1. Watch Out for False Dichotomies Is it true, as an article in Europe Reloaded recently claimed, that “liberal democracy is really totalitarianism?” [1] The article purports to support its conclusion by citing the work of Russian political philosopher
Art; I wrote this many years ago while living in the Talamanca Mountains of Costa Rica; in some ways it echoes your poem:
AN ODE TO A LATE GREAT PLANET
Deep in the core of the planet the magma stirred..... restlessly.
Imbalances on Its crust were being felt deep below the surface.
Increasing temperatures were altering delicate balances and the Earth was struggling to readjust Its magnetodynamic alignment.
On the surface a single species of the millions of lifeforms rushed around in manic disorientation....a species lost on its home planet!
A misunderstanding of their place and role, based on the twin illusions of Special Status and Power Tools had separated them from all other homeostatic lifeforms.
The Earth sighed......and a hundred hurricanes were born.
On the surface a single species manipulated its unconscious way around the carrying capacity of an area, and bred, and spread. The species unknowingly played with the natural controls on birth, death, and lifespan, and more and more they encroached on the living space of the other sharers of the planet.
The Earth groaned.....and a thousand earthquakes rumbled.
Arguing, fighting, cursing, polluting, this single species involved all other lifeforms in its demented concerns; all the while claiming that it had the blessings of the Planetary Creator in this megalomania.
The Earth shuddered....and ten thousand volcanos erupted.
Caring, uncaring. Concerned, unconcerned. Secure, insecure. Wealthy, impoverished. No one knew what was really happening or where they were headed. Oh, many made noises and beat loud drums. Many labelled their efforts Green or Eco, but even they didn't know. All were being swept along to an unknown fate.
The Earth shrugged.....and reversed Its magnetic field.
In this sterilizing process birds ceased to migrate, insects mutated beyond the boundaries of chemical control, and the great whales were lost.
The Earth cried......and all over the planet it rained or snowed for four hundred years.
Written in Costa Rica 40 years ago,; seems like yesterday.
Art; I wrote this many years ago while living in the Talamanca Mountains of Costa Rica; in some ways it echoes your poem:
AN ODE TO A LATE GREAT PLANET
Deep in the core of the planet the magma stirred..... restlessly.
Imbalances on Its crust were being felt deep below the surface.
Increasing temperatures were altering delicate balances and the Earth was struggling to readjust Its magnetodynamic alignment.
On the surface a single species of the millions of lifeforms rushed around in manic disorientation....a species lost on its home planet!
A misunderstanding of their place and role, based on the twin illusions of Special Status and Power Tools had separated them from all other homeostatic lifeforms.
The Earth sighed......and a hundred hurricanes were born.
On the surface a single species manipulated its unconscious way around the carrying capacity of an area, and bred, and spread. The species unknowingly played with the natural controls on birth, death, and lifespan, and more and more they encroached on the living space of the other sharers of the planet.
The Earth groaned.....and a thousand earthquakes rumbled.
Arguing, fighting, cursing, polluting, this single species involved all other lifeforms in its demented concerns; all the while claiming that it had the blessings of the Planetary Creator in this megalomania.
The Earth shuddered....and ten thousand volcanos erupted.
Caring, uncaring. Concerned, unconcerned. Secure, insecure. Wealthy, impoverished. No one knew what was really happening or where they were headed. Oh, many made noises and beat loud drums. Many labelled their efforts Green or Eco, but even they didn't know. All were being swept along to an unknown fate.
The Earth shrugged.....and reversed Its magnetic field.
In this sterilizing process birds ceased to migrate, insects mutated beyond the boundaries of chemical control, and the great whales were lost.
The Earth cried......and all over the planet it rained or snowed for four hundred years.
Written in Costa Rica 40 years ago,; seems like yesterday.
Steve Friedman, West Kelowna.
Thanks for the comment, Steve. You were intuiting what has been happening with the geomagnetic pole shift for many decades now.