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

Because our societies can't get their act together. I'm thinking of three specific things I've recently read in the newspaper but of course there are many, many more.

The first is the economic crisis. I saw a picture in the newspaper of a Greek woman standing on a ledge, ready to jump off because of losing her job. I know the mindset very well, how it feels. And the thing is: economic problems KILL PEOPLE. Funny thing: in the world today you need money to survive - enough of it. Lose your job and you're skwoowed. There's a thousand and one ways in which poor people are dying ... sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. There are many people who are hardworking (sometimes VERY hardworking) but still poor. There are many people WILLING to work hard, but unable to find paying work. End result: people die. They really do die. They die of diseases that could have been treated if there had been money for it. They die of hunger or malnutrition, they die of cold and exposure. They commit suicide because of financial problems. And other ways. But people really do die, because it's the 21th Century, and we still haven't figured out an economic system where every person can contribute to the best of his/her capability, where we're using the resources we have as ECONOMICALLY as possible, and where everyone is fairly rewarded out of the proceeds.

The whole economic thing ties in to the next two cases as well.

The second is a report of toxic water that is now coming from the taps of an entire residential area. The water supply has apparently been poisoned by mine water. The residents are not well off. Those who ARE, can go buy bottled water. The rest can't, and so they drink the toxic water. And they're getting really sick, and some - perhaps many - may be shortening their lifespans even if they're not dying straight away. People may soon die for real, but the papers may not be allowed to say that. Anyways, people, including children, are currently drinking this toxic water because there's nothing else. The alternative is dying of thirst.

It doesn't seem as if anything is being done about the toxic water. And this sort of scenario is playing out more and more over here in South Africa, because new mines are springing up like toadstools. It is called 'development', and the government folks can get nice and rich by the bribes the mines give them to pay no attention to environmental impact assessments. And to pay no attention when corners are cut. To close their eyes when toxic mine water starts poisoning people.

The third incident is very close to home. My sister is a medical doctor, currently working towards specialising in oncology. She's currently at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital. They have four high tech machines there to treat cancer patients with special radiation.

And those machines are falling apart because of not being properly maintained. My sister tells me of bursting into tears at having to tell someone they could no longer be treated. Cancer treatments that are interrupted can cause the tumours to grow more rapidly than before. So: people ARE DYING and DO DIE as a result of this. Many people depend on those machines, we're talking of dozens of people here.

So why are the machines breaking down?

They're not being serviced because the company that supplies and services these machines is not being paid by the government. The department of health alone is currently owing about one BILLION rands to various companies.

The government has apparently reacted when the matter got into the papers, but my sis tells me everything still isn't OK. Three of the machines are currently working, sort of ... but the technicians don't have the proper parts. It sounds like they're having to jerry-rig them ... and we're talking about particle accelerators here sending out powerful beams of radiation. How would YOU feel trusting your own life or that of a loved-one to this?

It is because as a society - South Africa but I think I can safely include much or most the rest of the world with that - we cannot even get the BASICS of how a society is supposed to work right.

You know why this is, Willem? It's because people can't stand to do the basic things.

You see, 'progress' is valuable because everyone sees some way to skim off the top. When times are lean, instead of getting together and taking care of the important things, everybody scrambles to make sure they get their profits first. And the devil take the hindmost.

Do I sound cynical? Er, yeah.