Viva la Evolucion!

     It’s impossible to denounce the fact that the quality of life on this particular planet is somewhat less than ideal. There are areas of the world where simply belonging to a certain gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation can get you killed. There are areas of the world where the air is sometimes too filthy to breathe. There are areas of the world where people are dying because they don’t have anything to eat.

     If you can imagine it, if you can wrap your mind around this concept, there are areas of the world where just the opposite is occurring. There are places where food is thrown out and sent away to rot because people are too full to eat it. There are places where the air is clean. Where a man or a woman can walk down a street and feel reasonably confident that no one will hurt them that day, based on the color of their skin or the God they worship.

     Obviously, we, as humans, are doing something wrong. In Ishmael, it is suggested that humankind would do well to abandon this lifestyle and revert to a more tribal way of life. A way of life in harmony with the planet, wherein we would live as equals alongside the butterflies and tigers and goldfish.  After all, Ishmael asserts, humankind lived in harmony with Earth and all her inhabitants for billions of years. It is only in recent history that the planet has been “ruined”.

     At first, that seems like a valid point. Tribalism worked splendidly! Our evolution as social creatures is what triggered this insanity.

     Key word: Evolution.  Every creature on this planet, from slugs to human beings, is engineered to evolve. It is in our nature.

     Should we really revert back to tribalism? Or would that be stunting our evolution? Is it even conceivable that this race could evolve so far and then suddenly regress in such a way?

     Personally, I do not believe this is a viable plan of action. However, it is possible to keep evolving. That, after all, is the hallmark of humanity: progress. We are always moving forward.

      It is conceivable to meet Ishmael halfway, to continue with this forward momentum, but to turn ever so slightly onto a path that will lead us, once again, to harmony with the planet. With every innovation that we make, it becomes easier and easier to “go green”.  Electric cars, solar panels, biodegradable materials. Each of those and more make it imaginable that one day, humans will not be the troublesome tenants of Mother Earth that we are today.

     Tribalism did work well, for a very long time. But the thing to remember is this. It worked. Past tense. It is the nature of every creature to evolve; that is impossible to deny. Our evolution was to be expected.

     The goal at this point should be to continue evolving, at a faster and more focused pace. In my eyes, it simply isn’t feasible to move backwards. The past is the past, and it can never be the future.

     Moving forwards, though? It’s in our nature. 

*The picture of the monkey was taken from: www.mrwallpaper.com*