i am happy … many of us humans are relatively comfortable and satisfied
my immediate family & extended family and friends are relatively contented … they have considerable power … especially the whites, the anglos, the males, the heterosexuals, the Haves, the U.S. citizens, … “the Blessed”
…………………………
but what about those necessarily leaving their loved homes and places … traveling many hard miles, wagering their resources & little power possessed, and futilely knocking at the barriered borders of the u.s. and western europe (which as a result of an ill-deserved superpower of militarism & corporate capitalism globally, powerfully suck the natural resources from Eaarth, much of it from south of the tropic of cancer from where many of those knocking on their walls came)
and those who regularly lose loved ones to suicide & mass shootings and other gun violence as a result of our worshiping at the altar of a misinterpreted second amendment and a crazy free-market of far, far too many guns, including high-powered assault rifles, … with little regulation concerning marketing & possession
and those being devastated in so many way as indivduals, families, populations, & ecological community by Wars in Ukraine, Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Somalia, central Africa, Mexico (drug wars), … largely with armaments and policy-vitriol produced respectively by our U.S. transnational armaments manufacturers and so-called “statesmen” (frequently bought by these aforementioned transnationals)
and the many suffering from starvation & malnuturiton because of capitalistic industrial ag and poor distribution of food and destruction of the local social & ecological fabrics which can produce, process, & distribute food sustainably
and the many suffering as a result of poorly realized (not preventative or holistic)/corrupt health care systems, including in this u.s. nation of an undeserved/inordinate amount of power over the world’s resources … and a very, very expensive largely ad-driven corporate health care structure which is not user-friendly (or composed of good listeners who are generalists), especially for the poor and some skin colors and ethnicities
the indigenous populations/gene pools on eaarth with the souls of their culture & ecological communities torn by introduced disease, genocide, Christianity, slavery, capitalism & militarism … and War/War/War???
(and what about the many native species of life … suffering … and losing population numbers … and going extinct)
are there really any humans on this neoliberal capitalistic, consuming, artificialized Earth
who are truly “Woke” … truly Pro-Life, Franciscan, Jesus of Nazareth-christian???
…………………..
human population numbers and the population numbers of their associated domesticated species and individual and collective artificial consumption of “stuff” including plastics, guns, & various biocides–and the fossil energy & material for which stuff is made–must be regulated
God can be comforting and satisfying in many ways and can be the most important part of sense of place & community for humans
but often He is a mysterious opiate inducing Blessed complacency & apathy, cop out, and a very inappropriate diversion & (ever-enduring) delay tactic
our continuing rampant artificialization is destroying dynamic homeostatic symbioses (“nature”), including Homo sapiens
and the culprit is largely de facto-Gods of: consumerism; stuff-stuff-stuff; the process of relatively unregulated neoliberal capitalism; fossil energy; walls & fences, big closed-in conventionally-airconditioned homes; monstrosities called cars & pickups with a couple of humans within connected to inappropriate technologies which wall them in even more … in a virtual isolation … and the life-destroying barriers of concrete/asphalt roads on which cars & pickups travel; airplanes & cruise ships; and other built structure, inappropriate technologies, and toxic algorithms;
and …
militarism & War
…………………….
War, a terrible Evil, seems necessary
but it is not
“Warfare Is Only an Invention—Not a Biological Necessity.”*
“Land, religion, flag, and ethnicity MAY be triggers?”
more likely War begets War. War “is a self-perpetuating, contagious meme, which can propagate independently of other social and environmental factors.”
militarism, police, armaments, arms for individuals … War! … should be totally replaced with postitively ethical applied community ecology/PEACEmaking across curricula & campuses of all human organizational entities, (humanitarians and social workers), and pacifism
***************************
*Footnote: To End War, Focus on Culture Rather than “Root Causes” – Scientific American Blog Network (published 2014): “Margaret Mead’s war theory kicks butt of neo-Darwinian and Malthusian models.”
Also from the Scientific American blog cited above … “One of my favorite examples of a nation that has renounced militarism is Costa Rica. Like many of its neighbors in Central American, Costa was once wracked by terrible violence. But after a bloody civil war in the 1940s, Costa Rica disbanded its army, freeing up more funds for education, health care, transportation and tourism. It is often ranked as one of the most peaceful, healthy, ‘happy’ nations in the world.” … “But to my mind, the U.S. remains the key to fostering peace today, both in the Mideast and worldwide. The U.S. preaches peace to the Israelis and Palestinians, just as it preaches to the Russians, Ukrainians, Iranians, North Koreans and other people around the world. But the preaching of the U.S. rings hollow.
To adopt Kloor’s language, the U.S.–more than any other nation or group–sows “the seeds of war” around the world through its militaristic behavior. Just look at the “cycles of violence and death” we have triggered in Iraq and Afghanistan, which have become breeding grounds for ISIS and other violent groups. The U.S. has the potential to become a moral exemplar and lead the world to peace. But if we want to rid the world of lethal extremism, we should start with ourselves.”
(I would also recommend reading “What About Hitler” by Robert W. Brimlow.
What about Hitler? | Baker Publishing Group )
pbm (7S’s / VV->^^)
