Karl Eklund stuff
I love this guy’s writings. They challenge and inspire. Here’s a passage from the introduction to
“A Quantum Theory of Godly and Human Behavior”:
This is a Dodo.
The Dodo was a flightless biped, like we are.It is extinct.
Our species, Homo Sapiens Sapiens, could become extinct just as easily.
Some of us, those of us at the top of our heap, are using up more resources than the planet could provide if everyone followed their example. That’s how they know they are important. The amount of resources they waste is a badge, an emblem, a “status symbol”.
Most of the rest of us in Western Civilization copy them as best we can. We do that so we don’t feel like nobodies. We do that even when our only function, like Scott Adams’ “Dilbert”, is to be a status symbol for our often incompetent bosses.
We are so proud of the idea that everyone has an equal right to feel important that we preach it in our popular art. At the same time we build walls to keep poor people out of our country. Even inside the walls of our Golden Ghetto the gap between the rich wastrels and the wanna-be wastrels increases every year.
It is entirely possible that the global economy is so attuned to our waste that when the lower strata of the developed countries get scared and stop wasting, the global economy will collapse.
It is also possible that the intellectuals from undeveloped countries (who are quite aware that they are being kept low status in western eyes) will manage to get nuclear weapons for their guerilla warfare.
It is also possible that our waste will bring on some massive natural disaster, and our response will be suicidally inept.
Any of these could lead to the “Decline and Fall of Western Civilization”.
That “decline and fall” is probably inevitable, considering the inertia of civilizations, but to the extent that we understand what it happening we may be able to reduce the trauma and make rebuilding a better civilization easier.
The intention of this essay is to help us understand what is happening so we can do what we can not to imitate the Dodo.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:04 pm
This brings to mind a catchy new political slogan for the coming electoral season.
“Don’t be a Dodo!”
May 1st, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Now if we could only convince the candidates.
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Right there with you on how we keep from imploding on ourselves. And how the ” haves ” are oblivious to the have nots and feel that they are impervious and that ” it ” can’t happen to them.
What do we do?
Keep the word and the works of this blog, others like it, relentlessly on topic and start where you live. And you’re doing just that.
A certain new wealthy arrival here has nixed the opportunity to do something to save huge amounts of energy costs in a commercial construction because, although it wouldn’t be visible from a pedestrian vantage point, it would be seen when he flies in on one of his private jets and would not be pleasing to the eye@
So there you have it.
The haves and the dodo and un-natural selection.
May 3rd, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Bonnie ~ Solar panels and wind generators would not be pleasing to his oh-so-superior eye? Oh pahleez!!!
I’m pretty friggin’ glad we didn’t get his big ass massage account then! “Timing is everything” and “everything happens for a reason” are two phrases which come to mind for me right now.
If it’s who I’m thinking of, we were away in the BVI last year (on a holiday week-end….let me repeat, HOLIDAY week-end) when one of his people called us, on a Sunday, for massages that afternoon. We didn’t get the message on our cell phone until we were back here on Thursday or Friday. And I’m soooo glad I didn’t scramble like many of the grovelers we hear these days who think he’s our new messiah.
May 4th, 2008 at 8:59 am
I remember reading about this episode on one of your earlier entries and thought- good for YOU!
And remind yourself too, that Messiah begins with Mess!
How anyone could come to a place like this and publicly announce in the paper that their new home is going to cost 8 digits to build and will be one of the nicest in the world, is worthy of a slap with a kid glove across the snout.
And more.
May 4th, 2008 at 10:00 am
“Mess”iah….I LOVE it, Bonnie. You always crack me up with the best wordplay!
I got tired of kissing fat cat butts years ago when I quit waitressing. But then I had a large ego for a massage client for a while and was not unhappy when our lucrative-but-too-annoying business relationship ended.
May 4th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
One of the many benefits of getting older and working for yourself is that you get to decide which butts you will choose to almost kiss and for how long. Attrition is also our friend as in when one big door ego closes, another smaller, nicer one opens.
I love reading your words- you make a lot of sense to ME!
I like how you say what you say.
August 5th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Thank you.