All That We Must Do Is

There appears to be a hole in today's intellectual effort to bring about a better world. One would be hard pressed to list five alleged scholars, philosophers or literati who are pointing in the direction of improving human life. There is much being said about what went wrong in the past. A critique of current affairs knows no shortage of authors. Even the art of predicting a future more desolate and depressing than the life currently being led by the Earth's six billion people grows by leaps and bounds every year. Where, though, are those people who can show the way to a brighter day? They are very much in need now.

One can easily find vast amounts of scholarly work describing why and how the human race has gone wrong and how this will bring about the end of human existence. Very few take up the challenge of offering a way around this impending doom. Jeremy Rifkin in his book “The European Dream” takes a small step in that direction by describing how Europe is moving away from those tendencies that have gotten it into so much trouble in the past. Thomas Friedman's “The World is Flat” simply tells us how things are and how they came to be. Our national leaders have become so concerned with not offending their “base” that they dare not lead. Defeating “Terrorism“ is a wonderful idea that in no way addresses why there are terrorists (they are not born that way) or how a world will be created that does not bring about circumstances that give rise to groups of people wishing to succeed at the expense of others.

Karl Marx may have been wrong but he offered both a critique of capitalism and a way to alleviate the suffering that it causes. Very few sane individuals want to live in the world espoused by Islamic fundamentalists but the fundamentalists are getting out a message that includes their criticism of western culture and their answer to that perceived problem. The problem that western intellectuals and leaders (they are not necessarily the same) run into is a belief that human civilization has reached the end of history. All that is left, according to this thought, is a little mopping up.

According to those who make decisions on a national and international level, society has reached its goal. Once man conquers those few left who stand in the way of progress, the world will see all its ills disappear. Poverty will vanish through full employment. Science will overcome cancer, AIDS and all that man allows it to. Capitalism will provide. All that we must do is defeat Terrorism.

All that we must do is defeat Communism. All that we must do is defeat Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. All that we must do is tame the West and the Indian problem. All that we must do is defeat England and form a more perfect union.

There is no future in an interminable parade of enemies, just an unending present. It may be argued that some are more prosperous, that they are better off than their parents were a generation ago. It is more likely that this gauge of material wealth does nothing to address the anxiety of the industrialized societies or the backwards slide of the third world. A great majority of humanity is enslaved to such a small minority of individuals through debt or want of basic needs. Americans’ have surpassed the remarkable milestone of obtaining a negative savings rate while continuing to finance its prosperity through loans from other nations. Africa continues to slaughter itself over borders drawn by white faced cartographers. Three religions are killing each other in the birthplace of civilization just as they did 1000 years ago. What is touted as economic prosperity in the world’s most populous democracy leaves hundreds of millions mired in a poverty the west can not imagine and could never stomach.

All that we must do is defeat Terrorism.

What is needed is utopian thought. Ideas that open up minds and allow people to dream of a better world. Two dimensional thought will not solve five dimensional problems. Let it be admitted that Democratic/Capitalism is not the final stage of history. The landed gentry of 12th century England knew that they had discovered the way that God wanted them to live. Someday, historians will look to the 20th and 21st centuries in much the same way. This is by no means the end of history. Our past must be understood. Our present must be critiqued. However, most of all, our future must be envisioned outside of this stuffy box. But first …

All that we must do is ....

Posted by The Webtoad at 01:05 AM | Comments (0)

The Human Virus

When seen as a whole, the human body appears as one solid mass; one single functioning unit. The reality, of course, is that all animals, all phenomena really, are made up of many interrelated parts on many diverse levels. Objects look different depending on how they are viewed; close up or from far away. Take the planet we live on. From the view of astronauts it is one solid whole. The only sign of independent movement comes from the swirling of weather systems through the planet’s atmosphere. However, when one looks closer, there are many microcosms of activity associated with the planet Earth. The elements that make up those microcosms have as much impact on the planet as does each cell, tissue or organ on the human body. If just one of the Earth’s systems is running out of kilter, the planet will suffer. Suffice it to say that this is the very situation that the Earth finds itself in today.

One of the Earth’s major organs has run amok due to the unhealthy activity of the single cells that comprise that organ. That which was once a fit network of cells that functioned well within the whole is showing signs of cancerous activity. The organ’s cells continuously attack one another while overwhelming the cells of other organs and systems, including the systems that give life to the malignant cells.

Humanity is quickly becoming a virus infecting the host that it so depends upon for survival. Not only does the human race attack and kill each other, it seeks out to destroy the individual components that make up other equally necessary systems: animals, plants, and components of the planet’s atmosphere. Humanity may see itself as the highest functioning creature on the planet but it seems to be oblivious to the one trait that no other species possesses; the capacity for self destruction. What is unknown about this possible outcome is whether or not Humanity renders the planet unlivable for all life through its species-wide suicide.

The idea that man can live above and outside of the natural world that surrounds it abounds today as it has for centuries. Humans still believe that nature can be controlled to suit the purposes of humans alone. All life other than Homo sapiens would appear to exist solely for use and exploitation by this species.

As with any living organism, the planet as a whole will fight back against that which is attempting to devastate it. Man already possess the means to destroy itself and may well be capable of obliterating the planet entirely. It remains to be seen whether or not the planet has the ability to defend itself against such an aggressive disease.

Posted by The Webtoad at 04:43 PM | Comments (0)