Remembering Steve Irwin

It has been just over a year since the passing of Steve Irwin, the beloved Crocodile Hunter. People know him for his famous line, "Crickey!" and for his dangerous stunts that he always found a way to survive- until September 4, 2006. Not much controversy has followed his name, whether before or after death- only a brave animal lover doing what he loved.

Even after his death, it is hard to find much about his personal life, whether religion, politics, etc. He has been noted as a conservationist, environmentalist, and atheist, although his wife had claimed that he did believe in God. Still, little children don’t know him as "that environmental guy on CNN" but simply as "The Crocodile Hunter."

And that’s a good thing. There is nothing wrong with making political statements, so long as they are done in the appropriate ways. Steve Irwin was appropriate. He was appropriate by not being political much at all. He was an animal lover first, and a political activist way down the line after that. Furthermore, his practices would support his beliefs, whether they were right or wrong.

If you have read just a few of my blogs, you will probably be pretty aware that I am not an atheist, and you will probably get the idea I’m not a big environmentalist. It’s not that I am against helping the environment, though, but that I don’t like many of the environmentalist out there today, who turn to government to stop the very things they do or have. Unlike someone such as Al Gore, Steve Irwin did not ask for huge government spending to get rid of gas-powered products, while having one of the biggest gasoline bills in the country. He simply did what he loved- protecting endangered species, and explored wildlife.

It may be cliché to talk really good about someone just after death, or at the anniversary of their death, but Steve Irwin deserves it as much as anyone for his passion and lack of hypocrisy. He lived doing what he loved, and died doing what he loved. It’s not very often we can learn from an environmental atheist in any other way than by not doing what they do, but if that is what Steve Irwin was, then perhaps we can.

For a similar blog on Irwin, written just after his passing, check out "The True Environmentalist" by Josh Rutledge. http://daygrind.blogspot.com/2006/09/true-environmentalist.html

What do you think?

God bless America

Pray for our Troops

September 10, 2007

Ryan