You may have noticed that the world has become rather populated with people. 7 billion souls they are claiming now. That is one gigantic jump from the beginning of the 20th Century when there was only 1.5 billion people, and no megacities (urban areas of 10 million or more). Today there are now 25 megacities, the largest of which is a mind boggling 34,000,000, with another 75 cities with a population of more than 3 million. This is a rather remarkable accomplishment for a species that was decidedly rural a mere 60 years ago. Within the past few years it is also said that humans have switched over to a predominately urban living situation. What exactly drove people from nature to these concrete creations is anyones guess. For a kid like me who grew up in a forest, cities have always seemed disgusting and unhappy places. All the more disturbing when I as a young adult realized that they eat nature to live and grow. Once this realization sunk in the concept of urbanization has seemed a mistake to me. Population pressures have been the wind in the sails of history from our earliest memories and motivates almost all the dramas of history. So what I meditate upon is what can possibly come from the greatest pressure mankind has ever been subject to? It is no coincidence that the country that has had the highest population growth over the past 50 years is now teetering towards civil war (Cote D'Ivoire at a whopping 541%). The part that makes my mind tremble and long for the simplicity of the forest I grew up in is that mankind has multiplied its number many times but hasn't grown any more kind or intelligent. Rather it would seem that our propensity for profligacy and perversion now dominate; at least in terms of social structures and trends. Having said this, I will complement urbanization for one trait, it makes the spread of ideas fast and fluid, with no amount of censorship having a chance at stopping their progress. If only we could learn to be a bit more thoughtful, think outside our own pitifully short lifespans and begin to see our diversity as our glory and not cause for conflict we can surely find a way to live that works with other life forms and not against them. If not then humanities old companions War, Famine and Plague will surely challenge our bold behavior."Soften your tread. Methinks the earth’s surface is but bodies of the dead" -Abul ʿAla Al-Maʿarri
1 comment:
I'm so glad you're writing blogs frequently again. As for population boom, god forbid humans volutarily restrict the amount of thrusting they do. The real problem is that sex, in the standard state of mind, is worth whatever the consequences are that come after. When God or natural selection finds a way to make sex suck, all will work out perfectly. But yes, the rewards of food production, here they are. You should hear what Bill Burr has to say on population control.
Post a Comment