by Christyl Rivers

Created on: November 10, 2010   Last Updated: November 11, 2010

Being human means we invented garbage, war and insanity.  Although we speak of ants at war, and even chimps, at times having raids, war in the sense of blasting vast numbers of people, plants, animals and regions into obliteration, only exists in recent human times.

Jared Diamond, who knows quite a lot about everything humans have been up to for the last few thousand years, realized that our switch to agricultural tenants of earth really messed us up. There are few, if any hunter/gatherer tribes left, and those that do exist, such as the Hadza, did not end up in a drawn out destruction of resources due to over-exploitation.  They do not have war, or insanity in ways in which they would recognize us as fellow humans. Nothing much is mined, or created that is un-natural so they have no garbage. Are the Hadzabe the Yoda of earth?  Will they bring the Force to us to save us from Darth Vader and other Dicks?  Well, force is in play.  The Hadza are under intense pressure to gain “civilization”. Surrounding nations have determined it is time for them to learn to grow up and get a job.

Agriculture tends to amass people around one area. They turn that area to desert and they move on to new areas. They invent cities, and eventually city states, and eventually empires. (They might make some nice art along the way. The pyramids look kinda cool, Michelangelo’s David was found in an exquisite block of marble, and Shakespeare said some stuff.) But overall, people seem to dishevel, destroy, and displace.

There has been progress in human civilization.  A few bright individuals from Pre-Socratics to E.O. Wilson, even now, have been bright lights with tremendous wisdom. But we humans are uniquely and astonishingly well- adapted to lie to ourselves.  We believe nonsense that makes fairy tales seem tame.  We think we are special, or chosen, even when we are told that we are the ones left in charge of protecting the creation.

We will eventually listen to the wisdom of Shelley, Keats, or Walt Whitman.  We may even hear the truth as revealed by Newton, Einstein, or Darwin. We might garner some insight from Jesus, or Buddha, or Dr. King, but you can be fairly certain people won’t quit squabbling over what is true as things get worse.  They will likely just squabble louder, and with more blood.

We will end with a bang, a whimper, or most likely, a long drawn out slow grasping of remaining resources, which will

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