The End

[salinen]

I reason that we are at the end of our reign on this planet. 6 billion human inhabitants all desiring to stay alive and prosper in a world that is ill with no cure for it's illness. We are battling mightily for the final fruits (resources) remaining. Under the guise of pre-emption or "in the interest of national security", this particular nation is more than willing to kill for the goods. It has become painfully so that the U.S. is currently involved in a war for resource (oil). It's immature to believe that once these dwindling resources are finished that somehow man will endeavor to solve the situation. If you read any science periodicals today, there are no articles on the recovering health of the planet. All of the systems are failing.

Now I am not a doomsday thinker. The continued depletion of all resources (intensification) will not lead to the end of mankind. Yes, there will be more wars fought over what little remains, and huge populations will be annihilated in the process, but some humans will prosper.

One of the reasons I see no reversal in this situation has to do with the way people think. At the root of this problem is the idea that "we were born in the image of god". This is the worst idea ever created by egotistical humans. Therefore we are so spendid, so special, that a being so powerful created clones of itself and gave these clones a place to live and multiply and praise the planet giver. This is all about the glory of man. So many are hypnotized by our miraculous abilities to reason, think, be aware, that they are convinced of devine intervention.

In other times man had religions that glorified nature. Animals were thought to be the gods. These ideas suborinate man to a position below the gods. Western religions teach the followers to understand that the individual is a god unit. And the main god looks after the flock, protects it from harm, rescue it when it becomes neccessary, and ultimately gift the individual to everlasting life in heaven. So by suborinating nature, western religions have instilled the notion that this environment, this universe, was created for them.

It is this mentality that I see as the problem. False importance on the being known as man. If instead we knew ourselves to be the offspring of the Great Apes, we would be more realistic about our own lives and the life of this planet. No being will rescue us from ourselves. We are not so dignified as a creature to deserve everlasting life.

Western religions have inspired an egotism to evolve where man believes himself worthy of his desires. This is not to say that only the religious are guilty of this behavior, or that religious people cannot be environmentalist. But the overall effect is cultural and embedded in society, and becomes the reasoning behind national political inspirations.

The future I see becomes a monumental struggle for the health or non-health of the planet. NO more republicans or democrats, no more conservatives or liberals, only those who will be willing to live a realistic lifestyle, and those who wish to glorify themselves.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. The Mother has a parasite

on her body, and she will do what she must to get rid of it. That's nature.

You are right in your assessment of how most religions have taught that man is to subdue the earth. Actually, mystics read and interpret passages from holy books differently. If we are created in the image of God, that means we are co-creators and HAVE RESPONSIBILITY to take care of the planet and what is on it, not to subdue it and use it for our whims. Respect and Responsibility are two words not often used by modern day preachers, but they are at the heart of all faiths.

My religious order has ten Sufi thoughts, the third being: There is one holy book, the sacred book of nature.

The only way we might get out of this mess is to change the hearts and minds of people. It might seem a dauntless task doomed to failure, and yet it is one thing we can try to do.

[salinen]

2. I like your view

I'm mostly saying that western religions have been co-opted to agree with the industrial/military/media/religious context of modern life. I hope Mom has the strength to fight off that parasite.

[Nlighten1]

3. Human beings are a cancer on this planet

There is no way it can sustain us at this rate of destroying it. It is inevitable that there is going to be widespread "reduction" of life on this planet.

[SpiralHawk]

4. Manitou

In the traditional ways of our Turtle Island (North America) continent, we two-leggeds are seen not as a cancer upon the Earth, but rather as one of the threads in the weaving of life.

We have a role to play, as do the crows, the deer, the maple trees, and even the ants.

With all our relations, upon our Mother (Earth), in a sacred manner we live.

"By making the right choices, we can make the right choices for our future." - George W. Bush

[bpilgrim]

5. Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance

Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance (The American Empire Project)

Book Description
From the world's foremost intellectual activist, an irrefutable analysis of America's pursuit of total domination and the catastrophic consequences that are sure to follow

The United States is in the process of staking out not just the globe but the last unarmed spot in our neighborhood-the heavens-as a militarized sphere of influence. Our earth and its skies are, for the Bush administration, the final frontiers of imperial control. In Hegemony or Survival , Noam Chomsky investigates how we came to this moment, what kind of peril we find ourselves in, and why our rulers are willing to jeopardize the future of our species.

With the striking logic that is his trademark, Chomsky dissects America's quest for global supremacy, tracking the U.S. government's aggressive pursuit of policies intended to achieve "full spectrum dominance" at any cost. He lays out vividly how the various strands of policy-the militarization of space, the ballistic-missile defense program, unilateralism, the dismantling of international agreements, and the response to the Iraqi crisis-cohere in a drive for hegemony that ultimately threatens our survival. In our era, he argues, empire is a recipe for an earthly wasteland.

Lucid, rigorous, and thoroughly documented, Hegemony or Survival promises to be Chomsky's most urgent and sweeping work in years, certain to spark widespread debate.

:hi:

peace

[LWolf]

6. Owner vs Steward

Someone must speak for them. I do not see a delegation for the four footed. I see no seat for eagles. We forget and we consider ourselves superior, but we are after all a mere part of the Creation.--Oren Lyons, ONONDAGA

Whenever we make decisions, we need to look around and see who would be affected by them. If we change the course of a river, who, what will be affected? If we put poison on the gardens, who, what will be affected? If we cut the trees and too many are cut, who, what will be affected? We need to become aware of the consequences of our actions. We need to pay attention to our thoughts. We are accountable to our children to leave the Earth in good shape.

[rman]

7. the planet's health is fine

"It's immature to believe that once these dwindling resources are finished that somehow man will endeavor to solve the situation."

It would be mature and there would be no big problem if we'd started worrying (and working) on this a little earlier. It's not like oil is the end-all-be-all of resources. Waiting for the oil to run out and then start solving the problem, yes that is immature.

"All of the systems are failing."

The only thing that's failing is distribution of resources, because we are allowing a few of us to play "winner takes all". That is to say, the one who gets to the resources first, gets to use those resources in order to keep those resources to himself. Everyone else is at a disadvantage trying to get resources, because they have no resources.

I for one am absolutely positive there is plenty of wealth/resources for all to live fairly comfortably.
It's just that "fairly comfortably" isn't good enough for some. This is not an illness of the planet, it is an illness of the human mind.