We have become a spieces that is destoying the life sustaining enviorments we need to live. We are quicking turning some of the most fertile farm lands into subdivisions, golf courses, shopping malls.We continuously create new products while instilling values of endless wants and desire for more consumer goods that are designed for a short life and end up in the landfills that are busting at the seams and call it a good economy.We value entertainment and recreation as a necessity and continuously look for new ways to enjoy our lives as we forfill our pleasure sensors . Success is widely accepted as having an education that is designed to gather large finacial gains and have power to take advantage of the less fortunate and to use their bodies and harnest their energies to gather more wealth then a person can possibly obtain if they did the work themselves, with little regard for the ones that are being taken advantage of as they are discarded like trash when their usefulness expires.Honesty,loyalty and honor are taking on a new meaning as suckers, saps or morons .Dishonest dealings and shady buisness practices seem to be the nomal and getting an honest deal is becomming a rarity.Traffic seems to sprawl from coast to coast with new and bigger roads being continuously built everyday with no sign that it will ever stop.People leaving the cities to rurual areas only to want the convienences they had in the cities quickly tuning small towns into cities and rural areas into the suburbs.People doing their jobs not for the love of their proffesion but for the love of the dollars they get and not caring about the quality of their services or products. People are turning to religions and quoting verses of the wise men from the past calling these wisdoms ,Gods words, while they do nothing in action as they sit on their butts contributing to these woes and distuctive living practices and wait for a forgiving God to save them as if they are more worthy of being saved then others who don't quote the wise words .Who's responible? Lets blame the other guy.Why take responsibility ourselves it not style-ish to do so, better to pass the blame .Who cares ? like a shinking ship, everyone is in a panic frenzy and it's become every man for himself.Who will do something to change it? The common answer will be "not me I worked hard for everything I have" The rude awaking is just down the road, and soon the party will be over.I know, just have faith and wait'll God fixes it.This is the world we made .How long do you think it will last ? and what kind of God should we expect to save us,when we won't help ourselves?

-- SM Steve (Unreal@msn.com), June 29, 2002

Answers

Continued: Thinking that blaming the polititions is the solution ,they're not Gods or saints that we should expect them to do different then us,or save us, they're people just like us who are doing what mostly everyone else is doing "The everyman for himself game" Their just in the public spot light and have achieved more of what most all call success.Think that running to the mountains or hiding in the woods will protect you from all the mess that is snoballing into a hell on Earth.Like they say when advertising a movie, " Now comming to a rural area near you "

-- SM Steve (Unreal@msn.com), June 29, 2002.

Steve, I live way out in the woods and you're right it's coming to the country just as fast if not faster than the city. The powers that be have already paved the cities so now they need 'fresh blood'. About 45 miles from me the city wanted to put in a 3000ac Trans Park, the farmers & country folks didn't want it since the land to be used was some of the best agricultural land in Southern KY. But after much legal wrangling and promises that this will bring jobs to the area it is going through by being pushed through by developers and the city/county councils; the farms start getting annexed next week. It's sad to see how the little guy doesn't have any power against special interest groups no matter their political affiliation. what's the answer, I really don't know. Until enough people realize that destroying the natural resources for profit making ventures is not in their best interest long term, I don't see any end to the problem. Corrupt politicians, greedy people, religious fanatics of all beliefs, & apathetic citizens all have to take part of the blame for the mess we've made of our world.

-- Kathy Aldridge (beckoningwinds@yahoo.com), June 29, 2002.

We are really just beginning the Empire of the USA, so we could reasonably see this power structure last another hundred years or more.It takes awhile to rape an entire planet and we're really just getting underway.

I cannot speak to your questions about God without knowing where your beliefs take you. Do you see the existence of good and evil? Could you fathom the concept of a world created by a loving force but occupied by an evil one? It explains alot if you can adopt this outlook.

Humans never really change from the greedy, frightened, self-centered children in the sandbox unless they are able to perceive that there is an unseen element to this life which gives us purpose. We are terrified of death and yearn for "safety" and "comfort" . All one has to do to gain power is offer these to the public, they will pay almost any price for them.

I try not to rant at the injustices and greed. Instead I try to take positive steps toward good and away from evil. Fear, recrimination, and pride merely feed the evil. Turn off the tv, deal with the real people near you, be kind and leave open the possibility that there is a God and be willing to work for good and the world will soon seem a better place.

-- gilly (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), June 29, 2002.

What is important to people is relative. The child down the street, the man or woman on the next block, the couple in the next town, the folks on the other side of the pond.

It is all relative. A loaf of bread might be good enough for one person, but a pound of ham might be needed by the next. A truckload of dirt or a dozen acre of land.

How long has it been now? Well over a hundred years of people saying the end is coming, the end is coming. Well over several hundred years now that people say that the unfair will be laid to bare and that those who are truly deserving will be given their due. That the "good" will win out over in the end.

I'm not saying there is no eventual justice in the world. I'm not even saying that there aren't higher powers at work.

But humans are not the creatures who should be making these worrisome claims and complaints. None of us as humans deserve to complain. We exist on this world because we live off of the backs of those who came before us. Each in our own way. Each offering our own weight to the burden. Who bears it? Your friend when you are emotionally in need? Your neighbor when you are short this month? Your parents, when you have gone beyond your means? Your gun, when you feel threatened. Your government, when the problem seems too pervasive and large to overcome by yourself or even with your community?

All of it cycles. All of it returns back to a basic understanding which people have such a knack at projecting away from themselves. The fact that they have been dependant on another. That they have been a burden. And that they will continue to be a burden. Whether it is to another or to the earth itself.

That is not to say that people have not given back.

There are those who give back. It is just sad that it is so rare that giving back for most others springs from selfish reasons.

Take extinction for instance. We have the potential power to raise extinct species from that status back to life. However, there are people, the very people who fight against the extinction of animals, who argue against this. Their fear is that if that money and attention is given to that one animal, then the animals that THEY want to keep around won't get the money and attention. Yes, keep the animals from extinction, but only if they are our animals.

However, that isn't to say that all people who fight for the cause are like that. No. But they exist.

We. We as a collective of people. We rape the planet. Everyone one of us. How can we not? We live off of the planet's resources. This happens with or without technology. We bring about the consumption of resources, the reshaping of landscapes. Our intense and insatiable hunger for control and dominance as a people wipe out thousands of species of both plans and animals. Many of which most people never even know existed.

Which is a shame... you see. Because those people grow up thinking that what we have now is what we've always had. They grow up with the idea that this constant sliding towards the end is how it SHOULD be.

Of course, that is normal. That is the norm for many people because many people don't think that they have the power.

Look at the farmers. Many acres of land at their disposal. All of which being consumed by their farming. Sure, it can be done greener. You can do it without pesticides. Without aggressive fertilizing and subsequent burning out of the soil. You can do it without run-offs polluting the oceans. But... how can you? That requires money. That requires knowledge and technology. That requires you to work even harder to make it happen. It just isn't worth it. Who's it hurt? Makes more nutrients available for the little creatures of the sea, right? What can _I_ do.

Look at the people in the little towns. Yes, little quiet towns. Very comfortable and content with their lives. But watch that change when new people want to move in or next door. There is a hubbub. It's like a wild monster has entered the town and they don't know what to do. Especially if these people are going to bring new businesses and technologies with them. It's horrible. But the individuals each think it's pointless to fight it. That change is inevitable. Why? You work each day to make sure that the inevitable is slowed. You work to keep yourselves from dying, you sure can work to keep your town from going out of control. But most won't. Why? Oh... because they're just moving in on the other side of town. We don't really need that place anymore... no one goes there. Oh... it's okay if they open up shop... who'll buy their goods anyways. Content. Comfortable.

Look at the cities. Sources of intense problems for both high and low alike. The cities consume resources at insane rates. In a city with surplus reserves of millions, they can let countless go hungry each night. Some even freezing to death. Why? If every person who made an honest living or even a dishonest one put in one dollar each month. Just one measely dollar. Wouldn't that be enough to take care of those who can no longer take care of themselves? Is one dollar so much to ask of each able bodied person? No. It isn't. But people on the whole won't pay it. That one dollar would be better spent buying a designer cup of coffee for 6 dollars a pop. They would rather spend that dollar to buy another pair of shoes or perhaps another set of tickets for that showing. No, people have power, but they rarely ever use it.

It's a shame.

Our government. We love to complain about them. What have they ever done for us, right? Well... pretty much what they've always done. Keep outside powers from taking over our lives. What is wrong with people who keep thinking and wanting the government to double over and go away? You would rather kill off the government and save yourself having to pay taxes... in exchange for no protection? Oh wait... that's right, you can protect yourself. You can buy your own gun, right? Without the government there, would there even be a gun to buy? Would your gun be enough to fend off the other nations of the world? If tomorrow, the government was gone. No police. No military. And a ship landed with an armed troop. How well would we fare? If tomorrow. The government run facilities for disease control and the mail system all stopped. Were gone. And a missle hit. A germ bomb went off. Or any number of things most people don't even know exist were to happen. Would you be ready? Would your family be safe?

No, we as individuals CAN be weak. But we can also be strong. But we have to know what we are being strong about. What we are aiming for.

If someone tells you the world is ending, don't take them on their word. Why is it ending? What can I do to stop it?

If someone tells you they want to develop your farmlands, find out why. Don't just say "hell no, we don't want you and your businesses taking over our lands". What is the valid reason for them not using it? To be able to protect yourself and your lands, you need to understand the situation. From both your point of view and from their point of view. Otherwise, you'll come off as just another whining individual who isn't going to make a dent in the world.

People really have no idea what its all about. It's too big of a problem and it's also too small of a problem. Take that one dollar for instance. One dollar. It isn't worth much, is it? So be extension, most people think it isn't worthwhile to even give the dollar for charity. WRONG. If a thousand people don't give, then that's a thousand dollars that charity doesn't have.

You don't have to give your soul and your home and your family, but think about what you are giving and why. And that dollar, like any other small deed, is just as valuable as the next, regardless of the size.

But people don't see that. People see the "big" problems and worry endlessly about them. Their children are hungry, got to worry about the "big problems". Your child is crying, got to watch the tv or hear on the radio what the "big problem" is. For God's sake, your child is crying, why don't you pay attention to your child?

The small things are just as important.

This nation won't crumble for at least another 500 years. Why? Because there are enough people who continually try to keep it from falling and those people do a hell of alot more hard work than those who keep whining about how it's all going to hell in a hand basket and there's nothing they can do about it.

Well that's just a load of bull.

-- Shale Coal (shale@underrock.eat), June 30, 2002.

As I don't see the world or nation stituation as a good or evil, I see it as it is.I do notice alot of people everywhere I go seem to be sedated with alcohol, cannibis, opiated pain killers , prozac and other euphorics and I figure it must help them cope and continue the rat race to no where.I don't indulge in any of those, so maybe that is why I feel uncomfortable more then the average people in an industrial dominant world ? . Since I'm not really attached to this material life as much as most people I meet,I not worried about whats happening. After all , as I see it ,I'm just visiting I don't really live here.And the majority want it , so it is . But I am trying to understand it and find purpose in my life as others are and I try to understand why we are all creating a life of discomforts that at the same time we are running away from. Like moving to rural places because of crime over crowedness and other problems, only to bring the undesireable life-styles that we made in the cities and suburbs and bringing them with us to the rurals.It's like crime ,greed, and other undesireable aspects of humans seem to be the by-product of industrialized living.We move to the rurals but want what's being sold in town, so we need the automobile to get to town to bring the goods home and it's a whole domino affect.We don't move into the rurals and just be content with what is there.We need all this junk that the original inhabitants ( Native American)didn't use or need to feed, clothed or house themselves and their children.They survived for who knows how long with out any of the life destroying tools we use to make our lives " More Comfortable" ? But then again they didn't have security from the ones who took all from them .I don't have the answers, but have given up many things to try and do my part in search of solutions to what I think are problems ( maybe just my unrealistic illusions ) , as many people probably have, I just haven't met them. I do use a computor , although it's not mine and I wouldn't have bought one myself.And I gave up having an automobile and electric for 4 years of my 4 and a half decade life.I seem to have been squeezed back into these possesions.It's hard to find others who will live without these things and in order to have human companionship , I returned to the industrial way of life.Although I try to live with as little as possible,I didn't come from a poor family and could of carried on the family traditions and business.Yet I'm looked down at as the poor are because I have little and society seems to see this as a person who's a failure, a bum ,lazy or a social disease . Enough said, I just felt like trying to express my views and learning from others who have posted back.I like seeing things from another persons eyes as I can't see my back unless I look in a mirror. And I can't see this world fully,unless I could see through the eyes of others and learn to understand them.

-- SM Steve (unreal@msn.com), July 01, 2002.

This country is in a state eerily similar to that of the roman empire directly before its collapse. We are guilty of the same pride, greed, and false sense of security they were. When those planes hit the towers, I heard the barbarians knocking at Rome's mighty gates. This won't last. Judging by historical patterns, it can't last much longer. What kind of God should we expect? When Jesus ascended, the angel asked the people why they were looking up and told them that Jesus would come in the same manner that he left. Jesus did not ascend into the sky or some far-removed heaven. Jesus ascended into the hearts of men. We are the Body of Christ. Not the roman church or the southern baptist convention. We are. All of mankind. When Jesus said that no one shall enter heaven but by following him, he was speaking as God, not as the flesh named Yeshuah, and God reides in us all. The second coming of Christ will be out of the hearts of men. We must give up this destuctive lifestyle of buying and selling; ownership leads to greed. Governments feign to own the people they claim to represent. They must be done away with. We must learn to derive a common living from the earth without hurting her. If we hurt her too much, God will allow her to hurt us back again, just like in the time of Ut-Napishtim (or Noah, or Gilgamesh, or Manu, or whatever name you prefer for him). Mankind must band together and say enough is enough with all of these self-destructive habits we have created for ourselves.

-- J Biscuits (clavooxadado@aol.com), July 06, 2002.