Hard Choices

I can’t believe the incredibly stupid and counterproductive political and religious bickering going on around the world right now while the planet is in the midst of an epic environmental crisis. Hard choices must be made now by all of us, and not just the politicians in the USA, Russia, China, India, and elsewhere. The U.N. seems to be worthless in promoting a sense of urgency about the real issues facing the human race: 

Who gets the water? 

Who gets the food? 

Who gets to live? 

Who gets to die? 

Who gets to reproduce? 

Who gets to work for money? 

Who gets to be state-supported menial laborers? 

Who gets an advanced education? 

Who gets to be artists, musicians, poets and writers? 

Who must teach? 

Who can be a student? 

Who can live without contributing anything to society & why? 

How and where can humans live as an organized society? 

How much of the planet must we set aside for other species? 

How do we maintain conditions for life on the surface of the Earth? 

How do we adapt civilization to maintain the thermal balance of the planet? 

Where do we go from here in advancing human culture and society? 

What practices in human history should we continue or abandon? 

These are just some of the questions we have to develop answers and solutions for within the next ten to fifteen years. One thing is for sure: We can no longer afford the luxury of warfare to settle disputes. Soon, our dwindling resources and waste products will make this impossible. And, the added pollution/disruption of the environment from the willy-nilly application of technology to solving immediate crisis must come to a screeching halt. 

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  Oil on Canvas by Thomas Cole 1848 –One artist’s vision of an earthly paradise

34 Replies to “Hard Choices”

  1. All very important question you impose on us readers. For sure, we as citizens of the world, are limited by the forces to be. Though, we all can make a difference if as individuals we strive not only for change, but as individuals we look to participate in creating that change and not only talking about it.

    It is said, that we are one of the many and many of the one, and its in that ideal that change can flourish one way it another for the betterment of our planet

  2. except stop the race of this society for the consumerism (second sens ) and stop the( fool )increase in births … i see nothing ? more and more men on less and less of land, maybe going on Mars ?

  3. The goal of globalism is to erase national borders, eliminate national sovereignty, reduce national identities, and move toward global governance through the UN.
    Globalism calls for a wrenching transformation of our society, away from representative government and independent nations, to the establishment of a global village with global citizens. The entire plan is outlined in detail in the U.N.’s Agenda 21.
    did anybody understand The Dark Side of Globalism ?
    can UN be trusted still under Nwo?

  4. global citizens is not bad , it’s because many companies want to exploite for make money and dispossessing people

    I remember in 1970 , all people laughed when R.dumont talked about this thing , but for me he had in true ! sorry but I’m french and he is frenchie too 😉
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/René_Dumont
    maybe it’s not the consumerism , but the way taken by industry to do us consume more and more , by example the planned obsolescence
    I think when the earth will be near chaos ,we will find money to live on a other planet . The only obstacle now it’s the way to travel quickly !maybe one day they find

  5. Thanks for the visit and your comments, Eyes_of_a_Painter.
    This post is meant to stimulate the reader’s thinking. There is an old saying, “None are so blind as those who will not see”. Our problems exist outside of religion, philosophy, politics, etc. These are primitive concepts that are blinders that will surely kill us. Science and General Semantics are more useful tools. “Thinking outside of the box” in a dispassionate manner and having a master plan as a goal will help. People cannot ‘vote’ on a solution(s). They will become self-evident as the global discourse evolves. I think this important forum can only reside on an unfettered Internet–the U.N. is a political organization and would never be able to create the needed consensus.

  6. Hi, Catse, thanks for your remarks to my post.
    Consumerism will be the first thing to go in favor of rational resource management. Going to Mars and living there is still in the realm of science fiction until we terraform the planet, and if we first find living organisms there, we will have an ethical dilemma to deal with. Earth is our home, our paradise, and our hell.
    I, and others smarter than me have calculated that the Earth can only sustain between 800,000,000 and 1,000,000,000 humans, and even this number assumes a technical civilization that is energy neutral. I will make another post soon (if I get motivated) to explain the reasoning behind this number.

  7. Hi again, Kampotsoil, thanks for the comments that I do understand. Globalism and any ‘ism’ or universal solution is not the answer. I for one, enjoy experiencing cultural differences and would hate living in a boring and uniform global society. See my foregoing remarks about the U.N. It is as useless as tits on a boar hog. We have to adapt seamlessly with our local environment, just like the other creatures on the Earth. So, local solutions are in order, as long as they conform to the ‘Master Plan’. Policing the ‘Plan’ will require a global police force however, and violations of the ‘Plan’ would be dealt with harshly by a ‘World Court’ if they put the rest of us in danger.

  8. Merci, catse.
    Thanks for the link about Mssr. Dumont. The traditional company will go the way of the Dodo bird. Think in terms of ad hoc committees or groups that get together to provide needed services. The new ‘Citizen of the Earth’ will take responsibility for providing goods and services as required and as needed. The new social order will involve educated people contributing expertise to the group(s) in any situation that arises, and only where they have special training that will be of benefit in the situation under consideration. Money will also disappear in favor of earned ‘credits’ honored by the rest of society. The rigorous thinking demanded by General Semantics will make this concept work. For those of you that are unfamiliar with General Semantics, here is a short Youtube video:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_wKKi9oass
    You can find the textbook here:
    http://www.amazon.com/Science-Sanity-Introduction-Non-Aristotelian-Semantics/dp/0937298018

  9. hi and good day DLCox because it’s late here
    I have a réluctance when you say ” The new social order ” maybe i have read too many SF , but i don’t like this idea .I see a lot of educated people at the head of power and …what ? not better .
    the General Semantics ? which one ? the one which can solve our human problems ? i don’t really known this theory .
    oh yes the link is the same , but I prefer to approach this difficult theory via the SF , it’s a bit more easy for my brain 🙂

  10. Oh, I didn’t think of the conspiracy theory meaning, because I avoid these radical messianic nutcases just like the flying saucer believers. In the 1960’s a simple man named Eric Hoffer wrote a book about them titled, “The True Believer”. It is well worth your time to read it.

  11. Hi catse, When I speak of the ‘new social order’, I don’t have a clear picture of what it will be. I do know that the ‘Individual’ rather than the ‘State’ will be enshrined. But, our current definition of the ‘Individual’ will change; She or He will put society’s needs ahead of his/her own (like Mr. Spock in the SF movies). Our greatest weapon for making the future bright and worth living is an unfettered Internet of people like you and me grouping in problem-solving forums that offer solutions to problems that everyone else can examine and then decide what to do through a consensus. An early example of this is the TED and TEDx series of lectures and TV programs like the new ‘Cosmos’. Governments and religious organizations are totally inadequate to the tasks at hand…..
    An example of an individual changing the world is my younger brother. Years ago, he started the Seacology Foundation which has saved thousands of acres of rainforest, and many, many miles of coral reefs around the world. In the process, Seacology has built many schools and hospitals for Pacific Islanders and other indigenous peoples. Here is a recent short video about Seacology from the TV news folks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yxLnac6Wv4
    More about the Seacology Foundation:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpslC1zPwQM&list=UU503eoGyy1C6FQRJ8vHh7CA
    And here is one more about what my brother does:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz58mj9mLCE
    Of course, Seacology had to do a project on my favorite island in French Polynesia (Moorea). I have spent much time there diving off of the reef and chasing fish in Cook’s Bay. Here is a Youtube video about the Moorea Project:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMOPlF3CXQo&list=UU503eoGyy1C6FQRJ8vHh7CA

  12. bonjour DLcox
    totaly agree with you when you are talking about an unfettered Internet and illimited (happy in france we have illimited ) . When i see than the Norway has digitalize books and go online for free
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/10575900/Books-go-online-for-free-in-Norway.html
    the religious organizations must stay at their place (domain private) and not interfer with public domain
    Yes I have seen a complex notion with the Dr Quantum (in french of course 🙂 ) it’s wonderful !
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfPeprQ7oGc
    don’t forget than many people don’t understand english , me I use dictionnary and google translator

  13. thank you , I have read and heard many pages and tv shows about that , for me the curve which is the better is that the temperature increase can be explained only by a combination of natural and anthropogenic causes

  14. First person I’ve met in many, many years who has read [i]The True Believer[/i]. Hell, man, you must be damn near as old as I am.

    And it’s official … my cousin just sent me a test, and the results said I was “older than dirt”. Sigh!

  15. I agree, Mlle Catse … the natural trend and our idiocy seem to be working together. I think our efforts would be most properly directed in the direction of not making things worse.

  16. Not mine … I don’t have one, don’t want one.
    It would appear that Science Fiction is becoming reality.

  17. The last sighting of Erwin was when he logged into the comments section of this blog on March 1, and said, “Hi David”. I haven’t heard anything else from him since then.

  18. I have a cell phone only with phone and i use it really rarely .
    Erwin has deleted his account here , I think he has need to go away for a moment

  19. yawl sound like old farts that know what yer talkin about……..I’ll have to visit musings more, learn, and leave a word or two.

  20. hello all people here
    on my keyboard of course [img]https://vivaldi.net/media/kunena/emoticons/whistling.png[/img]

  21. oh I see ..you want smileys to brighten up your page ..then ask me
    [img]http://www.smiley-lol.com/smiley/ordinateurs/dactylo.gif[/img]

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