'Progress' of Civilization

Thanks Z and Pennilesscripple.

There's a Problem With Civilization.  It's so easy to sing ourselves into some kind of nap where we can distract ourselves from what is really going on. It's not even wholly accurate to say it's only 'easy'. It's more habitual.

Ask questions. If you need specific examples of the processes of civilization destroying the planet and our humanity (as beings of the earth), they aren't hard to find. If the simple theory of civilization and its functions is enough to make you feel like there's something off, something that needs to be changed, then look for examples too. They're all around, and they're only affirming.

Like Derrick Jensen said in his book Endgame, Premise 16: "Civilization is not redeemable. This culture will not undergo any sort of voluntary transformation to a sane and sustainable way of living. If we do not put a halt to it, civilization will continue to immiserate the vast majority of humans and to degrade the planet until it (civilization, and probably the planet) collapses."

We get all hyped-up on apocalypse theories and Armageddon estimates and it's amusing how we can come up with a load of extraneous examples of endings for our world.

It seems for the most part we don't consider the option that we (our culture, this path we've taken as manufacturing fulfillment) is going to crash down at some point. It won't last forever, it isn't sustainable. We can degrade any planet we can get to and deem habitable but in the end all we will be doing is degrading, taking from others that are not of our civilization, taking from the earth and the environment, and giving back destruction.

Do you think the electricity that powers your A/C unit makes the earth any cleaner or any cooler? It does just the opposite.

We live in a world where we can somehow shut out the earth and only take from it when we need it, when it can give us or save us money. It is absolutely imperative that this stops. I'm not proposing you start growing all your food or recycling, though those are indeed steps towards a more sustainable lifestyle (think about it: you cannot sustain your own life), I'm saying that we need to show more people what is really going on. Show them why they should care. We need to consider ways to extract ourselves from this situation. It won't be instant and it won't be pretty or convenient. I'm not Al Gore, but I do refuse to be just another complacent being on this planet.