Caring for others is a theme in these editor’s notes. For me, it’s a way of thinking, with regard to others — I see you, respect you, recognize your right to live well, to do the best you can — and of living in such a way as to not impair quality of life for others. Some of us are more successful at this than others. If one could undertake an audit of the intentional and unintentional harm caused by the choices we make, would the world be a better place? Would the West?
If you’ve been reading this space, you know that in this magazine the “others” include wildlife, plant life, all life. Don’t get me wrong: I have swatted the occasional (OK, more than occasional) mosquito. And though I don’t mind sharing my house with spiders, I have dispatched some potentially harmful ones. I even hit a deer once while driving at dusk in Montana. (This is the first time I’ve actually admitted this, such was my shame.) Because of our size, our intellect, and the way we humans have adapted to our environment, we have incredible agency over the lives of others, including our own kind. Some of our acts are deplorable. But others are quite inspiring.
Marin Hambley was living in Chico, California, when the Camp Fire broke out. Instead of fleeing, as many did, Marin stayed to help those struggling with addiction remain safe during the disaster. Secadio Sanchez (Diné), a behavioral health therapist in Salt Lake City, combines traditional healing and modern mental health practices to help Indigenous clients work through intergenerational trauma from the boarding school era. Masra Clamoungou manages a four-acre Seattle-area farm that not only donates fresh vegetables, helping to address food insecurity in Seattle’s Black community, but creates opportunities for new Black farmers to gain access to land and get started in agriculture. And Jesse Barber, a sensory ecologist at Boise State University, has been documenting the impacts of road noise on animals in order to alleviate its deleterious effects, which include inhibiting their ability to hunt for food and avoid predators.
Each of these folks has dedicated themselves to the well-being of others. Each has invested not in amassing fortune for themselves, but rather in increasing the good fortune of their community. You’ll find stories about them all in this issue of High Country News. I hope you enjoy reading about, and are inspired by, their efforts.
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This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Our collective good fortune.
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