Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party

Hear the words of Wendell Berry, spoken like a prophet of the earth: “Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do.” In this saying lies a truth as old as creation itself: man may build his cities, draft his laws, and chase his ambitions, but none of these escape the eternal covenant with the soil, the sea, and the sky. The earth is not silent. She watches, she remembers, and she delivers her judgment with the weight of mountains and the fury of storms.

Berry speaks of Nature as a participant, not a backdrop. Too often mankind imagines that the rivers, the forests, and the air are passive, waiting to be bent to our will. But Berry reminds us that they are not merely scenery but actors in the great drama of existence. When we drain the wetlands, they answer with floods; when we poison the air, it returns to us in sickness; when we strip the soil, it gives us famine instead of bread. Thus, the earth casts her votes, not with ink or ballot, but with consequence. Her memory stretches beyond the span of kings and governments, for she recalls every wound we carve upon her face.

This wisdom has been confirmed by history. Recall the fate of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. Farmers, eager for profit, plowed the prairies without heed to the laws of the land, stripping them bare of grasses that had long held the soil in place. For a few years, they reaped abundance. But Nature remembered. She sent winds to lift the soil into black blizzards that choked cattle, blinded children, and buried towns. Fields lay desolate, and families fled in despair. Here, Berry’s words come to life: Nature voted, and her verdict was stern. The selfish decisions of men brought forth devastation, teaching that the land cannot be exploited without consequence.

The quote also speaks to justice—a justice that is not swayed by speeches or delayed by courts. Human law may pardon the guilty or ignore the suffering, but the justice of Nature is relentless. She shows no favoritism to wealth or power. The ocean will rise against palaces as well as huts; the drought will parch the fields of the mighty and the meek alike. In this sense, her justice is more pure than ours, for it cannot be bribed, cannot be deceived, cannot be escaped. It is the justice of balance, restoring what has been broken, avenging what has been abused.

Let us hear also the deeper meaning: Berry’s warning is not merely about storms and famine, but about humility. We must remember that we are not masters above Nature, but children within her household. Our decisions—economic, political, and personal—are always entangled with her. To forget this is to build upon sand, but to remember is to build upon rock. The ancients who honored the seasons, who offered respect to rivers and forests, understood this truth instinctively. They knew that harmony with the earth was the root of survival, and that arrogance against her was the path to ruin.

Therefore, O listener, learn from this wisdom. Do not imagine that your choices are small. Every plastic bottle discarded, every tree planted, every vote cast for leaders who defend or neglect the earth—these are threads woven into the tapestry of the future. If you act with reverence, Nature will bless your children; if you act with greed, she will testify against them. To live wisely is to live with awareness that every act is a covenant with the soil beneath your feet and the sky above your head.

Practically, let your actions reflect this reverence. Conserve water, for rivers are not endless. Plant trees, for forests are the lungs of your descendants. Support leaders who honor the earth, not those who plunder it. Teach children to see the sacred in the grass, the bird, and the stone. In these small acts, you stand in alliance with Nature, casting your vote with her rather than against her.

And so, remember the teaching of Wendell Berry: Nature is the greater power, the greater judge, the greater memory. You may ignore her voice, but you cannot escape her verdict. Choose then to walk in harmony, lest her stern justice fall upon you. For in honoring her, you honor life itself, and you leave behind a world where generations yet unborn may live in peace beneath her watchful eyes.