To: letters@nytimes.com
Re: Let it be "God bless" rather than "God forgive" America
Date: Sat, 23 August 2003 

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

Nations, like individuals, find it difficult facing up to their own faults, even though doing so is an expression of strength and maturity rather than of weakness (Draft of Air Rule Is Said to Exempt Many Old Plants, August 22, 2003).

Because of your immense power and influence, we desperately need America to face up to its faults, in particular to the non-sustainability of its economy and way of life, not least because they are being emulated, once they can afford it, by billions of people around the globe.

It is a lot to ask, I know, but the alternative does not bear thinking about.

It was an American astronaut, James Lovell, who radioed back to Earth the immortal words, “Houston, we have a Problem”, when the life-support systems of his spacecraft, Apollo 13, were damaged by an explosion on its way to the Moon.

Our planet, Spaceship Earth, also has a Problem: one of creating sustainable economies and ways of life, not just for 300 million Americans, but for 7-9 billion people, before its limited resources and finite carrying capacity cease to take the ever increasing drain and strain that we are placing on them.

There is no lunar module for us all to crawl into and hold out until our safe return. Either we solve the Problem on board – or we perish.

Because of the vast differences in scale, the Problem that took just seconds to become apparent on board Apollo 13, is taking years (decades) aboard Spaceship Earth. But for those with eyes to see, the signs are clear enough.

Hopefully one day, we or our descendents will all be able to say, “God bless America” for leading us to sustainability, rather than “God forgive America” for leading us to our own destruction.