“An environment of hate – whether it is subliminal or overt, directed towards nature or cultures – perpetuates a polluted atmosphere.

This pollution comes at a tremendous cost: a social cost, a medical cost, an ecological cost, an economic cost. And the pollution, in the form of racism, atmospheric particulate matter, and greenhouse gases, circulates and infiltrates everyone’s lives.

Right now in the United States, because of high-profile cases of police brutality, people are wearing T-shirts that say “Black lives matter” and “I can’t breathe.”

I believe that all lives matter, and if one of us is having trouble breathing, then we all are suffocating, in one way or another.”

(My words, part of a Spring 2015 roundtable.)

Two years ago, my essay entitled “All Our Relations” was published, along with the work of other fine writers, in a special issue of the Bellevue Literary Review. The essay was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and inspired an invitation for me to participate in a writer’s roundtable with Ben Goldfarb and Martha Serpas.

The transcript from the roundtable, compiled by associate editor Monica Wendel, can be found here, and also is also available as a PDF. I’d be interested in your reactions.