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Suzanne Vega … Toni Childs … Roberta Flack … voices with lyrics that, through my life, have found their ways to touch my soul.  

Tracy Chapman’s haunting voice is one that does not just touch, but often sears my soul, with lyrics that speak to me in new ways almost every time that I pause to listen.  

The video below comes from Paul, a green builder in the New Orleans area, who made this video after receivng Tracy Chapman’s “Rape of the World …”

I live in a place experiencing the rape of the world …

Paul’s YouTube Profile:  

I own a … green construction company … I got tired of putting toxins in the homes of those I serve and take it as a responsibility to do better, and now.

John lives and works in the New Orleans area, helping to build a better Gulf Coast than the one that existed before.

Paul speaks deep from his soul, moved to speak by Chapman’s voice and lyrics.  

People wonder how I can do this green construction stuff and why I’m so passionate about it …

People wonder why I work so hard on Energize America, blog furiously on energy, work in support of energy projects in my community, conduct energy audits on friends’ homes, carry CFLs as house gifts,  …

Its because I’ve seen the worst of the worst, and there’s still worse I know …

It is because I look in the eyes of my children and I wish not to cry over the future that we are creating for them.  

It is because I can see the world around me.

It is because I can read and appreciate the science and the threats.

It is because I understand that economics eventually does confront physical limits.

It is because I believe in humanity. I believe that humanity can achieve great things and not all “great things” are necessarily good. We can (and have) modified the world and that modification will create havoc in the years to come without significant change on our parts.  It is because I believe that that same greatness can, if we choose to take this path, can turn us away from the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.

And I don’t care where you are, or who you are, or what are your political leanings, I encourage you to look at the science, and to look at your faith, and consider what your G-d would call on you to do in the face of The Rape of the Envrionment and the World …

What would you do if faced with a rape occurring before your eyes?

We are seeing, we are living the Rape of the Earth.  

And, we are complicit.

I am complicit.  I know that I am not doing enough to change my own path and to help others.  I know that the fight to stop The Rape of the Earth is one that will not be won easily or quickly or alone.  I ask myself, in the face of Chapman’s lyrics and this video, what can I do to stop the Rape of the Earth?

And, I call on you to ask yourself the same question:

What can I do to help stop the Rape of the Earth?

NOTES:

Hat tip to Joe Brewer at Celsias.

Other relevant, top notch Tracy Chapman songs include: Across the lines and talking about a revolution.

As to my perspective on the video, there are discussions, posts that I can write clinically, trying to explain something to others so that I learn to understand it myself.

Others are more painful …