h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: 1990's: The 'Century of Bloodshed' ends with a Bang - A3106423
Author: John-the-gardener, h2g2 Friends of Tibet - A2170982 - U33262

I've been wondeing what to do with this for some time...

Amen to this...

War is hell. So's not being able to rescue fellow humans from their hell.
I just don't know what to do.

Bosnia, Cechnya, Somalia, Bali, massacre of Russian school children, the Kuwait invasion, the London Tube bombers, Palestine suicide bombers, Midanao, East Timor, Pakistan/India Conflict, 9/11, the Taliban...

There must be a common thread here ..but I can't see what it might be other than death to innocents.

Hi John, Jodan and Phred,

This is a tragic truth about man; that although the intelligent custodian of the planet,it is that very intelligence which drives him in his quest for personal, family and national survival; he is no different from other animals in the first two. He is naturally territorial, a predetor, a social animal. To satisfy his need to survive as an individual within his family he has always had to fight for land, which means a food supply and a place to build a home; he is driven to ensure the survival of his genes and to try to prevent 'foreign' genes entering his family. This mind-set extends to national, ethnic and, tragically, religious groupings. He will never be any different! He can never deny his deep-rooted ancestral or atavistic need to eliminate the competition. Ironic as it may seem, man is successful in that he has survived as a species because of these drives. We all try to seek advantage, one over the other in our daily commercial, political, and social groups. 'The devil take the hindmost' is a common attitude in most of us.

Having said all this, it is neither my intention nor my desire to excuse the likes of Hitler and his search for 'lebensraum' and the murderous 'final solution', nor Stalin and his pogroms or any other dictatorial psychomaniac's political distortions in Africa and elsewhere today.

I have to say that I am pessimistic about 'tomorrow'.

Thomas Malthus's master-work, 'The Essay on Population', which earned the epithet: 'The dismal science' for what at that time was called 'Political Economy' (economics) may yet come to pass. The advance of modern technology cannot ultimately prevent war, famine, disease and all the other ills of the world. The rising tide of 'progress' in China and elsewhere is likely, together with man's greed for the earth's natural resources, bring further global conflict in our quest to survive over our fellows and in absolute terms.


So, perhaps there is Jodan's 'Hell!' There's Phreds 'common thread'

John, this is an interesting piece. Disturbing and thought provoking, as you can see!

f.

Thanks all.

frontiersman, I have to say that I think the idea of man-the-predator is a myth concocted by the most devious scavengers among us.

JTG

I am sorry to have to contradict you John, but the entire (pre)history of mankind actually proves my point. The truth of it's reality is a matter of record. I am using the term in its widest sense. Man is an omnivore. But developed and throve on killing animals for their flesh.When the farmer breeds his sheep or cattle for the market, he and the slaughterman kill on our behalf. Their motive? To obtain financial profit from our purchase of their meat. We kill by proxy; I am as guilty as the next person in this sense. All societies have a history of warfare. When an American or British soldier is killed in Iraq, or he kills on our behalf, for whatever reason, he is acting in our name. We are his paymasters. We require him to do our bidding and protect our domestic and global interests. I refute your notion on these bases alone. You as an individual may strongly object to anyone killing on your behalf, or in your name, but we share a collective responsibility.

f.Sorry!

I agree that we share the responsibility for what we do, but I don't agree that we are genetically predisposed to warfare. As a species we evolved first to nurture and protect each other, then we invented the art of killing each other. Our physiology (teeth, etc) is not that of the natural predator; we are omnivorous scavengers, not natural hunters. I believe man is first a social creature. That is the root we must trace to find our real nature.

Ah! Well I have to agree with many of your points there! You are right that we are not by nature, killers; but it is a learned disposition, born of necessity,I would argue! It probably all started with the action of the first cavemen, as an act of self preservation.

f.

We certainly picked up some bad habits somewhere along the way.

Powerful writing. There's a lot of conviction and a lot of insight here. Thanks for posting it.

When did you write it, incidentally? The thing that makes me ask is the sentence "How do you explain that kind of madness to someone in an office in New York City?"

Since 9/11, the example you use has acquired a counter-resonance, don't you think?

Respectful greetings to all,

I confess fatalism as I regard this issue.

I always blame the politicians. They have a natural 'us and them' mindset that could be applied to any human endeavour or culture.
Once the lines are drawn, the teams square off to compete.

Perhaps this perception can claim its root in tribal warfare, which originated in the competition for resources in an uncertain world.

An enlightened civilization can, and indeed should, strive for universal human rights and universal prosperity. Then the political issues would become superfluous, which would render the politicians impotent.

Look at Bush! He wraps himself in the flag, claiming to be the heart and soul of the US. To my American friends: It strikes me that wherever I turn, Old Glory is plastered on something. I think the persistent presence of the flag in our culture today was matched only by the Third Reich.

I gave the two best decades of my life to serve something, for which that flag had poignant meaning as a symbol. Now it just seems like a cheap and uninspired pattern.

See what you did! You almost had a full-blown rant on your hands...

Oh, oops...

A well-written piece, John.

Thanks, Xantief. That 'us versus them', 'our team versus their team' is a basic weakness we share that politicians and anyone else who wants to manipulate the behaviour of large numbers of us has worked to their advantage far too easily.

Pinniped, I'm sure I must have written this after 9/11, maybe a year or so ago - October, '04, I just checked. I was thinking about a lecture by Gen. Dallairre, the Canadian commander of the UN Rwanda peacekeepers and what he said about the gulf between field commanders and the people they are answerable to at the UN in New York. You're right though; the reference to NY offices does deserve a footnote of some sort in light of 9/11.

Cheers, both.

JTG

A good piece JTG, glad you posted it here.

Some bad habits indeed. I don't believe we can't do better. We might not, but we could.

We sure can do better if we ever decide to make an honest effort. The daft part is that we would all be a lot happier if we did, don't you think?

I just came across this quote:

'The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems.'

- Mahatma Gandhi

I do think that.

And that's a man who'd know.

I wrote a reply to this article as the first person to answer.
I don't know where is it? Never came to these replies, never came on to my page.
I never understood h2g2 system as it is now, I think never will.
Certainly are systems where I can function much better and get my "stuff" there where it belongs.
I notified JTG at the time, he read it, but than what I wrote just disapeared.
Wonder: would anybody like this sort of communication where myself can not find what I write???? Can I say: look this is my answer to JTG valuable article?
bird

Hey BlueBird .

You put your answer on the end of the article itself, here F1908374?thread=930498, rather than on its workshop thread, which this is.

h2g2 is complicated, and the lack of links to navigate by doesn't help.

(If it's any consolation - it took me two days to find out how to read the Badass story on Collective. But I did. Loved your images.)
Waz