When Humanity Meets the Inevitable
I don't think the human race is going to go on much longer in its current manifestation, that is, this kind of society. I don't think everyone will be wiped out by the pandemic that will get us first; there will be a lot of dislocation and wars, too, because of the changing of the environment. But I think it's inevitable that when an animal species has overbred to the point we have, there are natural curbs on that animal species—and they're coming, and I don't think there's anything we can do about it. It sounds pretty cold. And it's also kind of cold to talk about all those useless people out there, those billions. Each one is an individual, and a great and beautiful creation. –Me, quoted on Salon.com, December 11th, 2000
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Thomas Burchfield says:
The End of Us and a Couple of Coincidences
Dear TC Boyle:
I agree with your prediction, but I'm not completely sure about the "there's nothing we can do about it" part. We are, after all, fantastically adaptable animals--that's what our creation of civilization was, I think, an adaptation without which we'd have likely gone extinct unless we'd been pushed along the alternate route of growing teeth, claws and a thick carapace, none of which we did. We grew brains, opposable thumbs and started walking on two legs. And then there's politics, which is fashionable to sneer at, but remains a necessary fact of life and part of who we are and well . . . Nature may bat last, but we ain't out of it yet, let's say.
Now about those coincidences: 1)I was born Harry P. Burchfield, but changed my name to Thomas John Burchfield. 2) I was born in Peekskill, NY in 1954 (lived near Mohegan Lake).
Cheers,
Thomas Burchfield
My blog is A Curious Man
Jeannie Brandt-Lietzau says:
The End of Us
An interesting comment. I fear that I tend to agree more with Mr. Boyle than with Mr. Burchfield. Maybe because human beings have developed to the extent that they have, we seem to have lost the instinct for survival.
If one observes animal or plant life, it becomes apparent that often there is a loss or sacrifice of life that tends to be for the good of the species. Even early Native American tribes recognised the need to sacrifice the old or infirm for the good of the tribe, in the grand scheme of things, this was not all that far back. They also knew enough not to increase the tribal numbers during times of famine or disease.
Modern society isn't about the good of the whole. Modern society is all about the "I". I credit technology as being a big part in allowing individuals to feel invincible and independant, to the point where we will be our own undoing.
I have been told that I often sound cold and uncaring when expressing my views regarding quality of life over quantity and/or expecting the inevitability of the aging process and the fact that we are all goiing to die. Perhaps it is just that I am looking at things completely from the other end of the tunnel......I am thinking of my grandchildren and perhaps their children. The older I get, the less this life is about me. I wonder how many others actually share this feeling. I look around and get the sense that it is just the opposite...... more and more I see evidence that our society promotes a feeling that the older one gets the more they are entitled to, more money, more unneccessary healthcare procedures, more resources. Instead of using/taking less so as to ensure the survival of the species, we are trying to get the most we can possibly scarf up. It isn't even based on need, the biggest abusers of our planet's resources and wealth, have far more than they could ever possibly use.
If we cannot turn this around in some way, if we cannot raise our young with the realization that they are dependant on this planet and ALL who inhabit it, I agree with Mr. Boyle....we are a doomed species.
Jeannie Brandt-Lietau from Wisconsin
P.S. One more thought. I'm not sure if this really is significant in this discussion, though I find it relevent (which doesn't mean all that much, been told often that I am on the "fringes")
When defining a healthy society, a talk I had with a Native elder comes to mind. He was thinking back on how things have changed and his example was this:
On a child's bithday, once that child has reached the age of understanding, it was customary that the child give something to the tribe and/or those members of that tribe he/she was closest to. A ceremony was held to honor the fact that were it not for the tribe, the child would not survive. Birthdays were honored as a time of being thankful to those who cared for you...........imagine that ! Perhaps very few individuals of today's society have yet reached an "age of understanding" ?
Steve Hermanos says:
On the Inevitable
Ah yes. It's probable that most empathic human beings experience a jumble of those very same thoughts in the coziness of their bedding, just before it's time to face the chilly day and an array of mundane tasks. Then, in the evening, we get to make it all better by going along on some exciting, hilarious, and profound fictional trompings led by our favorite guide, TC Boyle.