Lessons & Reflections from the National Butterfly Center

Friday a man walked up to me, hand extended, and introduced himself. He said he was a “good Christian from North Dakota,” and "don't hold me [accountable] with those people,” i.e. his criminal business associates who have launched a smear campaign against me, personally, the National Butterfly Center and the North American Butterfly Association.

As I stood with my eldest son and Fr. Roy Snipes, who is also a target of their wicked campaign, two things came to mind:

First, a lion never has to tell anyone he’s a lion. While humans are capable of artifice and deceit, it is easy to discern who and what a person is by observing their behavior. It’s the same in the wild. For example, a butterfly may employ camouflage in the open in an attempt to conceal their true identity, but as soon as they take flight there is no mistaking, “Flutterby!” Similarly, a rattlesnake may or may not declare itself as such, but look carefully; you cannot mistake what it is.

All creatures reveal themselves eventually. If it’s hard to tell who and what a thing is, just watch it.

Second, when I was a teenager my father frequently admonished us to choose our friends carefully. In Spanish, the old adage is “Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres.” Translation: Tell me who your associates are and I will tell you who you are. The naturalist might best comprehend this statement as ‘birds of a feather flock together.’ Why? Because they have loads in common, from nesting habits to food preferences. Like humans, they even communicate with each other and exercise influence over one another. They also recognize Great-tailed Grackles for what they are. All it takes for the uninitiated to learn a thing or two is to spend some time in our gardens and trails; soon they will realize the Green Jays know grackles, hawks and owls may be birds, but they are not ‘our kind,’ to coopt a colloquial and tribalist term.

So it is with a man who employs false words and cunning devices to seem as though he is something other than what he really is, especially if he is a liar, an opportunist, a greedy bastard, etc. A true Christian knows these are the tactics of the Devil.

At a time when so many have forgotten that lesson, it may be good to remember a natural education has a myriad of benefits, not the least of which is the ability to recognize the wolf in sheep’s clothing and sound the alarm. Indeed, animals understand what foolish people have forgotten: the very survival of the species depends upon it.

PHOTO: Gray Cracker, "Master of Camouflage," by Craig Lipski, winner of the 2019 North American Butterfly Photo Contest