Have you ever looked out of a 22nd floor window
and thought to yourself why? I found
myself doing just that as I was looking out over the city streets full of cars,
at a harbor scene of a tug boat pulling in a tanker, and of the minute patches
of green peeking out amongst the skyscrapers and various buildings. I could not help but wonder why we, as a
species, allowed ourselves to construct such an industrialized way of living
while at the same time choking out the remnants of a green lush environment,
all in the name of progress.
Humans pride themselves at being clever. After all, look at all the achievements we
have made over the centuries. For
example, we went from teaching proper cursive and reading books to using computers
and smart phones that made those skills obsolete. We went from riding horses to riding cars of
all different shapes, styles and speeds.
We went from riding steam engines to riding jetliners across the
skies. And of course, how can we ever forget
that we went from being bound to Mother Earth by gravity to soaring through the
atmosphere into the darkness of space, landing on the Moon in 1969 (Why haven’t
we ever done it again?) and constructing an international space station in 1998
that is still being used today! There is no denying the ingenuity of humanity.
And along with all the technological achievements, we
advanced our own life expectancies. In
1900, you would be lucky to live to 50!
Today humans’ life expectancy is now around 75 +/- depending on the
country you from. All because we
discovered cures and medicines to fight disease (though we still don’t have a
cure for the common cold and the longer life expectancy resulted in an over
population no one wants to talk about).
So with all of these wonderful feats of humanity, why am I
saying the human race is doomed?
Well, I remember growing up thinking about the year
2000. Flying cars and science fiction
becoming reality were the main themes of my childhood. But instead of any of that becoming true, in
the past 16 years since the millennium, human beings are faced with growing
tensions amongst each other solely because of their skin color, individual
monetary worth and religious beliefs.
Every day you read on the internet or hear on the news about all of
these horrible conflicts resulting in deaths.
Humans are killing humans for no real good reason!
Then of course there is the political stages. With this year being the United States big
election year, I find myself throwing up in my mouth at just the thought of
someone like Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump being in charge of the most
powerful (and laughed at) country on the planet. Both do not deserve the right to lead my
country. And the overall political
climate since September 11, 2001 has been a horror show! All is to blame. Politicians and civilians alike. The killings and violent protests combined
with biased news makes me long for Big Brother to put an end to it all (1984
reference).
Finally, my passion always weighs heavy on my opinions for
the future of humanity. Animal welfare –
or a lack of!
- Canadian Seal Hunt resulting in the (proven) inhuman slaughter of hundreds of thousands of seals, most under the age of 3 months.
- The Cove in Taiji Japan resulting in the slaughter of hundreds of dolphins or the dozens sold into captivity.
- Millions of farm animals housed in inhumane conditions, treated with a lack of compassion and not given basic needs, before being slaughtered for food; most of which will be thrown out (the US is the most wasteful country).
- Hundreds of thousands of endangered wild animals facing extinction because of loss of habitat, poaching and trophy hunting.
- People videotaping the murder of innocent dogs and cats for fun, in order to go viral on the internet.
- The eradication of wolves, bears, mountain lions, lynx, bobcats, fox, birds of prey, etc…in the United States because humans want the land to themselves or decide to kill them in ignorance and greed.
- Millions of dogs and cats are euthanized every year in shelters because they are unwanted by greedy, self-absorbed owners, and laws punishing animal cruelty and neglect are lacking.
I could go on. But
these are just a few of the cases that will not be going away anytime
soon. We call ourselves humans, but we
are anything but humane.
Unless humans start acting like the name we have given
ourselves, we are a doomed species!
There is hope. People discuss the
issues I have mentioned on a daily basis.
Some have even developed grass roots programs to help make a
difference. But is it enough?
I guess my point of this whole (long) blog post is to stress
how important it is for us to STOP! We
as a species must start doing what is right for the future of ourselves and for
the environment that we live in. It is
time we stop being so selfish and greedy and help each other and all of our
animal friends. If we don’t start today,
the chances of us reaching the year 3000 is highly unlikely.
