Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you.
Wendell Berry
Do unto those
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C. – In addition to being an author, Wendell Berry was also a farmer.
After receiving many awards and much recognition and living for some time with his family in France and Italy, Berry moved to Lane’s Landing, a 12-acre farm that he had purchased, and began growing corn and small grains on what eventually became a homestead of about 117 acres in Henry County, in north-central Kentucky, on the West bank of the Kentucky River.
I took this to be a farmer’s iteration of the Golden Rule, which I think has universal application.
My point was about those who think the universe revolves around them, which did not include Wendell Berry (believe or not, I’ve edited a law journal article relating Berry’s writings to land-use law…).
There’s one problem with this meme: For some people, there isn’t anyone upstream to worry about — or at least they believe that’s true. (And conversely, for some people there’s nobody downstream…)