The Political Garden #1: The Future of The Nation.

     America is divided. Political vitriol is at an all time high, and civility has gone the way of Alderaan. In this time of clashing ideologies, we must, as citizens, decide which direction we want our country to follow. All the issues must be carefully weighed so as to assure the prosperity and security of our nation. Special interests will try to press their cases; we must not listen. The future of America is at stake; blindly following the party platform is no longer an option. In this crucial election, we must cast our vote based upon what what kind of leadership is best for these United States. We must look back at the values that our nation was founded on, and carry those values with us as we look toward the next four years. We must learn from those who came before us, who paved the way for this nation's success. We must go back to our roots.

     Where better to begin than with the father of our country, George Washington. It is well known that Washington was an avid cultivator of plants, especially flowering trees such as dogwoods, redbuds, and his favorite, the flowering cherry. So great was his interest, that as a young child he went out to his father's garden (Augustine was an avid gardener himself, and many historians theorize that he was young George's original inspiration) and took several cuttings from his father's prized cherry tree in order to propagate the tree and attempt to breed new cultivars. The myth that he chopped down the entire tree was simply a bastardization of the true story. This more action packed version was adopted by the continental army as propaganda and used to terrify British soldiers (it worked). After the war, the myth spread and eventually evolved into the story we know today.

As you can see, Washington's fascination with botany developed at an early age.  

   
     What does this have to do with the upcoming election, you may ask? My answer: everything. If we are to return to the values of the Founding Fathers, we must return to the foundation upon which they built this great nation. We must return the vision of "One nation, under Star Wars gardening, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

     Unfortunately, the current political climate is more focused on flash-in-the-pan issues like immigration, healthcare, and the economy. These issues are used to occupy voters' attentions and television screens, all the while ignoring the real problems facing the American public. Where is the outcry about the lack of gardening education in schools? Who will stand up for the conservation of endangered mosses? Why is no one talking about the current embargo on high-end Japanese tokoname pots and planters? Our country has lost its soul! This election may be our last chance to recover it and take back our freedom from the political machine.

     The choice to save America may be hard to make, however. Neither of the candidates have histories of fighting for gardening rights, nor do either of their running mates. Some have described the Honorable and Mighty 47th Vice President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, as a "vegetable", however, this is not confirmed. The closest our extensive research efforts could come to un-earthing any record of botanical involvement by any of the candidates was President Obama's admission to recreational use of marijuana (cannabis indica) as a teenager. This is viewed by gardening think-tanks as only a passing interest, however, and the President has made no mention of furthering landscape infrastructure development at all during his campaign.

Do either of them really care about the availability of hard to find Acer Palmatum cultivars? NO.

     My fellow Americans, this leaves us with a single, but difficult option. We must abolish the corrupt and ineffective political system under which we currently operate. We must cast out those false representatives who do not truly govern in the best interests of the people who elect them! So go! Tell your elected officials just what you think about the lack of responsible water-usage on Wall Street! Tell them about the 99% of gardeners across the country that are denied access to affordable plant care! Tell them that they govern for the gardeners people, by the people, and politics as usual cannot go on! Riot (please don't) in the streets! March on Washington!

     The tyranny ends now.


     I claim no rights to the images in this post.