tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831869481818847436.comments2008-12-11T21:08:13.671-05:00Lessons For a New WorldAlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08442419546836689939noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831869481818847436.post-90159337815818148112008-12-11T21:08:00.000-05:002008-12-11T21:08:00.000-05:00fascinating, but I don't have time to do it justic...fascinating, but I don't have time to do it justice! I'll be back on another day.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04614116686638969278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831869481818847436.post-88858701799979063952008-12-05T21:09:00.000-05:002008-12-05T21:09:00.000-05:00have read this post first. I think that you are a ...have read this post first. I think that you are a Hobbesian--without governments, life is nasty, brutish and short! I hope that you will continue with this blog. It provokes thought.<BR/><BR/>Maybe our problem is that to be human is to be flawed. Every noble impulse has an opposite and ignoble aspect. The person who wishes to rule, to create a better city, state, country, world is motivated by a desire to do good, but also must have abit of ego, a desire for power in order to pursue the position of leader. If the fiollowers are lucky, the person tempers his.her ego and is satisfied with the adulation of the followers and works to serve the interests of them all. But as we see too often, power does corrupt, and there are cruel, despotic leaders sprinkled around the world who inflict nothing but misery on their populations in order to aggrandize their own sense of self-worth.<BR/><BR/>Of course, we have been repeating the cycle that you speak of since the beginning of humankind. Civilizations rise and fall, and another comes along to replace it and the cycle begins anew. I like to think that perhaps we learn something from each collapse and come away with a touch more wisdom, but I suspect that it is wishful thinking on my part. Perhaps, this is who we are meant to be, our purpose to strive for that which we can't achieve, a world where there is respect for life and promoting the well being of all. Perhaps there is a method to the madness--war, famine, and poverty serve as population control. Natural disasters wipe out far more people at one time thatn we've figured out to do with all of our technology. Perhaps this is as it is intended to be, a sort of imposed balance lest we expand beyond the resources of this planet we call home.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04614116686638969278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831869481818847436.post-14284360579594679162008-12-05T20:55:00.000-05:002008-12-05T20:55:00.000-05:00A very interesting assessment of civilization. I c...A very interesting assessment of civilization. I can't help but connect civilization and government. I think that one of the ongoing questions is the purpose of government and why governments arose. Are you familiar with Hobbes and Rousseau's contrasting views of why humankind was compelled to form governments? If not, I think that you would find both fascinating reading. Are governments a result of our fear of one another or of a desire to promote the common good? My additional thought is to ponder if it really matters? Isn't the utlimate result the same--a system of agreed upon rules and laws that attempt to protect the common good? Of course, democracy, republic, or dictatorship, none of the systems work perfectly.<BR/><BR/>You are quite a philosopher, Alan. Fascinating reading.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04614116686638969278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831869481818847436.post-62257260853522005942008-11-23T17:44:00.000-05:002008-11-23T17:44:00.000-05:00I think this in incredibly thought provoking and I...I think this in incredibly thought provoking and I wonder at where your thoughts are personally about it today.I think many people, me included have very little real idea of how our futures are interdependent.....Thanks for sharing these thoughts.<BR/>LindaLinda S. Sochahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03281672541959206302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831869481818847436.post-15435745656182738492008-11-22T21:33:00.000-05:002008-11-22T21:33:00.000-05:00Very scary questions. In spite of the lessons that...Very scary questions. In spite of the lessons that history has to teach us, I think that most of us remain happily blind to the possibility of a collapse of civilization. In addition, in spite of the constant reference to a global economy, do we have areal sense of how intertwined our fates are? As you point out, the collapse of our global civilization precludes the survival strategies available to our predecessors.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04614116686638969278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831869481818847436.post-70357130321995414562008-11-22T21:27:00.000-05:002008-11-22T21:27:00.000-05:00I agree with your assessment of the minimal shelf ...I agree with your assessment of the minimal shelf life of any topic served up by the media. I question whether or not the media merely serves us what we want? Far too many people have a sound byte mentality. Is this just who we are or is it a result of growing accustomed to the abbreviated information presented as news? I don't have an answer, but I think that determining how to address the current obsession with the glossy over the substantial is essential in devising a strategy for refocusing our attention on the "Olds."Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04614116686638969278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831869481818847436.post-54210141237750612282008-11-19T18:39:00.000-05:002008-11-19T18:39:00.000-05:00Pen+Ink, to answer your question, those that didn'...Pen+Ink, to answer your question, those that didn't die went off into the bush and either survived or were eventually assimilated into other human groups.<BR/><BR/>Jordan, I think you understand the problem. This blog will be about finding a way forward that doesn't destroy the planet and lets us continue to survive as a species, keeping the best of what we have achieved in the process. I'll be exploring this more in future posts and look forward to a lively discussion.<BR/><BR/>cadgrrl, I think the organizations, both governmental and non, have had plenty of opportunity to address the problems. They have poured countless hours and untold dollars at fixing them and failed. Here we will explore why they failed and what can be done. I'm sure there is a role for ngos etc, but they can't continue doing what they have done and hope to succeed. Maybe we can find a way.Alanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08442419546836689939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831869481818847436.post-69272939078121833402008-11-19T17:51:00.000-05:002008-11-19T17:51:00.000-05:00There really has to be a groundswell grassroots "t...There really has to be a groundswell grassroots "take back the planet" movement. I think the best place for seeding this is with non-profit orgs already established worldwide.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831869481818847436.post-67005495709384661772008-11-19T17:40:00.000-05:002008-11-19T17:40:00.000-05:00I think your final question, Alan, is misleading—m...I think your final question, Alan, is misleading—mostly because of what you wrote a little earlier in your post: the stakes in play at present are higher than they ever were before. That is, what's at stake here is the entire planet. If (not when) our civilization collapses, it will inevitably pull down the planet with it. What we need to look at, rather, is how to shift from our present state into one that takes an integrative approach, that not only avoids damaging the environment but also contributes to it. It's possible, and there are many people who are already working on it. While the human race could afford the collapse of contained civilizations in the past, this time we can't afford to collapse. Because if we do, we will have lost the planet on which we live, and the survivors will have nowhere to go.<BR/><BR/>To clarify (because at the moment I'm aware I sound rather fatalistic and depressing), I don't think this is a situation where we can just sit around and wait for the collapse, so that then the survivors can live on and recreate the species. This time we need to do something BEFORE the collapse. Instead of collapse, see it as a shift. What needs to change is our habits, our way of thinking. Everything we do to the world is a result of what the world is to us. So to finish, the answer to your question is simple: they'll have nowhere to go. So let's do everything we can to make sure it doesn't get to that.jordanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07719846334015178876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831869481818847436.post-72694451853636194492008-11-19T13:40:00.000-05:002008-11-19T13:40:00.000-05:00After I had my rant I went back and read it. My fi...After I had my rant I went back and read it. <BR/>My first question would be(seeing as you make the comparison):in the case of previous collapsed civilisations who remained of them, and where did THEY go?Penelopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415109649134296220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831869481818847436.post-22610820625812123392008-11-19T13:35:00.000-05:002008-11-19T13:35:00.000-05:00Oh dear. I'm sure its very interesting but I hones...Oh dear. I'm sure its very interesting but I honestly believe I suffer from a kind of media phobia. I have nightmares if I watch the news at 10, I get depressed if I read more than three pages of a newspaper. Of course one can't avoid the headlines posted onto lamp posts, which often lead to bouts of seriously dodgy driving. I cannot cope with the 'bigger picture'. I got as far as Human Population something or other on the list and already it was sending twinges of discomfort.<BR/>I like hearing about the kids who do that scoutish camp with you guys...small, local, personal.<BR/>Somehow soothes one rather than instilling panic?Penelopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415109649134296220noreply@blogger.com