This morning, I rec'd a very long, detailed email rant from my good friend Jenne Ramsey. Granted, only part of this email even focused on DDT and malaria, but it got my goat enough that I feel obliged to post and ruminate on it here. So, without further ado, here is the email segment from Jenne:
"The most deadly forces of the present era are rampantly victimizing innocent lives in Africa today. They have been given the power to kill more people every year, approximately 50 million or one life every 12 seconds. Having been defeated in the West decades ago they form an army that covers multiple countries in Africa. And they are on a constant killing mission causing more deaths than any of the atrocities cited above. For the price of about $1.44 per household they could be stopped in their tracks. But instead of providing the very weapons to the African people that we used to defeat them, we have chosen to let children die under the assumptions of false conclusions that were made by poor environment science years ago.
The DDT scandal that plagues Africa kills more people today than any other deadly force in Africa. Again, it goes largely unreported. However, the death toll rises continually as these little graphics show. In this case, the silence is not the fault of one journalist but many. It's simply not politically correct to argue for the use of something that Greenpeace opposes. Even if does so on the grounds of false science.
I am actually surprised that DDT hasn't hit the circuits of the Evangelical megavoiced churches today. In reality, it would be a great weapon against the democrats in the upcoming election. We all know that right wing conservatives aren't known for their focus on Environmental friendly legislation and it would be a relatively simple thing to add people dying senseless deaths in Africa to our more pressing issues of homosexuality and abortion in this country. However, this seems to be one example of a successful smear campaign for environmentalists.
The right wing hasn't chosen to make the children of Africa its pawn in this battle, but the environmentalist camp has. The banning of DDT represents a pinnacle of victory for radical environmentalism. Based upon research conclusions that may have been considered valid at the time, the ban on DDT is a banner by which environmental groups claim to have impact. But this impact comes from false assumptions, invalidated research, and most tragically, at the cost of 50 million lives per year.
So what do we do? Or, at least, What do I do? Does all of this mean that we shouldn't talk on cell phones? Does this nullify the work many of us are part of through organizations like the World Affairs Council? Does being against the ban on DDT make us unfaithful stewards of God's environment? I would say no.
But I also would say that the time has come for some of these things to enter the voice of Christianity in America. To me part of being a Christian is becoming a voice for the voiceless. Part of being an educated Christian in country of privilege is becoming aware of complex issues. I don't have to use a cell phone company that purchases Colton from Congan rebels if I take a few minutes to do some homework. I can participate in recycling efforts, and earth day and whatever other environmental causes come my way but while I am discussing the use of hybrid automobiles with my friends, I might also ask them to rethink this DDT issue.
I can even go a step further and pay more attention to reports on these issues. I can set up Google searches to keep myself current. And, I can pass that information on. I can even write brief emails and letters to those in power who claim to represent me on these matters and I can encourage others to do the same.
As I move out of ignorance on the inconvenient deaths that surround my world, I can begin talking. I can begin educating. I can look for ways to make the cries of the voiceless heard. As I do so, and as I encourage others to do the same, I can do one more thing. I can pray. And, with the knowledge I glean from research I find specific issues to pray about. I am praying about malaria in Africa and DDT right now. But I am not going to stop there, if I know, I can tell. I don't want to look back on things like Dar Fur or this health crisis and say that I chose silence.
My hope is that I can be part of a generation of Christians that looks beyond the current rhetoric of our era. I want to be connected to Christians around the world and in my fellowship I want to begin to look at what can be done to help those suffering needlessly around the world.
No I don't think that we will solve everything. We do live on a fallen planet after all. But I can't believe that when I pray "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, On Earth as it is in Heaven" that this could possibly mean that Kingdom of Christ can turn a deaf ear in silence. I somehow don't think that advancing God's Kingdom is limited to building more church palaces or eradicating homosexuality in my culture. I think perhaps, this revolution of love that Jesus seems to call us to, may begin with refusing to silence. If I hear him saying anything to me I hear him calling me out of silence. To me it's the first step of taking action. Solutions of any kind can't be found if I chose to basque in ignorance and then turn my head in silent denial while I know that the bloodcries of the innocent are reaching the ears of God as they die needlessly. Someday, I will share a heavenly home with these people and I can't bear to look at them and say I said nothing."
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