posted this on my daily FB update, and edited to be suitable to post here. Not a Trump thing, Hillary thing, liberal or conservative, American, Euro or Canadian, even applies to folks Down Under. Feel free to ponder and comment(except Slappy who has returned to Ignore Status after proving to be as dimwitted as ever):
Over the weekend at the shore, the discussions with a 6 year old boy turn to nature,and how stuff works and interacts. It's a fun mental exercise for the aging biochemist in me, and good to see a little mind soak in things. However, it does remind me of some of nature's immutable laws, and also man's response to them. To wit:
It's always been a contention of mine that man is cheerfully oblivious to the fact that population dynamics affect humans, every bit as much as lab mice. There are proven courses of outcome, seen in lab conditions, verified thousands of times by natural examples. We are not immune. A population of any species will expand to its ideal range, then exceed that range if unchecked to a point at which the population will crash. Generally, the crash is steep and relatively quick, and ugly. Disease, famine or violence within the population will be the causes, no matter whether talking about rodents, amphibians or larger mammals. It can, fairly, be said that virtually all of the environmental 'threats' we see are directly a result of human overpopulation.
At the same time, the activist environmental community seems to dance around the core issue in an almost amazing fashion. I've noticed this phenomenon for probably 20 years. "Fossil Fuels are killing our air, and raising the Earth's temperatures". Yes, and all these people need electricity to survive. "Runoff is killing our waters". Yes, and we need a lot of food to feed all those people. And, so on. Why is everyone so reluctant to face the reality that there are simply too damned many of us?
Coming full circle, this elephant in the room might well explain the rise, in the more affluent world, of Nationalism. Similar to other higher mammals exerting extreme territorial behavior when resources stretch thin, mankind wishes to hoard what is 'theirs' on an increasingly tribal basis, when the only real way out involves global resolve and one hell of a lot of creativity and willingness to focus on end goals. At the end, your stuff isn't going to stave off the outcome in most cases. Anyhow, that's what I think about at the beach, or at least on the drive home.
Thoughts?
here's one to chew on.
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callmeslick
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Re: here's one to chew on.
Good post and I do agree, but forcing it on the world before most are ready to accept the fact will cause more problems than it will solve. When a small part of the population has to pay for it and do most of the work they will resist. It will take many generations to remove Nationalism and tribal tendencies in fact I believe that we will crash more that once before it happens. To survive today we need to keep Nationalism mostly intact and move cautiously and slowly. You need to keep in mind that there are people on the other side of the world (and some here) that will fight to the death before they change.
Now we have demonstrable evidence that if you try to lead from behind, eventually the guys up front will stop looking back for instructions.
Government-coerced expression is a feature of dictatorships that has no place in a free country
Government-coerced expression is a feature of dictatorships that has no place in a free country
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callmeslick
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Re: here's one to chew on.
good points, DH. Frankly, a glance at history shows upwelling of both tribalism and later nationalism since the dawn of mankind, so it may be hardwired into mammalian genetics.
Re: here's one to chew on.
Agree, from High School "clicks" up to Nations tribalism is strong with us.callmeslick wrote: it may be hardwired into mammalian genetics.
Now we have demonstrable evidence that if you try to lead from behind, eventually the guys up front will stop looking back for instructions.
Government-coerced expression is a feature of dictatorships that has no place in a free country
Government-coerced expression is a feature of dictatorships that has no place in a free country
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callmeslick
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Pudfark
Re: here's one to chew on.
Obama Warns Of World War III; Civil War in Response to Populist Uprising
President Barack Obama is warning the world and America about a rising populism that he says is sweeping the planet, urging people to be vigilant about the future.
“We are going to have to guard against a rise in a crude sort of nationalism or ethnic identity or tribalism that is built around an ‘us’ and a ‘them,’” Obama said during a press conference in Greece.
He referred to World War I and World War II as the consequence of a rising sense of nationalism in Europe.
“We know what happens when Europeans start dividing themselves up and emphasizing their differences,” he said, calling the 20th century a “bloodbath” as a result.
He also warned Americans to be vigilant, citing the Civil War as a consequence of dividing the country “dangerously.”
“In the United States, we knows what happens when we start dividing ourselves along lines of race or religion or ethnicity,” Obama said. “It’s dangerous … we don’t realize our potential as a country when we’re preventing Blacks or Latinos or Asians or Gays or women from fully participating in the project of building American life.”
Obama said he believed that the world would be better off coming together and recognizing their common interests.
“So my vision’s right on that issue,” he said. “And it may not always win the day in the short term in any particular circumstance, but I’m confident it will win the day over the long term.”
Obama explained that many of the disruptions of the political status quo was a consequence of social media and political officials that were fueling the rise of populist anger.
He appeared frustrated by questions that suggested he missed the rise of frustration among the American people during his presidency.
“Of course I did,” he said.
http://www.breitbart.com/2016-president ... -uprising/
Obama is a dumb azz....flunked history....again.
President Barack Obama is warning the world and America about a rising populism that he says is sweeping the planet, urging people to be vigilant about the future.
“We are going to have to guard against a rise in a crude sort of nationalism or ethnic identity or tribalism that is built around an ‘us’ and a ‘them,’” Obama said during a press conference in Greece.
He referred to World War I and World War II as the consequence of a rising sense of nationalism in Europe.
“We know what happens when Europeans start dividing themselves up and emphasizing their differences,” he said, calling the 20th century a “bloodbath” as a result.
He also warned Americans to be vigilant, citing the Civil War as a consequence of dividing the country “dangerously.”
“In the United States, we knows what happens when we start dividing ourselves along lines of race or religion or ethnicity,” Obama said. “It’s dangerous … we don’t realize our potential as a country when we’re preventing Blacks or Latinos or Asians or Gays or women from fully participating in the project of building American life.”
Obama said he believed that the world would be better off coming together and recognizing their common interests.
“So my vision’s right on that issue,” he said. “And it may not always win the day in the short term in any particular circumstance, but I’m confident it will win the day over the long term.”
Obama explained that many of the disruptions of the political status quo was a consequence of social media and political officials that were fueling the rise of populist anger.
He appeared frustrated by questions that suggested he missed the rise of frustration among the American people during his presidency.
“Of course I did,” he said.
http://www.breitbart.com/2016-president ... -uprising/
Obama is a dumb azz....flunked history....again.
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callmeslick
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Re: here's one to chew on.
your reporting of his words is accurate, but where the fuck do you get that he is 'expecting it'? He is pointing out, and quite accurately with a CLEAR GRASP OF HISTORY, parallels between current attitudes and historical precedents. If you think that observation is in any way off base, you better find more to fill us in on, by way of reasoning.Moreover, he is merely telling a nervous world to stay vigilant and all will be OK. That, should you have missed it, is leadership.
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Reservoir_Dog
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Re: here's one to chew on.
Very well said. One can only hope that the future will be comprised of a more enlightened people than we have today.Darkhorse wrote:Good post and I do agree, but forcing it on the world before most are ready to accept the fact will cause more problems than it will solve. When a small part of the population has to pay for it and do most of the work they will resist. It will take many generations to remove Nationalism and tribal tendencies in fact I believe that we will crash more that once before it happens. To survive today we need to keep Nationalism mostly intact and move cautiously and slowly. You need to keep in mind that there are people on the other side of the world (and some here) that will fight to the death before they change.