A Crisis of Our Own Making
C. Victor Gabriel
Many
scientists, scholars, and the more careful thinkers believe that new diseases
of the last 60 or so years, Bird Flu, SARS, AIDS, etc. are, indirectly
at least, the end result of human activities and of our relationships with
animals. There is, for an example, a direct link between Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (Mad Cow Disease) and its human counterpart, Creutzfeldt-Jokob
Disease. Moreover, it is clear that Foot and Mouth Disease is a direct
consequence of "Feed Lotting". In the mad pursuit of maximizing profits,
factory farming has become the prime method of operation. We need
not dwell upon the barbaric cruelties in egg production or, even more so,
on the production of veal. Sadly, cruelty to animals is of concern
to only a relatively small portion of humankind. Many hold that God
gave us the right to torture, maim, and slaughter animals at our pleasure.
However,
H5N1 (Bird Flu) is a result of alterations in the environment induced through
the greedy, arrogant activities of the "Civilized Ape". The defilement
of the air, land, and water; the denuding of the earth of its natural
resources; and the burgeoning expansion of population has placed
enormous strains on nature, bringing humankind into ever closer contact
with wild animals. It is, in fact, the overweening conceit, the shameless
greed, and perhaps most of all, the egregiously wanton hedonism (especially
in the "advanced" nations) that is inexorably heading humanity toward self-destruction.
Moreover, the incessant competition for markets has been the source of
much of the turmoil in the world.
The
greatest challenge facing humanity is the achievement of peace and justice
for all of Earth's inhabitants. This necessitates, of course, developing
the moral courage and the moral integrity to re-examine our narrow paradigms
and the primitive superstitions that constantly keep humankind at one another's
throats.
We
must put and end to the pernicious "We'ns are better than they'ns"
mentality which pervades the psyche of so much of humanity and unite in
a genuine fellowship of humankind. Let us become explorers seeking
new, better, and more workable answers. Let us expand our horizons,
raise our consciousness, and reach for the stars.
We
now stand upon the very threshold of a bright new world of peace and justice
for all of Earth's inhabitants. The door is ajar. All that
we need to do is to push it open, step through, and close it forever on
hate, bigotry, superstition, and fear. At the same time, we stand
upon a precipice, ready to plunge into an abyss. Either we pull ourselves
out of the quagmire of the archaic and degrading superstitions, the breeding
ground of hate, violence, and war, or we step over the edge into the abyss.![10x5 Page Background GIF Image](../../Images/10x5_Page_Background.gif)
The
booklet The Peace Making Essays Of C. Victor Gabriel is available
from The Step Beyond, P.O. Box 1293, Jerome, Arizona 86331. Inquire
at that address to find out how to get a copy.![10x5 Page Background GIF Image](../../Images/10x5_Page_Background.gif)
Editor's
Note I don't necessarily agree with everything presented in The
Peace Making Essays Of C. Victor Gabriel. However, I believe
that we should each have a right to our opinions and to our differences.
We shouldn't allow our differences to prevent us from working together
in our areas of agreement. We should support one another in our efforts
to prevent the various kinds of repressive reformers in the world from
using government and religion as tools to repress each of us, one by one.![10x5 Page Background GIF Image](../../Images/10x5_Page_Background.gif)
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