by Bob Henry

Created on: November 30, 2008

First paragraph of the Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America:
"When, in the course of human events. it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

The first paragraph of the declaration of independence recognizes the powers of the earth which are explicitly endowed from the laws of nature which come from nature's God and imply "The Living Earth" and by extension; the environment in which we live. That declaration applies to the separate and equal station of the Earth. But, for the human animal in all his ignorance in subjugating the Earth for his own purposes; as the King of England did to the Colonies; Man cannot even rule over his basic instincts of reproduction and unlimited wants: So how can man in all his arrogance usurp the laws of nature in a naive assumption that he has unbridled dominion over the Earth?

It is imperative that Governments of the World see to it that the Environment has the right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness through the processes of natural changes even though the time element is quite long. The Governments of the World need to legislate "greed". "Things" do not make a human being "Whole"; physically and Spiritually. Most governments do not provide for Maslow's hierarchy of priorities such as hunger, thirst, and safety. Those that, for the most part try, do so inequitably because the so-called free-market economies emphasize wealth; i.e. "Things"; at the expense of the needs of belongingness and love; needs for esteem; needs for self-actualization; needs for knowledge and aesthetic needs. All those needs should be respectful for the Environment in which we live. The "Living Earth" connotes a spiritual component that human beings seem to impart only to themselves. It appears that "Greed" applies to Spirituality also!

The institutions of "Religion" has also done a poor job in providing for the spirituality of human beings let-alone a basic moral/ethical framework for Maslow's hierarchy of priorities.

If we do not provide for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness for our "Living Earth" I suggest we plant the seeds of our own destruction.

Learn more about this author, Bob Henry.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.