Weary of the Madness

Many moons have run their course through the window of my lifetime and I must admit that I've grown weary of the madness as embodied by the collective behavior of the species of which I am a member – Homo sapiens.

I am weary of the crazed and senseless aggression that seems to be so indicative of our kind. It is the type of aggression that inevitably leads to violence and on a grander scale, war. This pre-occupation with the use of force to resolve conflict consumes vast amounts of human and financial capital thwarting progress in the development of important social reforms that require immediate and mindful attention.

I have become numbed by the refusal of many societies and the individuals that comprise them to take seriously the repeated warnings coming from the scientific community regarding matters revolving around public health and environmental degradation. This refusal to take to heart the forecasts made by scientists especially around the ongoing issue of climate change is particularly troubling. While dramatic evidence has been presented that a vast ice shelf on the West coast of Antarctica is rapidly and irrevocably melting, many nations, with the United States in the forefront, are advocating the development of vast oil reserves currently locked in shale. The decision to further exploit the planetary reserves of fossil fuels and therefore, accelerate the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere - the essential factor responsible for climate change in the first place - represents a kind of stupidity that is beyond comprehension.

 It seems that modern existence has placed a premium upon the acquisition of wealth either embodied as enormous riches for those few who have access to such resources or the acquisition of material objects as evidence of status within the social milieu. This supposed triumph of the individual over the collective good is of short duration, for the planet upon which we resides has no allegiance to the life that resides upon its surface. If we recklessly squander the natural assets that are necessary for life, we will be forced to endure the consequences within an exceedingly hostile universe.

I have grown weary of the madness, yet I remain optimistic that an alternative future may ultimately present itself that will lead to a much saner path into the future than the one we seem to be on.