The Amateur naturalist Amateur naturalist deviates (briefly) from the real world

I have a theory. Actually I have a lot of theories, as my family and colleagues will nervously tell you. But this theory, I think, is more closely tuned to planet Earth than others.

My theory is this: Most people are nowhere near as interested in money as we’re led to believe.

This is what I mean:

Huge numbers of news stories are about money, on the assumption that’s what we want to hear about. But how many people actually care about the $10.4 billion ExxonMobil made in three months? That number is barely real. But what does get people’s attention is the feeling that some of the money was simply stolen. It’s not the money, but the theft that matters. When a millionaire donates millions for sports programs, we are bombarded with dollar figures; but it’s not the money that interests most people – it’s the generosity.

Last week the British government issued a report saying global warming threatens the world’s economy. The goal was to get America’s attention on the climate before a “disaster … in our lifetime.” This is a new argument: concede it’s a truth we all hold as self-evident that the economy (i.e., money) is more important than the environment, and reason that protecting the environment prevents damage to the economy.

Of course, some people just love money itself. Good for them. That’s their business. But the trouble is, some of them work hard to convince the rest of us that money is our main interest, too. Somehow, surrounded by it, we assume it must be true.

But I think the endless talk of money fatigues most people. It seems fascinating at first, but it gets repetitious and boring, like pornography. This column today is getting boring because it has yet to mention a single image from the natural world where we actually live.

For decades, many teenagers have been enraged without knowing why. Part of it is because they’re bored, and one reason they’re bored is because adults teach them the goal of everything they do is to make money. Playing in the school band builds your resume, which leads to college, which leads to a job, which is the last detour to acquiring money. But what could be more boring to a 17-year-old whose inner life is awakening and by reflex seeking human meaning, and for whom music has revealed itself to be powerfully meaningful? The meaning of playing in the school band is that it might lead to a good-paying job? Get away from me.

My theory is that most people remember the feeling that music is more meaningful than money long after they leave school. But since the love of money is upheld all around them as a virtue, they feel a civic duty to parrot the notion. Even though they know (although it’s impolite to say so) that the love of money has damaged sports, politics and other things.

Having interests that supersede money is not deviant behavior. It’s what you’re doing that’s meaningful, and where your thoughts and feelings live while you’re doing it.

I find the bombardment of stories about money wearying. The universe is immense. We have responsibilities to it that are more real than the cash. A handful of stars have changed the way I live. In my trees whole worlds are in play. After listening to them sing for years, I’m pretty sure birds are conscious beings. Not one of them has a penny.

– Dana Wilde, dwilde@bangordailynews.net