“This is Eden,” Kangas said before correcting herself. “Was. And I think it can be with a little control.

— Amy Reid reporting a local story (warning: site has many advertising, etc. scripts) on flood control in Madison, WI.

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Commentary:

“How you have fallen from heaven,
O star of the morning, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the earth,
You who have weakened the nations!
“But you said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
And I will sit on the mount of assembly
In the recesses of the north.[']

— Isaiah 14:12 NASB

🎵Tale as old as time.🎵 Isn’t that the crux, “with a little control”? But her Eden may not be mine or yours. Even the bible story is about control “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”¹

Who decides? Who has the power? Is freedom absolute, or does it require controls to ensure everyone has the most freedom possible, even if that means it isn’t total freedom? How do animals fit into the schema?

Am I blowing this out of proportion? She just wants her backyard back…except she lives on a river. Rivers provide water to everyone — they are a common good. And what is good for this one individual might be harmful for those downstream or the ecosystem. Maybe we need to make every decision with more thought and care.

…No Church in the Wild from Watch the Throne by Jay-Z and Kanye West, featuring Frank Ocean and The Dream, is available for purchase on iTMS, Amazon, and for streaming on Tidal.