Throughout the brief and mostly dark saga of human history, iridescent wisps of brilliance have struggled against the pervading blackness of ignorance to lead humanity towards a future rooted in reality and focused on harmony. Time has always venerated the great achievements of human thought, however it has also provided for an ever-expanding chasm that threatens to swallow whole the progress made by our species towards understanding the strange environment that nurtures and supports us.
Nothing illustrates this more than the rate of scientific illiteracy that utterly dominates the human population. Raised in the chains of religious orthodoxy and distracted by the fruits of technological innovation, the vast majority of people do not understand how we've come to grasp nature, instead content to apathetically accept our ability to control its mechanisms with total disregard for the consequences of such reckless exploitation. Even the cosmic truths that may seem obvious and incontrovertible are the targets of shallow derision and politically motivated cynicism propagated by ideological fundamentalists. Whereas the spheres of theology and philosophy are to pose the great questions of existence, it is the realm of science to evaluate our environment to provide the answers. Ultimately, both have succeeded in their tasks, however in practice, each has failed to engage the general population in such a way as to produce a symbiotic relationship that pushes our understanding, and has left us with a bitter parasitic system of dialectical doubt that tears community apart at the seams and ensures that progress be derided as a utopian fantasy.
The article I linked to is the first of a three part examination of our collective illiteracy. Coincidentally, I happen to be reading Cosmos, by Carl Sagan (whom David Ewing Duncan quotes and uses as a framework for his article) - a man whose very goal, as a "science popularizer," was to bridge the gap of ignorance with the wonders and ultimate connectedness of our existence. This is a theme that I have decided will be a focal point for my future, and I will return to this topic frequently in hopes that others will be inspired or, at the least, a little better informed.
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4 comments:
i agree with you dammit!
but as long as everyone stays in the catatonic psychosis, then the ball keeps ro-ro-rolling along mate.
knowledge might really disrupt this litle system we got, ya know.
do you eat meat, hmmmm? wouldn't want you to get educated as to the environmental impact, that might affect the little thing we got going.
here's a link about freedom of info for you, interesting concept:
http://psiphon.civisec.org/
people fighting with their lives just to access ANY truth, let alone sublime scientific understanding of the cosmos and our place in it.
here's another - but note that rolling stone magazine does not point the finger ever at the consumer, nor the media and themselves for obfuscating the real culprit -> lack of access to truthful information. in other words, marketing.
why should you crave that people be better educated? you'd be into all kinds of hassle. next thing ya know, we'd all have to stop using plastics, and stop eating animals, and stop using pcb-laden electronics. whoa, forget that jimmy!
check it:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12840743/porks_dirty_secret_the_nations_top_hog_producer_is_also_one_of_americas_worst_polluters
- notice their coercion, right off the bat they call those very real, very beautiful animals "the other white meat" in their headline.
so, while sensationalist and disturbing, it resolves nothing, when it had the power to.
- the article never properly points blame -> at the education system, and it they had no balls either, to tell people to simply stop buying pig meat, reduce the demand. it's the media, again!
...money....money...money
internet censorship is in its infancy.
education is NOT what the state wants, trust me.
anyway, keep up the good faith!
just passing through, i caught you on..."next blog"
sorry, the link got cutoff!
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12840743/porks_dirty_secret_the_nations_top_hog_producer_is_also_one_of_americas_worst_polluters
i hope it works this time, otherwise, feel free to look up rolling stone magazine hog farming
Thanks for stopping by, trehug. I appreciate your comments. While I do eat meat, and enjoy eating meat very much, I try to be as responsible of a consumer as possible. Buying meat and meat products from responsible producers who treat animals humanely and without chemicals, and who understand the impact that their livelihood has on the environment is something I take seriously; it's easy too. The industrialization of agriculture has presented many environmental problems , including but not limited to: toxic levels of biowaste, overemphasis on production levels that necessitates the use of harmful chemicals that contaminates the food supply and the consumer, as well as general mistreatment of living beings, regardless of whether they're to be slaughtered for food or not. That Rolling Stone article is good exposure of this problem, mostly because Big Agro is one of the least assailed, but most harmful entities in our society and this spotlight is much needed. Fortunately, there are ways to solve these problems. Changing World Technologies (www.changingworldtech.com) is an innovative company that develops technology like a process called Thermal Depolymerization to turn biowaste (discarded carcasses and other byproducts) into useable energy. There are solutions, they just take innovation, ingenuity, and yes, a knowledge of the way nature works.
hey again-
well, first, sorry for this long stream, i just went back and looked...geez! hope you do not take offence, i don't mean that at all.
i agree with your suggestions toward solution "styles" - as in, innovation, ingenuity, and yes, a knowledge of the way nature works,
those definitely are vital, especially for when a new solution is required.
however, i do think also that sometimes the problem really is the cause, and it should be stopped, and we don't need a new layer of
"solution" to wrap it in. biodiversity flourished nicely thanks, along a casual natural path, not like now. there's a real danger.
the point of MY previous statement, was that in fact, the rolling stone article does nothing but EXACERBATE the exact problem, and exposes a very real psychosis in our society. not the secondary, yes SECONDARY problem of the very literal pollution (which ALSO needs to be dealt with, though)
the problem is, IMHO - that they are pointing the finger at a "virtual target" for the blame, which pacifies the masses! implying that that "virtual target" is the place to execute the solution - when, in reality - no reader really has the actual inclination to get up and take up a civil suit or class action suit against some rich dude "over there". turn the page, there's brittany spears.
it pre-links society's problem of not knowing what to do, so just carry on with your head high, and think, "i'm great".
they had a big audience, they could have used their forum wisely, but strange....they didn't.
the REAL and VERY DO-ABLE solution is to reduce demand, in a celebratory way toward nature. schools should teach sustainable living,
like any society has before us - as a higher PRIORITY than the so-called "job-oriented skills".
ok, you could be one of the few people who buys only "organic" (a very dubious term, - let's not even get into how that plays out for an
unspoken two-tiered food system - that the poor and "uneducated" will suffer the consequence of, and the long-term health cost impacts,
etc. etc.), but let's face it, :
most people shop by price. big, nice, aggregate numbers - BIG.
-these people are not thinking about the political nature of what they choose to buy and eat, they are not thinking about pollution, or
personal health. rolling stone had the floor....they caved and stayed the course. they don't even realize themselves that they missed
the boat. the r.s. article was merely an example of why we can't crack this puzzle. that was my point.
do you think?
alright - i think here's my statement in a nutshell;
when some everyday type of dude or chick, sits down and reads that rolling stone article, they form a very REAL state of mind that
SOMETHING is being done, that there is a real culprit who will evetually be brought to justice. and so, this allows the dude or chick
to move on with their day, and have 3 sausages, bacon, and a ham sandwhich, while finishing the rest of the mag.
meanwhile, that very mind-state has just COMPLETELY usurped their ability to step back and see the situation wholly. that it is THEY
themselves, that create the situation by their everyday decisions. the ultimate irony, is and that we ourselves already hold the
ability to end it, simply by going back to a more natural and beautiful lifestyle. it is frustrating - because the article instead,
creates a false sense of security, and actually **strengthens** the public state of psychosis, the belief that something is being done,
at a distance, and that our everyday decisions are not even a part of, anything really.
the media with the big demographics, they are not in the business to educate.
for this reason - the solution lies in the free media - like right here, right now - your blog, my blog, uncencored access to the truths out there..which explains my reference to psiphon.org -
it's not *un* cool to be interested in science and nature - it's *cool*. i'm sure that you are a mentor to lots of little people, kids - not mostly though of what you say , but more by the "way" in which you exhibit normality to your environment. normal, what reactions are normal on your facial expressions when you encounter a spider in your home, i have a couple inmy home, i name them. in 40 years, my house has yet to be taken over by spiders. (psych 101 trick for kids afraid of bugs - name them!)
"...nabisco shares up 1/4, pork commodity markets fell 1/8....someone get me a fair-trade coffee, then you're all FIRED!@
BIG business - more than we care to know - NEEDS the masses to stay ASSES.
but, we STILL are able to actually do something REAL everyday - it is up to us then to act with scientific vigour and excellence, for
ourselves and for everyone else. you are right - knowledge, inspiration by nature, not abhorration of it, or how to abuse it for market
share. why be so afraid to be more humble and peaceful - it's actually very COOL.
just as an aside from ethics, and toxicity, how about the incredible energy waste of growing food, then feeding it to "livestock" and
then eating those livestock. come on. analysis even on a strictly caloric level alone, the amount of waste is absolutely nuclear. this
doesn't even consider the environmental costs of transporting everything hundreds of miles per calorie. when all along, our
forefathers, and ancestral history had very real lives, who worked a bit in the garden everyday, lived proudly. not so today, where
slobbering fat jackasses twiddle wires all day long in tall buildings, and the hog plant is not visible through the haze of a hot,
exhaust-filled, afternoon.
you know.....it's sad really, if people just thought a bit more, about how sweet it is to be here, and touched the ground, and realized,
my god, i can be so happy and lucky just to have a cup of rice - do not believe in untrue dominion over nature, but invest in
biodiversity with our day to day choices. we could - but who can reach that many people in psychosis? who? your blog? msn.com, the
bbc? vey strange when there's no frame of reference, isn't it? "the media" isn't what it appears - and internet cencorship is
comingfast. that's why i mentioned the psiphon.org site
anyway, so while i agree with your hope that all folks will one day want to educate theyselves - i am all too clear on the
slow.....slow.....slow mollasses of progress that we have, compared against the TIDAL WAVE OF IGNORANCE being perpetrated every single
day, by eco-centric psychosis on us, by us. i can't stop buying, because it feeds ME. ridiculous. only when something REALLY FUCKING
BAD happens....even then, we don't have a society that in which human NEED is built in. we can't even rise up, hold our heads high, and
PROPERLY RESPECT ANIMALS.
maybe it starts with accepting that nature, and beauty are not feminine, not masculine. math is beauty. why must our culture cultivate
men to feel shame for appreciation of beauty, at so young an age? to eat whatever you like - is a sign of strength? only ever until
after a disaster do many show shame and humility, and then that fades fast. pigs are individuals, i see them every day, on their way
to be ransacked at a nearby "rendering" plant - they get tortured and mutilated, and that's just "on the way" - and all for waht? just
to satisy some loser who is stupid and undeserving, and he's drunk, and waving his stupid hot dog around, pointing at people and being
ignorant of his place in the cosmos. his beatiful, chaotic, quantum mindfuck place in the stupid cosmos.
look around, the best trick in the world is happening right now - everywhere. i call it:
money cannot solve the problems that money causes.
really, it's stupid....raise money, to solve hunger, to solve poverty
it's a recursive failure.
anyway...i get to hear stuff - scientific stuff like you prefer - everyday, that shocks me deeply, and i can't communicate it to, well
not really anybody - it's just way too entangled in our fractured society. YOU try and suggest a SOLUTION to someone INTELLIGENT - look what happens --> they oppose it. it has to be spoonfed thru the machine, bro - no one will be told anything, or they'll punch you in the nose
turkeys, ya know what, they are gorgeous, REAL, birds - they mate, they play, and nest, and have structure, and memory. we celebrate how
much food we have on thanksgiving, by tricking everyone into a full-strength sonic assualt on them, and nature, for six months.repeat
for christmas. and that's just turkey. give thanks! their tail feathers are stunning, fractals, crystal spirals, dna - KNOWLEDGE OF
WHAT'S BEAUTIFUL.
bowl of 40 wings = legs off 20 birds, oh sorry - legs and wings off 10 birds. 10 birds which never saw the light of day, nor breathed in clean air once. never even stretched their stupid fucking legs out once. SHIT. whatever - but, noooooooooope, they TASTE GOOD right?
no - more importantly,"wings" stand up to the morality test when the "guys" are at the bar, right? to say you don't want wings is like, so crazy...
i don't "celebrate" by having some poor sodding creature killed in my name. i do celebrate though, and i hope, just like you do, that soon people will be smarter. and more courageous. and that we will understand that our choice - to observe, love, and care for nature and life - is exactly that. our choice
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