My dad taught me some of the most important things I know. (Tweet this) How to look at the stars. How to make something grow from a handful of soil. How to carve a path through the woods. And how to ask, why? and to keep asking it, until I got a good answer. He taught me about trust, and love, and resilience, and one more important thing: common sense.
Common sense. The idea that most of us know what to do, innately, simply, forcefully. Like, it makes simple common sense NOT to pollute our air. It makes simple common sense NOT to put poisonous chemicals in our stuff. It makes simple common sense NOT to put our children — their heads, their hearts, their lungs — in harm’s way, by exposing them to dangers that we can control, easily and affordably.
We can control our climate pollution, if, and it is a big if, in this day, sadly — if we band together and insist on simple, common sense measures to cut carbon and methane emissions.
I want to join all of you, this weekend, in thanking all the fathers in our lives who do all they can do to teach our children well. I see everything from the point of view of a mom. But in every mother’s heart, there is a dad.
Happy Father’s Day to one and all.