I am not at all proud to be a human being, despite the ancient Buddhist passages which encourage believers to be thankful for being born into human existence, as some pinnacle of the Earth's biologic pyramid. Human beings have been destroying the planet like a virus since they developed the capacity to outwit prey. Long before the Nazi and Soviet thugs, human beings have followed one maniac after another who have proclaimed human superiority or human ownership of the planet. Then, of course, they go on to claim the superiority of their particular favorite kind of human. Other species have been trampled, massacred and made extinct with great abandon and a sense of majestic entitlement. In this media-dominated age, we see anthropomorphized animals in cartoons, now full length movies to indoctrinate the young. Penguins, lions, fish....they all deliver the same message. Humans are basically good and the trials of Nature are intrinsically bad. Even 'green' types are suckers for this crap.
In my world view, homo sapiens is one predatory species with no moral superiority to any other predatory species. Men kill each other. Some humans kill their young. We overpopulate when we have enough food to eat. We thrive selfishly at the expense of other species. We eat other species. The major religions contribute to this insane assertion of the superiority of humans. They go out of their way to absolve humans for being ruthless exploiters of the planet in the name of their deities, otherwise known as Imaginary Friends.
Personal human evolution entails understanding the place of the human species in planetary ecology. And, yes, that means study and intellectual discipline. If a person really studies biological and physical science to the point of comprehension, then half the road to personal enlightenment has been travelled. The philosopher or theologian who has no clue about science is simply a con man.
In my world view, homo sapiens is one predatory species with no moral superiority to any other predatory species. Men kill each other. Some humans kill their young. We overpopulate when we have enough food to eat. We thrive selfishly at the expense of other species. We eat other species. The major religions contribute to this insane assertion of the superiority of humans. They go out of their way to absolve humans for being ruthless exploiters of the planet in the name of their deities, otherwise known as Imaginary Friends.
Personal human evolution entails understanding the place of the human species in planetary ecology. And, yes, that means study and intellectual discipline. If a person really studies biological and physical science to the point of comprehension, then half the road to personal enlightenment has been travelled. The philosopher or theologian who has no clue about science is simply a con man.
