ARE WE A TALE WITH A SILVER LINING?

 

ARE WE A TALE WITH A SILVER LINING?

Our initial presence as a species was barely noticeable, but our demise will be spectacular.

Sometimes I like to start an article by throwing out questions that may seem odd at first but which are intended to jumpstart the essence of what I’m writing about.  In my overactive writer’s imagination I often pretend as if I’m starting a discussion with my reader.  Nah, confession time, I do it on purpose, it is actually something I love to do.

Are we really that important?

 One I’d like to start with is the following; why are we always fussing, or is obsessing a better way of phrasing it, about the deeper meaning of life.  Thousands of books and articles have been written about this subject throughout humanity’s history, from divine origin to humans perhaps inhabiting a special and unique place within the universe.  Could it really have started with Adam and Eve?  The opinions expressed are all over the place and most are incredibly hopeful, in our favor that is.  As in extremely positive where it concerns you and me.  A fair bit of hubris is involved in these self-assessments.  We think rather highly of ourselves and of course it’s my intent to throw a monkey wrench in some of that delusional thinking.  It’s what I seem to do when discussing humanity.  But what I like to do is to frame our species within the spectrum of the cosmos, time and probabilities.  How important do we think we are within the near infinity of space and billions and billions of years of celestial fireworks?

What is the purpose of life?  Of all life?

What if I express rather boldly that the essence of all life, including ours, is about propagation and planting the seed of the next generation.  In other words, it’s about survival of the species.  It is how life on our planet has evolved.  All life follows the same basic evolutionary pathways.  As adults of child rearing age we know that kids take up a lot of our time and they’re costly.  On top of that we dedicate the best years of our lives to raising the brats.  Yes, multiple.  Plenty of one-child families, but the bulk tries for more.  Two or more.  What’s the attraction?  Look at all the fun you can have without these toddlers running you off your feet.  From a logical perspective it doesn’t make a lot of sense, yet most of us go for it.  Single one day, playing the field and going to parties and then, boom, tying the knot and before you know it the baby talk starts and before you can say Bob’s your uncle they are filling up the hallways and spare bedrooms with the pit-a-pat of tiny feet, nighttime feedings and sleepless nights.  Once you have them, they’re yours forever.  Running out of people?  Since when should we be concerned about adding to the consumer markets?  Even if half of the world’s population decided to have no kids at all we’re still left with billions.  We’re not exactly faced with extinction, are we?

Why this particular article and topic?  Believe it or not, sometimes I surprise myself as to where my writing is taking me.  It usually starts out with a basic idea and all my writing is based on extensive note taking, but the creative process is not without surprises and once the brain juices start flowing it can take me in unsuspected directions.

We like to surprise ourselves.

In the natural world everything is pretty straightforward, but for some reason our species defies easy answers.  And trust me, we belong to the natural world too, even if we pretend that we don’t.  We, the masses, with our incredible numbers, having surpassed the 8 billion, are proving to be a challenge that is multi-facetted in scope.

I have written extensively about energy and momentum and how it decides the fate of all living species.  Unfortunately our species has deviated sharply from what is the norm in the natural world.  We are literally advancing at the expense of everything that exists on our planet.  Nothing is spared.  A totally parasitic approach that has given us a temporary advantage over all that lives and exist around us.  I have purposely injected and underlined the word temporary.  We somehow have come to believe that we have been given a reprieve or are an exception from the evolutionary pathways that all species follow.  Blame that much dreaded higher intelligence of ours.  Bestowed upon us as a gift by either evolution, creation or intelligent design.  I threw that one in because all three have its fair share of adherents.  A bit further on in this article I will surrender my opinion; it’s evolution and my assessment is not very flattering if any other option is preferred.  

We look good on paper.  Especially the majority of papers we have authored to extoll the virtues of humanity that celebrate our accomplishments and potential.  Our impact and the subsequent consequences are explained in greater detail in my novel Energy & Origin.  It’s time to put a dent in our hubris.  We can’t compare Homo sapiens limited years of existence to the billions of years of evolution that have shaped the natural world.  A natural world that has delivered us a bounty that we have squandered, destroyed and consumed in a blink of cosmic time.  One small example: Oil.  A substance that currently powers our economies and which took over 250 million years to form, we have extracted since 1876—very slowly at first—and we’re now faced with depletion in less than a few decades.  Globally we’re burning through over 90 million barrels daily.

What do we have in common with all other living species on our planet?  We all live for the moment.  It is today that counts.  We even brag that when it comes to oil that we won’t be running out for a while.  A short while anyway.  I won’t see the end of oil but my granddaughter will.  Our concept of time is so delusional and within the greater concept of the universe—where time is of no consequence, because time is a human thing—we’re a mere hiccup.  A cosmic burp.  It’s in our imagination that we travel where no man has gone before—a salute to all the Start Trek fans—in search of other planets that could possibly sustain human beings.  Space fantasies and wishful thinking.  As we blast of into the unknown we won’t encounter department stores, refueling stations and stores that fix and repair broken down rockets.  Terra firma, Mother Earth, this is it and I am reminded of the image of a young boy holding up a sign during a protest and climate rally that read: there is no planet B.  More than likely the sign had been provided by a parent but the lad’s facial expressions indicated that he damn well understood the message.

Turning a blind eye.

We’re not blind.  We’re not stupid and unaware.  Unfortunately evolution has provided us with an intelligence that is incredibly limited.  It has not provided us with an intelligent approach to living and that it is in our best interest to preserve the bounty of nature and protect its ecosystems.  Our excesses are killing us.  The awareness that does exist—there are many dedicated activists--is inconsequential within the bigger picture of energy and momentum that has emerged.  Our daily needs and demands are like a steamroller pulverizing the voices pleading for respect and reason.

What do you subscribe to?

If intelligence is a gift from the gods—apparently there is only one in certain faiths and multiples in others—they most certainly screwed up in a momentous manner.  If we were a mere experiment to see where a slightly higher intelligence would lead us, it most certainly was a spectacular failure, especially if intelligent design was involved, or . . .  if a more positive outcome had been anticipated.  If on the other end the experiment was designed to prove that all superior intelligence is inherently self-destructive, than the experiment was a smashing success.

Evolution however makes a lot more sense because it is designed on what works, even how it forces a species to adapt if it wants to survive adverse and changing circumstances.  It is not about perfection, but about fitting in.  Getting by is the motto of all living species.  No big secret.  When I wrote Energy & Origin based on the impact of energy and momentum, that particular line about all superior intelligence is inherently self-destructive, guided me along to the inevitable conclusion as to where humanity as a species is headed.  We are an anomaly.  No other living species does what we do.  The natural world is not a pleasure ride in an amusement park.  It can be deadly.  Prey and predator.  But there is also a natural balance because it doesn’t behoove any species to wantonly kill and destroy.  We, on the other hand, have done nothing but.  We have used our intelligence to live at the expense of the world around us and we have done so without letup and the pace has only increased with over 8 billion people vying for a slice of the pie.

We’re the odd man out.

I do hope that you realize that within a finite reality our activities and habits are not sustainable.  In Energy & Origin I have explained that a superior use of energy can give a species a distinct advantage over others.  Homo sapiens has used its intelligence to overcome obstacles and challenges that no other species on our planet has been able to equal or surpass.  Our future is looking rather bleak because a change of heart is not in the cards.  Evolution has provided us with opportunities and changes that have come fast and furious.  Some species have never changed, or very little, in millions of years, because they were ideally suited for the environment they inhabited; crocodiles and sharks, certain scorpions and mollusks.  Just to name a few.  In evolution if there is no need to change, why bother?

Therefore the question we should pose is, can we change?  Will we be able to adapt to sudden changes in lifestyles brought on by shortages, conflict, poverty, stagnation, conflict and wars?  I have stated in previous articles that all species are predominantly lazy and the only real challenge is to get by.  We are no different.  Few of us lead and most of us are followers.  Some of the stronger and more aggressive always play a lead role.  A pecking order exists in almost all species, as does the group instinct to protect the species.  The behavioral patterns we follow are as predictable as the sun rising in the morning and they are dominant in all species.  Our overall behaviors mirror that of the natural world from which we came.  Our abilities have given us the impression that somehow we’re different, exempt if you like from the life we share with all other species on our planet.  The only difference is the sad fact that although we can’t leave the natural world behind us, we have come to dominate it to such an extent that we have become our own worst enemy.  You can’t keep coming back to a well that is drying up.  Momentum drives us.  And when it comes to changing!  Will we ever find a lion turning into a vegan?  Or an elephant turning into a carnivore?  Concentrate on the nature of the beast!

Evolution doesn’t do reverse engineering. 

We have not been kind to each other.  We have not been kind to all the lifeforms we share the planet with.  We have been rather disrespectful, neglectful and delinquent.  In a lion troop when faced with hardship the weak and young perish first.  Survival of the troop is all that matters.  What we see happening around the world follows a similar pattern.  Failure is taking place in a large number of nations around the globe, nations that lack the competitive ability and a healthy economy to provide a level of comfort and sustainability that compares to countries that are doing reasonably well in the global economic environment that currently sets the tone and pace.  The fact that so many nations are falling behind is an indication that what works for some, doesn’t work for everybody and it’s the nature of the beast—that will be us—to keep it that way.  The western world isn’t going to pump trillions of dollars into the economies of third world countries in order to bring them up to our standard of living.  It behooves us to remain superior, as in more powerful and profitable.

We’re driven to stay on top.

A dominant species can only remain dominant by acting dominant.  Driven by energy and momentum it doesn’t provide for alternatives.  When it comes to power and control we know that any sign of weakness spells defeat.  The way we react is purely instinctive and predictable.  This is the dichotomy within our species that causes so much friction.  We often talk ‘nice’ but we don’t act nice.  We mean well but constantly answer to that prophetic phrase; the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  The nature of all species is based on strength, not weakness or compassion.  Hello Ukraine.  Hello Gaza.  Hello to all the nations that use their strength and influence to exact power and control.  Do I have to name them?  Do I have to name the individuals calling the shots?

I don’t have a crystal ball, but my entire life has been dedicated to follow the facts and to explore how historically we behave and have behaved.  Sugarcoating our behaviors is something I don’t subscribe to and I do it even less now that I find myself in the twilight of my earthly life.  Looking for a silver lining is typically human and about as relevant as demanding that every story or book ends on a happy note.

As always, feel free to share or comment.  wbes6646@gmail.com

Purchase Energy & Origin on KDP Amazon.ca

And use my full pen name: W.M.A. Bes

It’s an eye opener.  If you’re looking for humor—Yes, I do have a sense of humor—look no further than Mathew, Broderick, Fred, Roger.  Also available on Amazon.ca