Laws for Building Civilizations
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
I think firstly that man is unaware of these laws. However, it is not to say that we have not been warned. We need only to look in history to see civilizations passed, civilizations that have collapsed. Man is too ignorant and naive for his own good. And in some ways, we are too vain. We think that we can conquer everything.
We can only look so far ahead of us. We are exhilarated by the freedom of air during our flight. We can see that the ground is rising towards us, but we can't see further than that. We can't see that it is going to keep rising. We choose to live in the moment. We don't consider the future. We don't consider consequences. All we care about is now, the thrill of this freedom of air, and the marvels that come with it. We can't see that at the rate we are going, the world is going to be deplete of all its resources, and our civilization will collapse.
We can only look so far behind us. By looking back at our recent history, we see all the wonderful achievements we have made, and we therefore assume that we will continue this trend. We think that all we need to do is continue what we are doing, perhaps work a little harder, pedal a little faster, and all will be well. We will continue to conquer, to achieve great things, to enjoy the freedom of air. Soon, man will rule the universe.
We refuse to look further, either forwards or backwards. Maybe it is because we simply can't see so far. Maybe it is a deliberate attempt to ignore the past and the pending. Humans are afraid of what they don't know. So maybe we don't want to see what's coming because we are afraid. Maybe we want to outwit fate, to prove that we can conquer everything. Or maybe it is Mother Culture, whispering in our ears, telling us that everything will be fine. Things have been fine with the way we have been doing things, why then, do we need to start changing?
I have never considered that there be a law for building civilizations, or about how to live, but now, I am just worried for us humans. I hope that we can realize what we are doing, and that we can't wait anymore. Things are going to get worse, and they are going to get worse at an accelerating rate. I hope that we realize there is no way we can defy a law, no matter how hard we try. I hope we realize that if we don't do something now, our civilization is doomed.
Labels: global ethics
