Domesticated humans are told that they need to be good stewards of the earth and the land. In modern parlance, the word steward is used to mean a caretaker. And under this usage of the word, being a steward of the earth would mean being a caretaker for the earth, protecting it for harm and making sure everything is as it should be.
Under the older usage of the word, a steward is a servant who is charged with acting on behalf of the rightful ruler, either for day to day affairs or during an absence or because the ruler is too young or to infirm to make decisions on their own. In other words, the steward is a place holder until the proper ruler once again is making decisions.
The newer usage of the word is ridiculous when applied to the earth and domesticated humans. Asking domesticated humans to care for the earth and protect it and keep things as they should be, is analogous to charging an abusive husband with the task of acting as caretaker for his battered wife. A better analogy would be that of an abusive adult child put in charge of being caretaker for his aging abused parents.
The older usage suggests something more interesting, because it points to the illegitimacy of domesticated human rule. The older definition of steward suggests that domesticated humans do not own the earth, do not rightfully rule it as their propaganda would suggest. They are not the rightful heirs to the throne, but pretenders to that position.
This of course begs the question, to whom then does the earth belong? There are many answers here, but the Free Path suggests that the earth belongs to itself.
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