{"id":1083,"date":"2020-01-20T14:59:43","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T14:59:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hopetheparentteacher.com\/?p=1083"},"modified":"2020-01-20T14:59:43","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T14:59:43","slug":"the-danger-of-cute-and-beautiful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hopetheparentteacher.com\/?p=1083","title":{"rendered":"The Danger of “Cute” and “Beautiful”"},"content":{"rendered":"

I had been reading and writing to no avail for 4+ hours.\u00a0 It was time to walk away,\u00a0 get my daughter off her electronics, and get some fresh air outside with the dogs.\u00a0 I didn’t get far when I noticed\u00a0\"cedar<\/a> \"Dead<\/a><\/p>\n

Wow, it’s a gorgeous bird I knew nothing about.\u00a0 After I respectfully buried it, I came inside and consulted my bird book to no easy match.\u00a0 I then turned to\u00a0a Face Book Group called Birding Alabama<\/a>. In minutes the members of the group informed me that it was a\u00a0Cedar Waxwing<\/a>.\u00a0 Not only that,\u00a0 but one woman surmised that it died from eating from a Nandina Berry Bush otherwise known as Sacred Bamboo.\u00a0 I immediately thought of a bush in my back yard.\u00a0 I took this picture and asked if this was it.\"Nandina<\/a><\/p>\n

Low and behold it is.\u00a0 It took some time for me to realize along with more comments from the group\u00a0 like this\u00a0article from Audubon <\/a>Society\u00a0that if I care about these birds I need to get rid of these gorgeous berries and lovely little bush.\u00a0 But they are so beautiful!<\/em><\/p>\n

According to this article, “The\u00a0U.S. Department of Agriculture\u00a0and most states classify\u00a0Nandina domestica<\/em>\u00a0as a noxious, non-native, invasive weed from China and Japan. It has naturalized and invaded our national parks, national wildlife refuges, national forests, city parks, and other habitats throughout the U.S. …In addition to bird deaths in Georgia, bird deaths have been reported in Houston and other parts of the country. Hydrogen cyanide is a painful and unnecessary way for birds to die. Nandina is also\u00a0toxic to dogs, cats, and many other animals.”<\/p>\n

“Non-native”\u00a0 hmmm that’s an inflammatory adjective.\u00a0 It is this term I know turn my writing.<\/p>\n

As a former public school science teacher I’ve taken myself on numerous professional development opportunities as well as my classes on field trips to remove some of these non-native plants.\u00a0 But the key to fully understanding which plants need to be removed are several other key adjectives included in the description of this Heavenly Bamboo.\u00a0 “Noxious and invasive” are key descriptors.<\/p>\n

“Noxious” in human relation terms is lack of respect for that which was there to begin with. “Invasive” means that it is “I”, “me”, “my kind”, “my way or the highway.”\u00a0 This is so important in both the natural world and human.\u00a0 Why? Well, first of all the truly native plants in each part of the world aren’t sufficient to feed us.\u00a0 Yup, most of the fruits and vegetables that you eat everyday didn’t originate in the country you live in.\u00a0 They came from another part of the world.\u00a0 For example, consider this figure from\u00a0ncbi.nlm.nih.gov<\/a><\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

In other words, non-natives and immigration are necessary for the survival of people.\u00a0 The issue is what other characteristics describe these non-natives?\u00a0 Are they respectful?\u00a0 Do they politely integrate and get along?\u00a0 Or are they there to rape, pillage, kill, and conquer? Do not judge on outward appearance of “cute” or “pretty.”\u00a0 One must consider all of its characteristic properties.<\/p>\n

Two points.\u00a0 First, consider for nature and for self.\u00a0 Not all non-native plants, animals, and insects are problematic for the natural environment they have come to.\u00a0 There may be enough “checks and balances” or “predator\/prey” for a healthy balance for the original community.\u00a0 But is all that was naturally present good and worthy to keep?<\/p>\n

This is one of the most confusing parts of the\u00a0Pentateuch or first five books of the Bible<\/a>.\u00a0 Why did God\u00a0command the Israelites to exterminate the Canaanites<\/a>, yet allowed the king and the people of Nineveh live in the book of Jonah?<\/p>\n

Full Text (in English) of the Book of Jonah<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n