Reply #200: hmmm... [View All]

[chervilant]

I keep reminding myself that we are "in process" as a species--that we're maturing measurably, albeit slowly, and that we, as a species, have a tendency not to see the forest for the trees. As Firesign Theater said, "We're all bozos on this bus!" Since we cannot exit this planet at the next galaxy, we must learn to live together and work together to the benefit of us all.

Some of us are questioning the validity of 'capitalism' as our preeminent economic behavior. We questioners are frequently vilified or belittled, but we are growing in number. We questioners know that our species 'created' economic behaviors. We questioners know that our economic behavior has evolved over centuries, and is continuing to evolve as our species overpopulates our planet, using and abusing our natural resources and each other.

Since change now occurs exponentially, we are bombarded daily with countless media messages warning us about all the 'bad things' that are happening, or that will happen if we don't believe certain things or embrace specific ideologies (capitalism and major religions chief among them). I say, turn off the effin' tv...

All kidding aside, I would encourage all of us to pull back and strive for a macro-level awareness of our species' current position in our evolutionary journey. We are still in our adolescence as a species, hedonistically focused on sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll. We tend toward concrete thinking (as in, 'black or white'...'either/or'), and we have trust issues about relationships and, sadly, our own self-esteem. But, this point in our journey is not an endpoint--more specifically, it does not have to be an endpoint, despite what the fearmongers and hatemongers tell you.

But, getting back to our own economic behavior: we are seeing some changes that suggest a growing number of questioners among us. We have freecycle now, throughout the United States and in some other countries. And, we are finding other ways to behave economically that do not enrich an infinitesimally small number of humans at the expense of so many millions of others. I say this is a good thing, since questioning is an important part of exploration and growthful change. I say this is a good thing, since it's more and more evident as we progress that capitalism is becoming obsolete.