Saturday, July 18, 2015

I believe...

Do you ever sit and wonder about this mess we've made of the world?
I find myself doing that a lot.

I know it doesn't help anyone or anything to be bitter or complain. It's just that sometimes the world feels overwhelmingly diseased.
Humans have stripped and raped the earth, beaten it to within an inch of its life. And yet the "people in charge", as it were, seem to not realise... or, maybe more accurately, not care.

It is hard to look at dying ecosystems, suffering livestock, polluted waters, smog filled skies, starving and homeless masses, endless pointless wars, and people growing sicker every year... and think "this is how it is supposed to be".
Just because the upper echelons are telling us that this is the best way.

Statistics tell us that crime rates are going down. After hitting a peak in the early '90's they've been steadily going down.
They show that undernourishment has also been dropping since then.
War (deaths) is down. Life expectancy is up.
Yet what do we see in the media? What messages are we bombarded with on a daily basis?

Be afraid.
Consume more.
Hate yourself.
Don't be informed, learn from us.

Why can't the world be idealised?
I mean, I recognise that not everyone shares the same ideals... However I have to think that there are some underlying commonalities. If only for my own sanity and hope.

So here's what I believe.

I believe that lifeforms were not made unto this world to suffer.
I believe there are ways of living happily, with wealth, that do not involve harming others.
I believe there is enough in this world for everyone to live a life of wealth and happiness.
I believe that most of today's "necessities" are useless and wasteful.
I believe that most of what today is considered "waste" are the important things.
I believe that the world is flawed, and we need to change it.
And I believe simplicity is the answer.

So out with the new, and in with the old.

The only people who can change the world are people who want to. And not everybody does.”
― Hugh MacLeod