[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 195 (Wednesday, December 19, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S15996]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     ARTICLE BY RABBI MICHAEL COHEN

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I would like to bring to the attention of 
the Senate an article by Rabbi Michael Cohen who is director of special 
projects at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. Rabbi Cohen 
recently submitted the article entitled ``The Genesis of Diversity'' to 
the New York Times. In this article, Rabbi Cohen eloquently reminds us 
that environmental and biological diversity is not simply a thought or 
something we simply sit back and observe. Rather we are constant 
participants in the act of diversity and as such it is our 
responsibility as human beings to protect our environment. This article 
serves as a reminder of the importance of preserving environmental and 
biological diversity during this holiday season.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Rabbi Michael M. Cohen's 
article entitled ``The Genesis of Diversity'' be printed in the 
Congressional Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                        The Genesis of Diversity

                        (By Rabbi Michael Cohen)

       In 1968 Hanukkah and Ramadan ended on the same date. The 
     next day was Christmas Eve. That evening, one quarter of the 
     world's population saw, for the first time, images taken by 
     the Apollo 8 astronauts of the earth from a lunar orbit. The 
     earth, a beautifully colored marble ball floating across the 
     black backdrop of the universe, also looked lonely and 
     vulnerable. Those pictures captured the imagination of the 
     world, triggering something in the consciousness of humanity 
     that gave birth to the environmental movement and, two years 
     later, the first Earth Day.
       To frame that moment, a shared historic moment that would 
     transcend all the divisions of the world, the Apollo 8 crew 
     read from the beginning of the Bible, the first ten lines 
     from the Book of Genesis. The opening chapters of Genesis not 
     only include the account of the creation of the earth but 
     over and over tell us of the importance of diversity.
       All of creation is called ``good,'' reminding us of the 
     value of the multiplicity of the world that we live in. The 
     text also teaches us, by describing everything that is 
     created before humans as ``good,'' that all things have 
     intrinsic value in and of themselves beyond any value that we 
     may place on them. Once humans are created, ``very good'' is 
     the adjective applied by the text. An anthropocentric reading 
     of the text would say this is because the world was created 
     for our needs, and once we are in place we can do what we 
     want with the world. A biocentric reading of the text says 
     that ``very good'' only means that creation as described 
     in the text was complete, and that we humans were the last 
     piece of the biological puzzle.
       This reading is supported by the reality that if humans 
     were to disappear from the face of the earth all that had 
     been created before us would go on quite well, actually 
     better, without our presence. However, if a strata of the 
     diversity of life that had been created before humans were to 
     disappear, we, and all that had been created after it, would 
     no longer exist. In a bit of Heavenly humor on Darwin's 
     survival of the fittest, it is actually the smallest and 
     least physically strong species, like the butterflies, bees, 
     and amoebas, that hold the survival of the world in place. 
     Unlike the other species of the planet, we have the power to 
     commit biocide if we do not protect and preserve those 
     smaller forms of life.
       The importance of diversity is emphasized a few chapters 
     later, in the story of Noah, where Noah is told to bring 
     pairs of each species onto the ark so that after the flood 
     they can replenish the earth. After the flood, God places a 
     rainbow in the sky as a reminder to never again destroy the 
     world. It is both a symbol and a metaphor: a single ray of 
     light refracted through water, the basic source of all life, 
     produces a prism of colors. As with the Creation story, we 
     are again reminded that the foundation of diversity is that 
     we all come from one source. On its most profound level, this 
     understanding should give us all the awareness that we have a 
     relationship with and are connected to the rest of humanity 
     and creation.
       Immediately following the story of Noah we read about the 
     Tower of Babel. The whole account takes up only nine verses. 
     The conventional reading is that its message is one against 
     diversity; the babel of languages at the end of the story is 
     understood as a punishment. The Israeli philosopher Yeshayahu 
     Leibowitz presents a different reading of the text. For 
     Leibowitz, Babel represents a fascist totalitarian state 
     where the aims of the state are valued more than the 
     individual. In such a society, diverse thought and expression 
     is frowned upon. The text tells us that everyone ``had the 
     same language, and the same words.''
       We read in the genealogies that link the Noah and Babel 
     stories that the ``nations were divided by their lands, each 
     one with its own language, according to their clans, by their 
     nations.'' Leibowitz sees the babel of languages not as a 
     punishment but a corrective return to how things had been and 
     were supposed to be.
       That is still our challenge today. Diversity is not a 
     liberal value; it is the way of the world. We know that the 
     environment outside of our human lives is healthier with 
     greater diversity, coral reefs and rain forests being prime 
     examples. It is also true for humanity. We are better off 
     because of the different religions, nations, cultures, and 
     languages that comprise the human family. The Irish Potato 
     Famine was caused because only one variety of potato was 
     planted. Without diverse crops, the disease spread easily 
     on a large and deadly scale.
       In one of his State of the Union addresses, former 
     President Bill Clinton said, ``This fall, at the White House, 
     one of America's leading scientists said something we should 
     all remember. He said all human beings, genetically, are 99.9 
     percent the same. So modern science affirms what ancient 
     faith has always taught: the most important fact of life is 
     our common humanity. Therefore, we must do more than tolerate 
     diversity--we must honor and celebrate it.''
       The opening of the Bible understands diversity not as a 
     noun but as a verb; diversity is the basic action for life as 
     we know it on this planet. Its importance is underscored by 
     the fact that three accounts in its opening chapters 
     highlight diversity as a foundation of the world we live in. 
     Such an orientation is essential for our survival as a 
     species.

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