Earth Day?

So this is kind of an unrelated post, but I wanted to write something about it. Yesterday was Earthday, a day that we presumably are aware of how we treat the earth, and this is something that I am all for. However, one of my college students came into class yesterday with a flyer and speeches about how we should take care of the earth. All of which I agree with, but then she proceeded to mock and terrorize one of her classmates. This of course is their relationship, and they are still immersed in a kind of pecking order and hierarchy where it's okay to ridicule those lower than you. So I lectured them, and then I thought I'd talk here, about something kind of ironic in Earthday.  

What I find ironic is that we are horrible to each other, we are cruel and rude and have no compassion for other humans, but we want to spend a full day taking care of the earth. What I thought would be better is if we have Peopleday. A day dedicated to how we treat each others. A full day where we don't push in front of others, where we don't try and make a buck off someone, where we go out of our way to help some other person. Granted, I agree the earth should be cared for by us, but I also think that we need to care for each other and in many ways I think this is even more important. 

Now here is my lecture, I'll try and make it brief.  Caring for others is a reflection of how we care for ourselves. If we practicing loving ourselves, then we find it easier to love people around us. If we love ourselves then we don't seek to destroy the world, we see the value of the earth, we see the value of others because we so highly value ourselves. So really what I'd like to see, and I had no idea I was such a hippie, is something called Selfloveday. Okay, that even made me a little sick, but I like the idea. If we love ourselves then we love the thing which sustains us, the earth. 

So although I'm all for the environment, I can't help seeing it as a reflection of ourselves. We pump ourselves full of toxins and chemicals because we don't value ourselves in any way. When we can start valuing ourselves then we don't have to worry about the earth, because we will recognize important it is to us. Selfloveday, I think I like it.