‘Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s right.’
‘Course it doesn’t. In today’s news (they call it ‘news’ because now it’s semi-official, not because it’s new) Syria’s government is reported to be carrying out what’s being termed ‘extermination’ of prisoners. It’s a convenient trick for government if they can pull it off. The Holocaust isn’t some distant memory. It’s happening right now, all over the world.
Anything from this, to tax exemptions for companies that fund governments, to nonsensical education systems (or worse, non-existent ones), to preferential (or detrimental) treatment due to race, religion, name or merely looks. The world is a-whirl with so much clamour and insanity one would have to develop tunnel vision to focus on a single aspect to address. No wonder people suffer donor fatigue and turn off all the news in favour of a comedy program. It’s too depressing.
Why does it all happen? We all know there’s enough food and clothing and fuel to go round. We know there’s the wherewithal to cure diseases, live in complete peace. Two main causes:
And there we have it. All we need to do is cure those two factors and we have world peace.
Ok so how do you cure the first category? Hm. Difficult. Almost everything boils down to greed, because without that, there would be no violence either. If the concept of taking something by force were eradicated from the human psyche, we’d be half way there. If the endless, futile search for self-justification through material acquisitions and dominion over others were erased as well, we’d be completely in the clear.
Would the drive for discovery and invention be quelled, hampering human progress? We haven’t had the chance to explore this avenue, but I’d say, no. There are countless inventions out there today that would be of enormous benefit to humanity but can’t get backing because they don’t fit into the Greed and Power scenario. Take thorium reactors. Nuclear reactors that use thorium instead of uranium or plutonium. Thorium availability: everywhere. Would never run out. Cost: literally dirt cheap. Less than my garden mulch for the actual thorium. Waste: recyclable and infinitely less dangerous. Meltdown: impossible. Hang on, why don’t we use them? Because thorium can’t be made into bombs. That’s the only reason. So we hang out with ridiculous uranium and plutonium instead. Duh.
The second category (of being vindictive or confused) will automatically evaporate with the eradication of greed and the passage of time – and if we apply the ‘be decent’ rule to these, nothing bad will happen in the meantime.
So somehow, we have to teach ourselves and our children that getting an expensive car or the latest iphone doesn’t make you a better person. Neither does becoming Chair of the Board, or the School Captain. Neither do excellent exam results, or a promotion. A lot of these things wouldn’t make you a worse person, but not better, either. Being decent to people and nature, does.
I know, it’s a tough gig on a society that’s essentially built on the Roman concept of ‘If you lose or are proved wrong it’s such dishonour you might as well fall on your sword’. Screw that though. World peace beckons.
‘Course it doesn’t. In today’s news (they call it ‘news’ because now it’s semi-official, not because it’s new) Syria’s government is reported to be carrying out what’s being termed ‘extermination’ of prisoners. It’s a convenient trick for government if they can pull it off. The Holocaust isn’t some distant memory. It’s happening right now, all over the world.
Anything from this, to tax exemptions for companies that fund governments, to nonsensical education systems (or worse, non-existent ones), to preferential (or detrimental) treatment due to race, religion, name or merely looks. The world is a-whirl with so much clamour and insanity one would have to develop tunnel vision to focus on a single aspect to address. No wonder people suffer donor fatigue and turn off all the news in favour of a comedy program. It’s too depressing.
Why does it all happen? We all know there’s enough food and clothing and fuel to go round. We know there’s the wherewithal to cure diseases, live in complete peace. Two main causes:
- People are greedy, violent assholes.
- Others many not be but get vindictive and/or confused.
And there we have it. All we need to do is cure those two factors and we have world peace.
Ok so how do you cure the first category? Hm. Difficult. Almost everything boils down to greed, because without that, there would be no violence either. If the concept of taking something by force were eradicated from the human psyche, we’d be half way there. If the endless, futile search for self-justification through material acquisitions and dominion over others were erased as well, we’d be completely in the clear.
Would the drive for discovery and invention be quelled, hampering human progress? We haven’t had the chance to explore this avenue, but I’d say, no. There are countless inventions out there today that would be of enormous benefit to humanity but can’t get backing because they don’t fit into the Greed and Power scenario. Take thorium reactors. Nuclear reactors that use thorium instead of uranium or plutonium. Thorium availability: everywhere. Would never run out. Cost: literally dirt cheap. Less than my garden mulch for the actual thorium. Waste: recyclable and infinitely less dangerous. Meltdown: impossible. Hang on, why don’t we use them? Because thorium can’t be made into bombs. That’s the only reason. So we hang out with ridiculous uranium and plutonium instead. Duh.
The second category (of being vindictive or confused) will automatically evaporate with the eradication of greed and the passage of time – and if we apply the ‘be decent’ rule to these, nothing bad will happen in the meantime.
So somehow, we have to teach ourselves and our children that getting an expensive car or the latest iphone doesn’t make you a better person. Neither does becoming Chair of the Board, or the School Captain. Neither do excellent exam results, or a promotion. A lot of these things wouldn’t make you a worse person, but not better, either. Being decent to people and nature, does.
I know, it’s a tough gig on a society that’s essentially built on the Roman concept of ‘If you lose or are proved wrong it’s such dishonour you might as well fall on your sword’. Screw that though. World peace beckons.