| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/7/2007 6:22:27 PM | Let's keep it simple, let's keep it practical:
The greatest single threat to mankind today is imperialism. And as the US is the pre-eminent imperial power on Earth at present, that means US imperialism.
It was one thing in days of yore for assorted meglomaniacs and war criminals to run around playing toy soldiers on a more or less bountiful and virgin earth. Today, with umpteen environmental catastrophes looming ..well, not even in the background, but very much in the foreground... the incalculable human and material costs of empire must now register amongst their number, the very fate of the planet itself.
So there you have it...your's is an historic mission, and one you should not soon forget. | |
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| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/7/2007 8:15:25 PM | Indifference.
Our indifference to the world around us. I am not talking only about Global warming, or pollution, just look around you and ask your self how much do you know about your neighbor or co worker, or the street you live on, or when was the last time you stopped by the road to pick up trash dropped by someone else. Did you vote? When was the last time you gave blood? ……There so many other questions like those we can ask ourselves and the answer will be “No”. Because we did not care or were hoping someone else will do it for us, we are busy right now, or we are paying someone else to do it.
And I am not trying to preach here, I am guilty in that as well. I just try from time to time leave my little, busy, selfish live and begin to care.
Here is a little prayer:
God do not protect me from my enemies, I can do it myself because they can only kill me.
God do not protect me from my friends, I can do it myself because they can only betray me.
Please God, protect me from indifferent, because I don’t know what they could do to me. | |
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Dug01
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Joined: 1/3/2007
Msg: 103 | |
| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/8/2007 10:36:42 AM | Barring a rogue asteroid crashing into the planet or an alien (extraterrestrial) invasion with the intent of annihilation of humankind... The answer is really quite simple, disrespect and indifference is the enemy that poses the greatest threat.
Dug | |
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| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/8/2007 11:12:50 AM | | The greatest threat is the fanatical true believer. That is the most dangerous animal on our planet | |
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| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/8/2007 12:31:25 PM | from outside the species? I'd say impact from a large bolide. The global scale disruptions would certainly wipe the slate almost clean.
From within? Ambition is the greatest threat. The quest for more than what is sufficient is the basis for civilization. And its attendant hazards. | |
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| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/8/2007 1:58:47 PM |
from outside the species? I'd say impact from a large bolide.
Please elaberate more on possible examples and possible sizes.
P.S. do you live in the projected path of the Apophis asteroid as reported in, i think it was, the november 2006 popular mechanics magazine? I think the possible path of asteroid impact starts in eastern russia and crosses the pacific ocean and passes south of san francisco and los angeles and crosses mexico, over downtown mexico city, and ends in the caribean sea south of haiti and north of the panama canal. | |
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| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/8/2007 4:47:52 PM | | Well thats an easy one. We are the biggest threat to ourselves. We are blessed but cursed with the ability of free will. We will always have one person(s) set on harm and self indulgence with disregard for all life. And what can we do about it? Absolutly nothing. One can only live the way they see fit and do all in our power to uphold our morals but not force them upon people unless its completly nessicary. | |
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| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/9/2007 7:18:19 AM | | Apophis doesn't appear to fit the criteria for a bolide. While property values in the immediate area of impact would go down, it probably wouldn't have long term global effects. ie , no winter olympics in Tahiti. | |
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| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/11/2007 1:06:32 PM |
Apophis doesn't appear to fit the criteria for a bolide.
ok...so since it's projected to only strike the earth's magnetic field(below the altitude of manmade satilites) and technicly won't be flamming through the sky, it's not a bolide. Well then what criteria will it fit, if the van allen belt's smacks it in half? | |
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| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/11/2007 1:38:08 PM | | I agree that the greatest threat is from within mankind. As you can see on this forum, people are referring to men as males and to women as females. The world is beginning to talk like a police statement. This trend is indicative of the growing ice age of the soul and the dying off of the individual mind in our society. Hiding behind official language in everyday speech is an indication of fear. Ambition as was suggested above is a long-term cancer of the mankind. Buddhism has known and stated this a long time ago. As to the outside threat, there are many, but I don't think we can protect ourselves from these when we are triggering global warming and as a species, not doing or going to do anything of substance about it. Don't be naive and take it upon yourself to save the world. It does not WANT to be saved as far as human beings en-mass are concerned. Just to be in comfort, to be in control (an illusion is OK), envied and to be entertained.... The problems are too great to be solved by individuals although in many ways great men and women have tried and been destroyed for their efforts. It is ironic, that through their gifts, life is still worth living for another individual today and tomorrow. So, we too must do within reason, what is possible within our lives and in our capacity as realized beings who are self aware - to leave our gifts to the world of people for as long as it is destined to be. The earth will keep on spinning long after any signs of us are gone... remember that when you crave fame and glory. Nothing lasts as is, change is constant. | |
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| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/13/2007 4:02:35 PM | I have come to believe our greatest threat is our illusion of separation....separation from each other and from everything here.
This separation belief from each other and everything seems to be the basic cause of the atrocities we inflict on each other and on the planet.
It has resulted in our illusion of superiority/inferiority over each other and that our needs are the greatest...one example being the unbelievably high proportion of the planets' resources used in this one country alone because too many here believe we deserve it....'hey, if we can pay for it, why shouldn't we have what we have earned?' seems to be part of the tragedy of this illusion of separation. (no conception that there really is only so much to go around, and using more than our share will mean there will not be enough for all or for the planet to produce enough in time to counteract our greed).
Another very clear example of this illusion in full horror are the atrocities we inflict on each other in the name of religion and God.
Our illusion that we must kill each other to protect our beliefs because, again, we have this illusion that our beliefs are right, which means all others must be wrong.
Our illusions that profits are the most important and so pharmaceutical companies create deadly medicines and doctors prescribe them and oil companies and other fuel providers really rule the world's economy.....all in the name of profits with no consideration that the majority of people in the world just can't afford such high costs...and I question if these doctors would prescribe these same drugs to their loved ones.
These are just a few of the examples where this extreme and so heavily deeply ingrained illusion of separation has divided this world into such great divisions, I fear it is unlikely unity will ever be achieved in many lifetimes.
And, of course, by the time the majority really catch on we MUST see each other as ourselves, it could very well be too late and that one president, or leader will decide once and for all, his/her beliefs are so important, the rest of humanity and the planet must be sacrificed.
We are in such danger of destroying each other with this illusion. I fear the word 'threat' is too light a word. I suspect it's more realistic to say, greatest destroyer of mankind and this planet and possibly this universe......
We are far more powerful than we admit. We can use it for raising our level of consciousness to see reality and find unity and truly treasure each other and the planet, or just the opposite. It is our choice. What will it take to convince everyone we are on such a destructive course and then to change it? I believe this change will take the greatest strength and courage and unification from all of us...meaning all of humanity/mankind. It will require an end to this illusion of separation and the recognition We Are One. You are Me. We are Them. They are Us. I am You. Then and only then will we really see our unity. Meaning All of us see our unity with everyone, with each other ......then unconditional love will manifest within us - and I believe that is the only thing that will truly save us. For without separation, unconditional love is inevitable. | |
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| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/13/2007 4:40:28 PM |
I have come to believe our greatest threat is our illusion of separation....separation from each other and from everything here.
Separation or segrigation? I happen to believe that there is a group-think of scientists known as the Cornell-Harvard "mafia" that needlessly segrigates our solar system into inner and outer halves based on the fanatical belief that the asteroid belt is an inpenaterable fortress of chaos that always existed from the age of the beginning formation of the solar system, and that no one thing can possibly explain it's origin.
I also believe that this group-think "mafia" is responsible for corrupting the International Astronomical Union into deciding that Pluto should not be known as a planet, even though Pluto has three moons. Based on the spurious asumption that anything of the outer solar system that should be called a planet must be a gas giant, and that all terrestial planets must either belong to the inner solar system or must not be a planet at all. What does this all mean for We The People? I believe that this group-think "mafia" is also corrupting the federal government, into funding endless missions to tour our solar system, without funding the nessasary scientific debates of the evidense for or against relivent scientific models or theories that can possibly explain the enigma of origin of our early solar sytem's formation and all possible evolving araingments of the worlds within both "halves" of our solar system. | |
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| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/13/2007 4:50:16 PM | | And i believe that as time goes by this situation will grow worse because of the looming age-quake within the scientific community. When the baby boomer generation retires there will be a vacuum of knowledge that will doubtlessly be filled by rank partisan neo-cons that will perpetuate ingnorence for political expedency, at the expense of true scientific debate and scientific consensus and scientific revolution. | |
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| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/13/2007 7:34:20 PM | Has anybody voted for uncontrolled forum posting yet?
Cheers,
Mike (luckily internet pr0n has reduced reproduction rates, making up for it) | |
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| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/14/2007 4:46:00 PM | Has anybody voted for uncontrolled forum posting yet?
Why does it seem like I'm the only one here that reads books?
If anyone is interested in reading for themselves about Group-Think, try reading "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" by Thomas Kuhn. And no it doesn't have any pictures inside it. My Astronomy 102 telecourse teacher said about the book that it's a must read for any serious scientist or student of science, too bad he didn't dedicate his career to transforming his profession's branch of science, like the book describes. | |
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| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/14/2007 4:57:39 PM | | Single greatest threat to mankind is probably our desire to be at the top. Second from that would be a giant asteroid somewhere :P | |
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| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/14/2007 5:02:32 PM | Why does it seem like I'm the only one here that reads books?
What a fascinating question. It's extremely difficult for me to know, but I'll hazard a few guesses:
- Is it because you're too vacuous to recognize humour?
- Is it because you expect undergraduate bull sessions on a dating site?
- Is it because a small fragment of DNA went awry at your conception, making you blind to the education, knowledge and intelligence of others?
Whatever the reason, I'd suggest you have it looked at by a specialist. You'll want that fixed before the end of the world as we know it.
Cheers,
Mike (I feel fine) | |
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| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/15/2007 3:13:34 AM | The single biggest threat to mankind is our inability to plan for the future and live in balance with nature.
At the moment, experts estimate we have overshot the Earth's natural carrying capacity for humans by some 4-5 billion and are sustaining this overshoot only by reliance on abundant, cheap energy (primarily oil) to 'subsidise' the environment, as it were.
Farming methods in much of the world are unsustainable and require large amounts of fossil-fuel based products to prevent already declining production yields falling off a cliff. We're overfishing just about every ocean and sea on the earth. We're releasing thousands of tons of CO2 and whatnot into the atmosphere. To top this all off, oil production has reached it's peak and will very shortly decline (as evidenced by skyrocketing oil prices in the last few years). This, combined with climate change, will seriously damage our global economy and food supply.
If we don't massively scale up another energy source to replace fossil fuels before it is too late (some actually say it already is), or drastically reduce our population in the next generation or two, then we are headed full speed for widespread famine & a massive population drop.
All this is backed up by geologists the world over, and yet we're doing nothing. It's on our doorstep and 99% of us don't know or care about the consequences. And those that do aren't doing much about it.
The greatest threat to mankind?
Our naive belief that everything will always be okay, and that sorting out our problems is always someone else's responsibility. | |
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| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/15/2007 4:10:24 PM |
You'll want that fixed before the end of the world as we know it.
The end of the world or "Worlds in Collision" by Immanuel Velikovsky, published in 1950? | |
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bl8ant
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Joined: 11/12/2007
Msg: 122 | |
| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/16/2007 12:19:14 AM | sigh... well i read most of the thread....
i had to wait feverishly until 3 days passed in order to post my first post....and here it is...
The Neocortex is the failure in human evolution.....snicker heh heh...... | |
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bl8ant
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Joined: 11/12/2007
Msg: 123 | |
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| Greatest threat to mankind?
Posted: 11/16/2007 6:37:53 AM | The greatest threat to mankind is the lack of individual self awareness
Most of the problems mentioned would be resolved if people had an inkling of how their motivations are affected by the limitations of past biological success hard wired into their code.
Funny how most every philosphy of any lasting success has a tenet of "know thyself"
Not so funny is how few ever do | |
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bl8ant
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Joined: 11/12/2007
Msg: 125 | |
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