tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post5533079286306765499..comments2024-03-22T05:20:44.167-07:00Comments on The Disaffected Lib: Yes, Yes, We Know. But What Are We Going to Do About It?The Mound of Soundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-77658614210686728882018-03-27T14:39:04.851-07:002018-03-27T14:39:04.851-07:00I fear, Owen, that any of us who still have 20 yea...<br />I fear, Owen, that any of us who still have 20 years remaining on this Earth will be left to watch a grim spectacle unfold, a tribute to mankind's greed and hubris.<br /><br />It's ironic how we have made such advances in our standard of living without commensurate increases in our quality of life. We have greatly increased our longevity, our average lifespans, but again without commensurate increases in quality of life. To some extent it's probably fair to say that we've greatly extended the phase of dying.<br /><br />We have advanced relentlessly, guided by the mantra of "because we can" with scant regard to whether we should. In the process we have squeezed out once essential elements of human and civilizational decency such as recognition of posterity as a fundamental consideration for policy and planning. We have jettisoned everything that could be seen as a fetter on maximum production and consumption without any thought for what we were sacrificing.The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-64361493770204761082018-03-27T13:55:46.596-07:002018-03-27T13:55:46.596-07:00We're simply running out of room. And we alrea...We're simply running out of room. And we already don't have enough room to feed ourselves.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-51927239267098344872018-03-26T11:13:11.033-07:002018-03-26T11:13:11.033-07:00Yes, Mound, modern life has become incredibly comp...Yes, Mound, modern life has become incredibly complex. Your description of the destabilizing motorcycle is apt. <br /><br />In the grocery store lettuce is now sold in plastic wrap. That's insane! The logic only makes sense in the distorted world of marketing, a world in which milk comes in a single use plastic bottle (that the dairy does not want back) and meat comes in a foam tray with more plastic wrap. Geez, we've come too far from the farm. Going back is almost impossible. Tobynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-54759096756222024132018-03-26T10:57:25.979-07:002018-03-26T10:57:25.979-07:00I suspect we've come to a point, Toby, that wh...<br />I suspect we've come to a point, Toby, that whatever measures or policies we decide to implement will trigger an unbelievable number of deaths and even greater dislocation. We're already too numerous, almost twice as large, as our planet's maximum carrying capacity. Any sort of change of a seismic nature could destabilize that overburdened reality. Sometimes when you're riding a motorcycle flat out, the wobble that flings you into the ditch appears as you back off the throttle.The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-57497071239816186812018-03-26T10:41:42.940-07:002018-03-26T10:41:42.940-07:00During and after WWII everyone had vegetable garde...During and after WWII everyone had vegetable gardens. Every family canned or found some way to preserve food. When push comes to shove, we will return to common sense. <br /><br />On a larger scale, we will have to deep six corporations like DuPont and Monsanto. Agribusiness is poisoning the planet. <br /><br />Like it or not, birth control will have to become universal. Large families are no longer needed for human survival. The priests damn well need to learn this and stop advocating as many babies as possible. We also need to stop using extraordinary means to extend the lives of the very old. Tobynoreply@blogger.com