I don't know, we are not doing too well, or do we, as a species? I mean, on the one hand we got all those hi-tech gadgets, plastic bags and the Airbus 380. We even got the Hummer so that men with really small penises may drive their fragile bodies to their half a mile away gym. That's pretty cool, ain't it? Shows how far advanced we really are, as a species!And yet, as the item of my last posting on this blog shows, we are capable of committing atrocities against weaker creatures seemingly without batting an eye lid. A bunch of ex-Mormons is currently being prosecuted in the USA for having subjected girls as young as 12 or 13 to forced marriage and rape in their polygamous compound in Texas. The polygamists (it's not about polygamy, btw, it really is about the systematic sexual abuse of young children) defend their activities by pointing to the sacred right of - you guessed it - 'religious freedom'. Madhat Bob Mugabe is once again stealing the election in Zimbabwe, happily aided by 'democrats' such as Thabo Mbeki and the rest of the rabble euphemistically referred to as 'African leaders' in the African Union. The honorable exception here: Botswana's Foreign Minister, Phandu Skelemani! The Chinese leaders treat folks in Tibet pretty poorly, the Burmese dictators crushed civic society's latest uprising while ASEAN stood idle by (well, more or less), the genocide in Sudan continues unabated. On the topic of China (the PR of, that is), isn't it mind-boggling that they're going to reduce the Beijing pollution during the international doping competition euphemistically referred to as the 'Olympics', only to restart all those heavy industries after the doping troupe has moved on. I mean, aren't they telling us that their citizen's well-being is of no concern to them, while the athletes competing during the Olympics matter? Well, at least Chinese dictators' disregard for the citizens of the country is consistent. Wasn't it Chairman Mao who declared that Chinese people are expendable, seeing that there is more than a billion of them...
Hey, my friend (second item below) visits his well-heeled and truly societally 'respected' boyfriend on Barbados, and ends up staying in a hotel so that nobody could possibly expect his partner to be a pervert. I mean, hello... how low are people prepared to stoop?
I am aware of all the usual this-n-that responses, excuses, explanations for any of these seemingly unconnected stories, but frankly I am skeptical. I think that these stories tell us something about the promethean shame. We experience ever more rapid technological advancements, yet our advancement as human beings seems bizarrely slow (if not stuck). Makes me wonder whether our continuing primitive responses and gross moral failings in any of the areas mentioned shows that we are hardwired to some extent to respond as we do, and that we seemingly can't step above instinctive responses that are plain unacceptable. I know, there are exceptions to this, but our evolution as civilized entities seems frighteningly slow and always ready to break down in crises times. The veneer of civilization is thin indeed. It goes without saying, my list is kinda random and simply lists what I noticed while watching TV and being on the phone the other day - you'd extend it infinitely!
Oh well, on this cheerful note, enjoy your weekend. I got to get going. This sermon ends HERE.
