the questions of the week are- are humans worth saving? and- do i care if humans destroy themselves? the short answers are no- and no. now, for the long answers.
i was thinking about this the other day after daniel broached the subject over at his blog- and i guess i got a bit disillusioned. actually, i have been disillusioned by people for quite some time because i really thought that greed and egocentrism was a learned thing. i am beginning to think it might be intrinsic to the species. i began thinking back to time immemorial- history and ancient civilizations and all of that- and i figured it out- there isn't any real hope for change because people have been behaving this way since adam and eve- for all of those creationists out there- and since at least lucy- for all of those science loving homo sapiens.
well, let's see- our past has been littered with greed, lust for power, wars, cruelty, waste, etc., etc. you get the idea. as far back as i can tell- the ancient romans were similar to the western world- and so on. i am beginning to think that the bubonic plague was a good thing. at least it led eventually to the age of reason. so- where was i? ah yes- do i care?
yeah- i do. i love my country and my planet and it frustrates me to no end that we, as a species, can't cut the shit and live together. i find it ridiculous that we won't look at each other as fellow humans- regardless of color, race, political party or religion- and allow each other basic human dignity and provisions. i find it contemptible that we are so greedy- especially in the western world- that we won't put aside our quest for power and riches in order to save the very planet we live on.
because we won't do that- it isn't that we aren't capable- i have little faith that global warming and the eventual destruction of the human race and life as we know it- will be stopped. the only peace and comfort that i have found is knowing that once we are gone- the planet will heal itself. with no more fossil fuels burning, the greenhouse gases will dissipate and the ozone layer will finish repairing itself. life will begin again- and i can only hope that the next round of critters who inhabit the planet will be better stewards than we were.
cross posted at life's journey.
