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They warned us. Again and again and again. But here we are, living on a planet in distress. It’s like aging. I pass a mirror and wonder, how the hell did that happen? I meet an old friend and wonder, silently, wow; they have not aged well. It just happens, entropy, we see it, we rationalize “singular” events, and act surprised as it repeats. Conceived long after the Milky Way formed, I will eventually return to stardust.
Today is but a tick on the eternal clock. “Joe” died yesterday, half my age. Still, here I stand upon a “clod of elements,” we call earth, home, a little-bit hotter, a little-bit colder, a little drying, a little wetter. Resources gone, irreplaceable, replaced by greed, tribalism, anger, war, tribulations. We are losing the battle to hubris. I was a teacher, then a tutor to the rich, a cook, a crook, now a survivor, tomorrow a fragment of “dust” floating in space. Tick, tick, tick…
I told my students that external forces would not conquer us. No, we would die a protracted demise from within, eating bugs, as I recall. The earth would max out, unable to support an unbridled population. Uncurbed. And ultimately, too much technology, unmanageable. Technology would exceed our capacity to control... our worse propensity for immorality. Our Forefathers sure we would, over time, falter, as mankind’s virtue dwindled. And a lack of education a foible.
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and shrewd in their own sight! Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and valiant in mixing drink, who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of their rights! Isaiah 5:20-23.
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5.
Only once before in history has the world’s population decreased. The Black Plague. Do you know how the plague was eradicated? One popular theory of how the plague ended was through implementing quarantines. The uninfected would remain in their homes and only leave when it was necessary, while those who could afford to do so would leave the more densely populated areas and live in greater isolation. Sure, improved hygiene, sanitation practices, understanding the causes, and medical advances proved restorative. Best guess, earth’s population decreased between 5% - 30%.
All I know is the news media consumed with death everywhere, by man’s hand. I remember the mantra, “If it bleeds it leads”, then “if it bleeds thoughts and prayers” now “if it bleeds, better you than me.”
They warned us. Fake news, maybe, but not today. Look around. We all have a story to tell. What is missing, writers, recorders of time, readers slipping away, thinkers self-absorbed, entombed in suspicion.
A story where society is collapsing as truth evaporates and communities form around a common (single) aspiration to survive. This is our truth.
Contributing factors, you muse, include climate change (Mother Nature runs amok) while resources diminish, law and order wanes, and trust and mankind's morality or lack of, exposed. Step back, look around, and be honest. This is a dark moment in time. We are alone. Mankind's final chapter.
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