Conclusion
At the root of Berry's position is his declaration that "The growth of the exploiters' revolution on this continent has been accompanied by the growth of the idea that work is beneath human dignity, particularly any form of hand work" and that "it is impossible to care for each other more or differently than we care for the earth." He contends that it is not overpopulation or scarcity of resources that are the crux of the environmental crisis, but overindulgence and wasteful use of the resources available to us. In the natural order of life on this planet, everything is recycled to provide enough energy for all organisms, but we humans have endeavored to disrupt this life-and-death cycle in the arrogant belief that we have a better way of ordering the universe. This belief system is generated by an interrelated belief that leisure is more valuable than work, therefore whatever decreases human energy output while providing us with the "necessities" of life is venerated.
Repercussions of our modern way of life include a dependence on non-replenishing sources of energy, an isolation of the body from the soul (resulting in competition rather than cooperation between organisms), and an educational system that values money over morals. According to Berry, "A healthy culture is a communal order of memory, insight, value, work, conviviality, reverence, aspiration. It reveals the human necessities and the human limits. It clarifies our inescapable bonds to the earth and to each other. It assures that the necessary restraints are observed, that the necessary work is done, and that it is done well."
Our present culture evidences none of these aspects. The average American has little regard for the ideals of the past, viewing yesterday's technology as archaic and useless, resulting in an insatiable thirst for "bigger and better" technology to further separate us from the "drudgery" of work. Restraints of indulgences are completely ignored and in fact their disregard is encouraged by an economy dependent on over-consumption. As a result, our society is fraught with diseases of the mind and body. We are bored with a lifestyle that values leisure over work, increasing our need for more varieties of entertainment while what we do for a living-where we spend at least forty hours each week-is seen as something we need to escape from, a "necessary evil" rather than a joyful aspect of every-day living. This translates to a perceived need to escape responsibility, which further relates to a separation of sexuality and fertility: instead of taking responsibility for our procreation through restraining our sexuality, we rely on inefficient means of birth control so that the pleasure-entertainment value-of sexuality can be exploited. And since the only 100% effective means of birth control is abstinence, this attitude results in our overpopulation, which in turn increases our consumption of resources and the pollution of our environment. Our increasing population also results in our increasing poor health as evidenced by our dependence on the medical profession to find cures for an increasing number of new diseases.
Our separation of the sources of energy from our consumption of it is evidenced by our reluctance to recognize that our sources of energy-whether it is to fuel our bodies or our automobiles-come from the earth and must ultimately go back into the earth, and that it is up to us to determine whether this return to the earth results in a renewal of energy or a complete waste of it. By relegating the "drudgery" of food production to an invisible work force instead of taking direct responsibility of it, we lose control of our capacity to ensure this renewal. In addition, we lose out on an essential joy of living - the satisfaction that comes with witnessing and encouraging the natural cycles of life.
