Green Guilt

I stand before you as a broken man. But in brokenness comes humility and humility is the attribute I admire most. A key part of humility is to show respect to nature, animals, and one another. The lowest among us is the greatest among us.

Little bugs crawl on my kitchen counter and I observe these complex little organisms. I respect them, and they have just as much right to be here as we do. I love them because we are all connected by the web of life.

Lifelong Guilt

For years I thought the guilt that constantly torments me was instilled in me by my religious upbringing. But now I see it comes from a hyper-sense of responsibility. I want to save something I love, but instead I'm contributing to its death. I go to extremes to recycle everything I can, but still there are some plastics that don't recycle, and end up in my garbage can. Some of these items will last 500 years and with our human population continually growing there will be a cumulative effect as items rot slower than we toss them. At some point Earth will become a giant garbage heap. Every time I toss a non-recyclable item in the trash I picture it in some landfill a hundred years from now. I will be gone but my waste will remain, haunting the planet.

There is that plastic trash area in the Pacific Ocean that's now the size of Texas. There is nothing more to laugh about in this life. People are still blowing off fireworks, which terrify both domestic and wild animals. And not to mention the balloon releases, which harm wildlife. Where is the respect? Where is the acknowledgement that we are to live in harmony with nature, and not continually harm it? I can't afford an electric car and every time I drive my car I'm spewing carbon into the atmosphere — it is the same as littering. And every time I shower or brush my teeth or clean my sink there are chemicals going down my septic tank and into the soil beneath my yard. Some of the crap that goes down the drain will permanently foul the soil. We are turning the planet we live on into a giant shit hole. There are other countries far nastier than our own and all the pollution is going into waterways, soil, and air.

All the while our social order is collapsing as black America begins the much-needed revolution and invisible predators continue their tireless work of counterbalancing our extreme overshoot. We humans love our cities and must have them for our economies, yet areas with dense populations is what viruses love the most. Even if we create a vaccine for the current menace, it will just mutate and other viruses will make the jump into the human herd. It seems that humans would cooperate to fight off the microbe predators, but then I keep hearing about the anti-mask movement. Good Republicans will do nothing to change their rigid patterns because their entire mantra is all about sacrificing the future to maintain the status quo in the present.

Then there is the Rev. Ralph Drollinger, a conservative minister who leads Trump's White House Bible study group. In a recent blog post he said gays cause "God's wrath," (code word for COVID-19) and environmentalists and people with “depraved minds” are also igniting "God's wrath."

A quote from one of his recent Bible studies:

Man is created in the image of God whereas the remainder of the created order is not (Genesis 1:26). Therefore mankind is separate, special and superior as it relates to all God has made. It explicitly follows from Genesis 1:26 that mankind is not equal or subservient to all that God has created; conversely he has preeminence over creation and the environment. Properly understood, God has appointed man to be His steward over the earth. Clearly indicative of God’s forsaking wrath is when the abandoned serve the creature rather than the creator. 

So, this preacher gives me a punch straight in the mouth. Screw you, sir. The Holy Bible has been used to justify slavery and many other abominable practices, and now some Bible thumper is going after environmentalists. How convenient that a "man of God" is giving the capitalists free license to rape and plunder our environment. Sir, you are disgusting.

But then again, I've resigned myself to the fact that people just play out their pre-recorded roles like the insects on my countertop, and never question the insanity of their actions.

Our Invisible Enemy

I stand corrected from my comment last week that we gained the upper hand over land predators about 10,000 years ago. I was at a science museum today and I learned it was actually 50,000 years ago. We humans built weapons and worked cooperatively to fight off the large land animals that threatened us, and, in fact, we wiped many of them out. It would seem that we'd want to work cooperatively again to fight off the coronavirus, but what I'm hearing instead are ramblings about conspiracies and that the virus is a hoax.

Honestly, our species as a whole is so detached from reality that I wonder if we will ever make it. As I said last week, I no longer care if humans go extinct. It's the best thing that could ever happen to the planet and millions of other species who continually suffer from our destructive apathy and ignorance. Yet, there are some beautiful, wonderful people, like Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, who make our species worth saving. 

It is imperative that each one of us try to make the world better by helping the Earth, animals, or one another. As an environmentalist, much of the time I'm trying to mitigate the excesses and laziness of the people who don't give a damn. These people are wearing me out.

I respect people based on what they do to "give back." Your nice house, fancy car, and boat mean absolutely nothing to me. I realize that 80 percent of the world's population is in basic survival mode, and you guys get a total exemption. I'm with you all and I get it. But you can still give back by just giving a smile or words of encouragement to a store clerk. No matter how miserable your life is as a bottom feeder, you can still lift others up. And I'm a bottom feeder too, just trying to survive, day-to-day.

Only One Shot

As for religion, if you'll read my recent blog posts you'll see that I've recently done a deep dive into astronomy, quantum mechanics, evolution, and abiogenesis. I've also studied theology and world history. It's not that I don't believe in God, it's just that I haven't found him yet after 40 years of study. At age 15 I started having doubts about a superior being and five years later I began my search by actually reading the Bible. No "smoking gun" or "silver bullet" was ever found in my research, so I can tell you this: the life you have now may be the only one you get, and it's your choice to use it for good or throw it away. I love the term "caretaking," and I assure you that is where you will find the only meaning to this life.

If you are a caretaker to the Earth, animals, or humans, then you are making a lasting contribution to the betterment of your world. If more of us became caretakers then our species would stand a chance at survival. But as for now, I have serious doubts about whether we will make it to the next century.

My fellow tree-huggers have assured me that the Earth will recover from the brief little dark spot in history known as "industrialized humanity." It's possible that after our 500 years of shitting on the planet is over that the Earth may never recover. In fact, we are already doing irreversible harm to our planet.

Unbendable Thinking

I know that nothing I say or do will change the natural evolution of industrialism and the systemic destruction that goes with it. Most people are just like insects, and eat, poop, and screw, and go about their lives searching for happiness, which for many means more and better junk, at the expense of the environment. The world we created for ourselves is an absolute disaster, with so many people degrading their one shot at life with alcohol, tobacco, and drug addiction. The herd just slowly marches to the cliff as billionaire politicians scream about "Making America Great Again."

After freeing myself from the bondage of religion, I started out as a wandering idealist in my late 30s, and I was hoping to save the world. It only took six years of fighting the systemic resistance to change and the inflexible institutions to make me jaded and cynical. I am now an old man of 60, still ready for one last good, righteous fight, but still unsure where to throw in my last reserves of energy, strength, and caring. The Christian Nationalists run my country and they constantly drone on about the evils of homosexuality and abortion, and as the world crumbles around us they blame all our problems on, you guessed it, the evils of homosexuality and abortion.

Is it just me or are people becoming even more ignorant and irrational? We are certainly our own worst enemy and the animal kingdom and planet won't miss us when we're gone. If there is a God he's an ass for letting so much madness go on.

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It's time for a few shoutouts. The first goes to Maggie Sargent, who, like myself, broke out of a conservative religious culture and has become an activist for veganism, the environment, and is an antinatalist, which is a movement to respect woman who choose not to procreate. Below is a video where she shares her thoughts and throws in a yoga class.

Any time I find someone who shares my vision of saving the world I list them on my "We Live on a Planet" website. Last night I came across the Deep Green Resistance, which is a group that feels that mainstream environmentalism is ineffective and that the real threat is industrial civilization. Of course, I agree.

Lastly, I wanted to say farewell to my beloved friend and companion for almost five years, Kopek. On our weekly hikes he always watched over and protected us and our other dogs. He was fearless, loyal, and a deeply loving animal. On Thursday I laid him to rest in the lot behind my yard. After almost 13 years of a wonderful life he died of congestive heart failure. I cried a lot and the pain is deep. Life will not be the same without him. Goodbye, Kopek.

Source:
Is God Judging America Today?, Ralph Drollinger
Photo by Keith Camilleri on Unsplash

Conflict, Racism, and Species Survival

Let's take a step back and ask ourselves, "What value do we have as a species?" Most of the millions of species on our planet have a purpose by keeping the ecosystem in balance. Do humans have a purpose? The purpose of life is to be a caretaker for animals, the Earth, and each other. There is no other meaning to life. A biologist may say that our purpose is to procreate, but we have already done that all to well.

I was told in church that our purpose is to "glorify god," but I'm not sure which of the 1,000 gods I'm supposed to glorify. They are listed on the Internet; I suppose I could pick one at random, or maybe glorify a garden gnome.

It was around 10,000 years ago when we learned to use technology and teamwork to protect ourselves against large land predators. Finally, we were safe. But the little creatures that attack us, in the form of microbes, continue to remind us that we are just like any other species and that we must succumb to the checks and balances of nature. 

With our current attack by a mutated animal virus, it would seem like we would unify and work as a team to defeat our invisible enemy. This enemy simply wants to hijack our cells to reproduce itself, and doesn't care if it destroys its host, for it will simply move on to other living cells. And if we defeat the corona virus there will be other viruses constantly mutating and becoming more lethal, and we provide every virus with exactly what they want — millions of humans packed into tight places.

Industrial Age

Let's take another step back to our social evolution in Europe. Modern science took off in the late 1500s and when Voltaire and Rousseau ushered in the Age of Reason in the early 1700s, religion was supposed to go away, but it did not. I am now grateful for religion and the mass ignorance it creates. See, I've always believed in science and reality, but science created technology, which has led us to the bad predicament we are currently in.

In the 1820s we humans led a sustainable existence and fit into the ecosystem like every other species. But along came technology and the steam-powered engine. Textile factories sprung up in northern England, which created a much greater demand for raw materials such as cotton. Who was going to provide this material, so that everyone could own more clothes? Slaves, of course, working in plantations in the southern U.S. But black slaves were in the New World far beyond that time. Initially they were brought to the Americas to work on sugar plantations because Europeans had developed a taste for sugar. And as slaves in South America and the Caribbean worked under appalling conditions, Europeans got fat eating sweets.

So, I'm now grateful for the institutionalized ignorance created by religion, which slows down our technological progression and gives us a better chance at keeping pace socially.

Capitalism

Another byproduct of science and technology is capitalism. See, capitalism simply follows the laws of Darwinism and the system is ruthless and systematic as greedy people try to grab whatever they can. Everyone is now in a race to get more things. When I question capitalism, people are quick to slap me down and they tell me it encourages innovation and efficiency. That is true on a small scale, but now capitalism has taken a life of its own and big corporations now gobble other corporations and the rich are getting richer to the point where half the world's wealth is in the hands of a few. And how do the American people respond? They elect a fucking billionaire as their president, who is a cog in the great machine that will squeeze the common man and woman to death as the rich horde everything.

From childhood I was told that socialism, communism, and Marxism are all evil. Our government has meddled in the affairs of other nations, staged coups, gone to war, and even engineered assassinations to protect our "way of life," which is a lie fed to us by the blood-sucking capitalists. Poor Che Guevara, a fighter for the people, was murdered by a CIA minion. All he wanted to do was start a global Marxist revolution, and the American government wouldn't have it.

Sustainability

Small wonder that people are angry. We live in a failed system that never did deliver the promise of a decent life for the masses. In the U.S. we have a medical system that's our enemy and only wants to suck the sick of their last remaining dollar. Many in the medical industry are filthy rich thanks to bilking insurance companies, which, in turn, bilk us. This is Donald Trump's America, a broken, soulless place that survives based on lies and misconceptions. 

And in this backdrop a part of our population is taking to the streets, and I don't blame them. The system has been particularly brutal to African Americans, who were brought here against their will and under appalling conditions, and the appalling conditions never ended. 

And we called it capitalism when entrepreneurs docked their ships at slave ports on the west African coast and purchased slaves. It was the black slave traders who went into the interior of the African continent to kidnap innocent people, which devastated the societies and economies of west Africa. And then the ships sailed to the Americas where the slaves were purchased by aspiring capitalists who simply wanted to make money, which, I know, is a good Christian thing to do.

Racism

It wasn't enough that the African Americans had to endure 250 years of slavery in north America. After they were freed in 1865 they had to endure another 100 years of Jim Crow laws, and if you don't know who Jim Crow was look it up, and I can tell you he was a disgusting fictional character. So, this is all due to our beloved capitalistic system and the Christian religion, which is clear in its support of slavery. And worse yet, Christianity was pushed on the slaves to help make them docile and to allow southern socialites to proclaim, "See, we saved the souls of these black savages." And as the descendent of a Druid I know what it's like to have someone else's religion forced upon you.

Small wonder there is a drug problem in black America with law enforcement and racist vigilantes murdering blacks, not to mention the carceral state and prison industrial complex that profits when young black men are thrown in jail. The system squeezes and exploits black America, just like it's been doing since the 1600s. I stand with my black brothers and sisters who are particularly singled out and used by a dark and grotesque economic and social system that whitewashes itself with nice pictures of white families sitting in steepled churches and proudly wearing their MAGA hats at Trump rallies. Modern America is a venomous snake and with large corporations controlling the media we are fed disgusting propaganda that would make Joseph Goebbels proud. And it's not surprising that the white capitalists would use a disinformation model that was invented by the Nazis, which is designed to make you safe and sound at night, and to scapegoat someone else, and all the while exploiting the underclasses, who they say are "lazy."

Summary

I started blogging in 2004 to help me see my own intellectual progression as I traveled through life. Shortly after getting into the environmental movement I was exposed to the rancorous immigration debate in the Sierra Club, where the old white guys didn't want America invaded by the brown hordes, which they said would compromise their environment. I'm proud that the Sierra Club stood against them and said we should address "root causes," because that is the correct answer. Following the economic crash of 2008 and the current hostile anti-immigrant atmosphere created by Trump, immigration is less of an issue. Besides, human migration is a normal and integral part of our 100,000 year existence as a species. We are always moving in search of a better life.

During the heat of the immigration battle I once said there is no use saving the environment if we are just going to fill our rivers with blood. Eventually, I created this blog, which was my second blog, and is devoted to social sustainability. I realized that we can't have a sustainable environment when we have such an unsustainable and unjust society.

I used to want to save humanity but in the last five years I've changed my thoughts. I now see humanity as just another species. Right now we are a misbehaving species that is wiping out thousands of other species, doing irreparable harm to the Earth, and hurting and harming our fellow humans. DO WE DESERVE TO EXIST? I would say "no," except there is always a handful of good people who give me hope. If we think we can provide some positive benefit to this world, then it's up to us to save ourselves. Otherwise, I no longer care if humans go extinct — under current conditions it's the best thing that could ever happen to the Earth.

Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King, and Mahatma Gandhi are my three greatest heroes because they showed me that being human can be something special. They showed us that we don't have to be a violent, all-consuming species that tramples on our brothers for our own personal gain. Why the fuck do we forget their teachings every single day?

In 1966 Martin Luther King said something extremely beautiful. He said a riot is "the language of the unheard." Why don't you listen, America? Maybe it's time to listen.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash