The religious right loves to use Nature when they think it supports their agenda, while trashing it the rest of the time. They say homosexuality is “against” Nature. It certainly isn't. Have they never heard of bonobo chimps? They're major lesbians. Large populations of mice display a lot of homosexuality. They have to...for population control. And I seem to remember something about penguins...Many animals display some degree of gayness at some point in their lives. Why not? Nature doesn't care. She says, if it feels good, do it! The natural world is not as straight and narrow, or as hetero, as they foolishly believe. There are endless possibilities, and among highly social animals, the ability to bond is a prerequisite to procreation. And you bond with who you bond with for your own reasons.
There are oh so many practices the religious right thinks are good...and against Nature. Mono-culture is very much against Nature. Nature would never devote vast tracts of land to the support of only one species of plant or animal, poisoning everybody else. Any land steward or biologist will tell you so. Nature is about biodiversity and symbiotic relationships. Mono-culture devastates natural eco-systems, which makes it decidedly against Nature. But the religious right smiles benignly at agro-big-business and the trucking industry and the artificial insemination of livestock and chemical fertilizer...
Male supremacists point out so-called harem species, like lions and horses, as proof of the rightness of the subjugation of women. But these poor, exhausted, constantly challenged males are hardly masters of their domains. They exist briefly, if they are incredibly lucky, within female societies...mothers, sisters and aunties. The females stay together, pretty much for life. The males, fabulous specimens as they are, have only a short time to pass on their genetic information. After a year, maybe two, somebody stronger, smarter and better looking sends them packing. But hey! They can't be around long enough to get their own daughters pregnant, can they? That would be line-breeding, which is against Nature, too.
What about oil drilling? That's totally against Nature. True, it's not only the religious right who do it, but the mentality that perpetuates the exploitation of Nature, draining her every resource, using her like an old rag before tossing her into the landfill, is a mentality that springs, full-grown, out of the head of the Old Testament. In Ezekiel 34:25, Yahweh promises to rid the world of wild animals so there can be a utopia of cultivated gardens and humanity can be like sheep. Look it up. That's about as against Nature as it gets.
There are tons of things against Nature...awful, unnatural things...the religious right thinks are just great. So why do they worry about others doing anything they call against Nature...especially when it isn't?
Anne has finished her first novel and is busy peddling it to agents and publishers. She can be found wandering the streets of Crestone, CO and hanging out in Internet cafes. Contact her at annepyterek@gmail.com
