decided to try a different approach.  They called in a neighbor who had some bee keeping experience and asked if he would help. 

     David Kresge, with the help of his dad, moved handful after handful of the bees into a $9.95 do-it-yourself beehive box.  A few bee-stings and $9.95 later, the parking lot was bee free and and several thousand bees were safely relocated.  Once the honeybees start producing, David will have honey to sell and the ability to help pollinate local plants.  A resident who lives nearby said "I'm so glad they are doing this.  (The building's owner) wanted to exterminate them again...and I was flipping out."  Clearly, she and the social club members get the big picture and they're willing to "flip out" and risk appearing foolish to do the right thing.  It's amazing, isn't it, the difference that a little thought, some rubber gloves and a do-it-yourself beehive can make?  And knowing that there are a few more people out there who understand the big picture, who recognize their part in the larger community of planet earth and who are wiling to fulfill their obligations to it, makes me feel that our future is just a little bit more secure.

     So, to what communities do you feel you belong?  Is your definition of community as broad as what I've laid out here?  Do you feel that you are a contributing participant, a good citizen?  I hope that this story will motivate you to give the idea of community and citizenship a little bit of extra thought.  Please feel free to share any stories that you might have about ways you, or others you know, have contributed to the common good.  We can always use another uplifting story, now can't we?

Comments

[Barbara Swafford]

Hi Lori,

My first thought of community is the town I live, and then when I visit other places I like to get a feel for that community. The US is another one, as is the world.

Now that I blog, I have built another community. They are people from all over the world. It's amazing to me how bloggers (people I have never met)join together for the same "cause". We help each other, support each other, and cheer each other on. I love how that works.

Whether we're helping other people, rescuing bees or animals, or donating to help those in foreign countries, being part of any community helps us to grow as individuals.

[Lori]

Barbara,

You're right, being part of any community helps us to grow as individuals. It is amazing, isn't it, how united and supportive bloggers can be? The rest of the world could take a lesson!

[Michael Miles]

The online communities to which I feel I belong (in some sense) model 'real' communities in some very interesting ways. It might be interesting to write an article about this at some point.

[Lori]

Michael,

You write it...I'll read it! Or was that a suggestion for me?

[Evelyn Lim]

David Kresge and all the other members of the community displayed loving compassion to the bees. Your story is a good reminder that we need to think beyond our fellow human beings. In my home, we try to also be kind to ants and cockroaches.

Thanks for sharing,
Evelyn

[Lori]

Evelyn,

We do the same at my house. We've been escorting ants back out into the yard where they belong lately. Killing insect visitors is considered a last resort and not something to be taken lightly. I'm so glad I'm not the only "crazy" person out there!

[Shilpan]

Lori -

Great minds think alike. When you write, I feel as if it comes from my heart. I can't explain the nexus but it is there. We, human beings, have certainly developed an attitude of wiping anything that creates inconvenience in our life. To me, all living species have equal rights under the creator who created us all. We are just a tiny part of his astounding planet. I'm vegetarian and I strongly believe in loving and nurturing all animals as they lack the intelligence to fight against our evil nature to destroy them.

Shilpan

[Lori]

Shilpan,

Thanks so much for the warm response to my post. I believe in the worth of all living things as well, but once again, you are a little bit ahead of me when it comes to "walking the walk."

My husband and I were vegetarians for about 6 years but gave up on it (yes, I gave in to the convenience factor). Not being raised as a vegetarian and living in a society that doesn't exactly cater to the vegetarian crowd made it difficult. We both missed many of the foods we were used to. My kids were actually vegetarian for the first 3 years. I hope I have the tenacity to go back to vegetarianism at some point, but now I've shot myself in the foot, setting my kids up for difficulty with that lifestyle for the same reasons I had difficulty with it! Oh well, life is a learning experience and sometimes we learn the hard way, don't we?

[Kelly]

One of our local public officials made a fool of himself nationally by sending a disparaging letter filled with untruths about Barack Obama to a local paper. A former resident of our community wrote in reply that the worst thing about it was not the letter, but the lack of outrage from the community. My husband and I were talking about the incident a few days ago and I started thinking about all of the really important things going on that people don't get outraged or concerned about. One of them is the honey bee disappearance. Why is it that for so many people, Britney Spears' emotional state is worth talking about but not honey bees? I feel part of the natural community, but not always comfortably part of the human community.

[Lori]

Kelly,

Amen sister! It's amazing what people will let slide and what they will choose to devote their attention to. I think it's a defensive reaction. We feel so powerless and overwhelmed in the face of the real issues that we choose to focus on nonsense instead. I wish I knew the answer to this dilemma. If I come up with one I'll be sure to let everybody know!