[todaysdate]
By Liv Larson Andrews
From the Eastern church comes the legend of St. Michael, the slayer of dragons. As with many legends there are several versions of his story, but the main element in all is the presence of an oppressive, hungry dragon living near a town in a lake. To appease the dragon, the people of the town used to feed it two sheep every day, and when the sheep failed, they fed it their children, chosen by lottery.
[Spoiler alert: St. Michael totally slays the thing, whilst also saving a princess and converting the whole town to Christianity. It’s a legend, right?]
But let me back up. The townspeople fed the dragon their *own children*. Here, for me, is the meaning of these legends. I believe there is another kind of dragon rising with the potential to kill and poison millions of children. In the legend of our own time, this dragon is named the Keystone XL Pipeline. It’s reach is enormous; its contents deadly. Its purpose is to vomit fire (very, very profitable fire). But the cost of its burning will be paid in the air and water of the whole earth.
This dragon was recently rebuffed a little. Not slain, not by any stretch of legend. Just put aside for awhile, by the sway of one little senate vote. Thanks be to God.
It’s amazing what kind of enemies the dragon has. Who and where the vanquishers are may surprise us. It’s not only the Sierra Club. There is a partner organization in the Great Plains calling itself the Cowboy and Indian Alliance, since farmers, ranchers, and native tribespeople are banding together to voice opposition to the pipeline. They are primarily worried about potential spillage and poisoning of the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the largest aquifers in the world, spanning from South Dakota to Texas.
Cowboys and Indians on the same side. What’s next? Dwarves and Elves working together? Oh, wait…
The recent vote disapproving the pipeline may prove as effective as throwing a penny in the eye of Smaug. We need St. Michael.
Except the saint we need is not a single person, a blessed vanquisher from outside. St. Michael is a movement, a community, a body of people deciding that (dammit) we refuse to feed our children to any more poisonous monsters, no matter what kind of sweet capitalist promises they spew at us.
I consider myself a Christian pacifist, with the exception of a few scenarios involving mythic and legendary creatures. I will definitely wield a samurai sword when the zombie apocalypse comes. Until then, peaceful, nonviolent action is how I roll. And I find myself hungering for some direct action to express my protest against the coming of the huge, disgusting dragon that is Keystone XL. Need I don a yellow jumpsuit like the Bride in Kill Bill? Nah. But I do need others to stand and act with me. I need a community willing to get in the dragon’s way.
Who’s with me?
