In the midst of the chaos being created by the enforced aerial spraying of California, my mind has been sifting through history, looking for parallels to our present situation, looking for wisdom in the words of those wise and humble ones; humanitarians like Jesus Christ, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Mohandas K. Gandhi.

Who but Gandhi could have better understood the evil and challenge we Californians are currently facing in our own lands? Under the governance of corrupt politicians and greedy official agencies, we are working to obtain our freedom while the Constitutional laws that these officials are duty-bound to serve are mocked each time they open their mouths, telling us the authority to poison millions lies with them and that there will be no vote on the matter. Every fiber of our beings, yearning to be free to breathe plastic-free air, eat carginogen-free food, drink pesticide-free water, revolts at the arrogance of statements like these and the dismissive reception our justified outrage receives.

What Would Gandhi Say?

Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the State becomes lawless or corrupt.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture has cleverly orchestrated an emergency in order to bypass every law and measure put in place to protect human and environmental health. Moreover, the monetary contributions to our present governor made by both the secretary of the CDFA and the manufacturer of the poisonous spray have been openly documented in the news. Gandhi, it seems, would tell us it is our duty not to go along with the actions of men like these.

Democracy is not a state in which people act like sheep.

Ag. Sec. Kawamura has announced that people should just tolerate the spraying. He and his allies would like for us to be apathetic sheep. It would make their jobs a great deal easier if not one of us stood up and said ‘no’ to poisoning. It seems that Gandhi would not want us to fear being squeaky wheels or down-right pains in the neck if we prize the promised freedom of democracy and feel it is our patriotic duty to protect it.

No society can possibly be built on a denial of individual freedom.

It isn’t just our freedom that is being the denied by the enforced aerial spraying of California. It is your brother’s freedom, your grandmother’s freedom, your child’s freedom, your freedom. Each one of us has a guaranteed right to individual liberty, and each person sprayed without consent represents an individual violation of that constitutional guarantee. We are estimating, then, that some 7 million violations of freedom will occur, and a society that permits this type of governmental activity against the people seems doomed to ultimate failure.

Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as cooperation with good.

As Gandhi understood so well, it isn’t enough in this world to merely go along with what you feel is good. You’ve got to stand up when you know something is wrong. How can non-violent, non-cooperation happen in this LBAM public health crisis? A mass walkout in the financial districts that are set to be sprayed? This would reach all the way to Wall Street. A march? Not too long ago, a group of oppressed citizens in a third world country managed to win freedom by standing in the streets night and day banging pots and pans until their oppressors withdrew. What methods do you believe Gandhi would have suggested for not cooperating with the people who would abuse us in this horrible way?

Sorrow and suffering make for character if they are voluntarily borne, but not if they are imposed.

Often times, the grievous and grave experiences in our lives make us wiser and stronger, but, as Gandhi says, I do not see how having to leave my cherished home will build my character. How will it build the character of small children who will be terrified by the airplanes passing a few feet above their homes at night, again and again and again? How will it build character for parents if their children are born with birth defects? How will it build character for women to die of breast cancer? How will we become stronger by breathing plastic pollution and eating and drinking carcinogens? This suffering is being imposed on us by a government agency, against our will, and it will not build character. It will create terrible anger, bitterness and hatred for the government. It will not make us better people, nor will it make our country strong.

When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it–always.

This is the quote I take to bed with me at night, in hopes that I will get some sleep. Our discernment has shown us that we are facing evil in men like A.G. Kawamura, Stewart Resnick and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger - men who would band together to make a profit off of the abuse of California’s children, women and men. It is horrific to encounter violence and immorality of this kind in people who share our species. But, in order to avoid despair, in order to remain strong and unswayed in the work that is ahead of us, we must believe that good will triumph over evil. That truth and love are lights that will continue to burn if we keep them lit.

Gandhi walked his long hard road when he set out to win freedom for India. This time, it is up to us.

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