The Human Potential

Another Earth Day has past. Outside the green of spring finally emerges from winter despite the cold winds still ripping through. Broken branches and downed trees tell their story, as do the streams, which are strikingly low. And while this drama is playing out there is the slowly creeping reality of food shortages setting in. Our usual fifty-pound bag of oats is back ordered and feed prices are going up. One has to wonder if this is the moment we realize the folly of mono crops and dependence on grains from far away. We can hope to return the bounty lost from the advent of industrial agriculture. We can grow food for people.

And then there is the war. One of many waging on the earth, but this one is a triumph for profiteers. The same failed tactics and worn storylines are telling us what to fear. Women and children suffer, and men become robotic killing machines in the name of patriotism. Governments lie and people accept.

There’s no escaping the intersection of violence against people and violence against the Earth. But the spin-doctors are good at smoke and mirrors and we’re good at keeping truths from our self. 

If ever there was a moment for the human race to snap out of it, it’s now. If ever there was a time for kindness to win it’s now. Now we need the singular voice for peace.

And how will it look, this divergence from violence? Respect will be the dominant force and it will be guided by common sense. We’ll stop destroying the only home we have and begin to care for one another. And when and if calamity should come, we’ll meet our challenges with courage, not fear.

This is the human potential; a worthy goal.