This book caught my attention from a radio segment and its scary message tied in with my feelings on the Trump ascendancy. In some ways this is just a personal rant, but one I believe gaining ground. Increasing numbers of people are reacting to despair over our future in different ways.
The author is deliberating with the basic question, is humanity justified in continuing? You can't get any heavier that that. Todd feels humanity has unleashed animal cruelty, poverty and natural disasters.
He spends a fair amount of time discussing factory farms. Dairy cows are used as an example. They are impregnated, then separated from their offspring. They are scientifically monitored and when it is calculated that their milk production is uneconomical they are slaughtered for ground beef. This cruelty is not thought of by humans. Forests are cut down for grazing depriving wildlife their natural habitat. In my area coyotes are encroaching on urban areas to seek food. Manure from farm animals are a major source of global warming. Inequality assures that large numbers of people consume cheap food, easiest provided by factory farms. A vicious circle leading to the farm factories and more climate change.
The Amazon Rain Forest is of critical value to all of humanity. A few years ago, Jair Bolsonaro, the president of Brazil decided to reverse conservation efforts and open up the Amazon Basin into grazing land for livestock. He was eventually thrown out, but as Brazil is a relatively poor country there is pressure to provide food. The Amazon is a major carbon offset, but it is being contested by corporate interests. The author suggested that the American Republican party should direct money to make sure the Amazon remains a vital carbon offset. At the moment that seems extremely unlikely as short term interests dominate.
It is true that many decisions are controlled by a small minority elite for their own benefit, but most of us go along supporting the system and so also are guilty.
The recent American election provides a prime example that it is not just a small minority totally responsible for our ongoing disaster. Why did those who suffered from the recent American hurricanes turn around and vote for climate deniers? If honesty is a critical virtue why did so many vote for obviously dishonest people and support those who want to distort history (slavery, killing the indigenous for their land)? Trump is just a clever egomaniac with money, not afraid to lie. and exploit ignorance and prejudice for his benefit while others cater to him for their own selfish reasons. The real danger is us who voted for him and his like.
Many of us want to do the right thing, but actually contribute to the unfairness of life. The key to our hypocrisy is to keep a distance from suffering.
Might we go extinct from climate change, nuclear explosion, or a pandemic? There is a decline on birth rate around the world. This means a likely
schism will develop between the young and old. There will be fewer
young to support an aging population. A view on declining birth
rates; check http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/12/empty-planet.html A danger is that reasonable people will not have babies, while others who will carry on our harmful habits will have more. The world needs more reasonable people.
There are decent people including some to help develop society in a more positive direction. Carl Sagan once suggested that the reason we have had no contact with aliens is that any civilization able to attain the necessary level of technology possibly self destructed. A long time ago in our history leaders were not chosen by an expensive process, but by the simple will of followers. http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/07/selected.html
I don't believe that the future will be easy. My wish is more people will follow a guide from Steven Covey; "Seek first to understand, then to be understood". I believe the world needs more good people and that our efforts should be directed to encouraging good people, not greedy ones.
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