lefty from canada

[NewLeft]

hey, lefty from canada here
im 16 years old and my hero is murray bookchin
i am interested in left history and have been lurking this forum for awhile

[Mr. Natural]

So you took the plunge! This old fart thinks it's mighty fine to be a 16-year-old Canadian lefty.

Be sure to check out Judi Bari's essay, "Revolutionary Ecology," which is available on the internet. I also highly recommend George Sessions, ed., Deep Ecology For The 21st Century. This is a collection of almost 40 very readable essays on ecological themes. Authors include Arne Naess (founder of deep ecology), Gary Snyder, Dolores LaChapelle, Fritjof Capra, Dave Foreman, etc.

Murray Bookchin might have been the first lefty to engage what is thought of as the environmental movement. He published a book on the subject--title forgotten--that was current with Rachel Carson's Silent Spring

However, Bookchin's extreme sectarianism poisoned everything he did. He drove the best people away with his intolerance of differing views. He used Dave Foreman and his often conservative, seemingly misanthropic views to set up and denounce all of deep ecology. He did this because he viewed deep ecology as a competing philosophy.

So how about you becoming a new, improved Murray Bookchin? Combine his caring and intelligence with a mind that is open to truths other than your own. We all have much to learn and must learn from each other.

Welcome! Mr. Natural sends you his red-green very best.

[ellipsis]

Welcome to the forum!
If you haven't already, check out book chin's 1984 Waterloo lecture on you tube.