It is not only the 50th anniversary of our beloved Partridge Family but today is also the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, founded in 1970 by our U.S. Government. Since then, Earth Day has come to be celebrated by over 193 countries on this planet. We are nothing without mother Earth, wouldn’t you agree? Regardless of your religious or political beliefs, this is a simple matter of fact. It is our home. It is the one we all share together as the human race. I believe we must take care of it.
Our favorite TV family filmed one of its most famous episodes planned for fall of 1971 and inspired by the values surrounding the newly established Earth Day. Fans will remember the episode about saving the whales, shot at Marineland and featuring Shirley Jones in her most memorable solo performance singing “Whale Song,” a beautiful ballad reminding the world about the danger of the vanishing species.
Earth Day reminds me of our common togetherness. I believe in this holiday with all my being because it celebrates this mutual home. Maybe there will be a day when other planets serve as new homes for us, but I really happen to like this one.
The history of Earth Day is inspiring. It came about as a result of the pollution that began creating disease and sickness during the industrial revolution. During the late 60s when the youth of our country were protesting against the so-called establishment, it was the establishment that got the youth involved in this movement, believing that the health of the planet would also be of interest to the youth who were outspoken about the kind of future world they wanted. Sure enough it united them.
During that period not much united the youth with their parents’ generation who were basically viewed as ‘out of touch.’ Not much united the political parties either. But Earth Day did. We did it! We united! We picked up litter, we planted trees, we nurtured our environment with respect and we did it as a united world. Here we are, 2020, and we face the worst pandemic in over 100 years, maybe even the entire history of our great U.S.A. As bad as it is for us, mother Earth has prospered with clean air and water while we have our own horrid, human experience with this. Maybe it’s a message to all of us who share this great home. Maybe the message is that we are smart enough to find a better way to live the way we want. Maybe we need to do better. I mean, there’s many different plays on a football field to garner a touchdown,right? I hope everyone will do something in honor of Earth Day. Plant a tree, even if it doesn’t happen today. Plant some flowers, it will help the honey bees which we need to survive. Pick up one piece of litter. Imagine if everyone in the world just picked up one single piece of litter how much cleaner the world would be. Fifteen billion pieces of litter is a lot! Maybe just share a picture on Facebook. It all matters. Thank you, everyone on this planet, for uniting in the ways that we do to care about our human home. Happy Earth Day from all of us…. to all of us.~