I just read this article about the Panamanian Frog going extinct, and the author describes why he feels sad about watching a video of a species he knows no longer exists. That each species is a unique expression of life on this planet, that has been shaped by evolution and environment for millions of years. I think this a sort of validation of the intrinsic value of biodiversity that we conservationalists like to talk about because there isn't any fiscal or economic reason for keeping all these species around (Since it's all about money in the world these days).
This makes me wonder why more Bible thumpers aren't environmentalists. If God supposedly created everything AND intelligently designed everything, shouldn't they be upset when a creation of God is lost forever? Shouldn't there be this intrinsic value to every animal because it is an expression of God that He put there? I would like to take this moment to remind everyone that Jesus was a bleeding heart. Why aren't more religious people more concerned about people and things other than themselves and their families? The Religious Right seems like a contradiction to me.
Anyway, all of this is adding to my increasing fatalistic view towards that world that has been developing this week especially. It seems as though there is nothing we can do to stop adding species to the list of the extinct. It's like, we're all going to be Totally Fucked by global warming anyway, it seems like any little thing any one of us tries to do is just dust in the wind.... On the other hand, I suppose the dust in the wind used to be part of something greater, an animal or plant, or Einstein. And so that's positive. Apparently I have to bring it back to chemistry to make myself feel better. There are dinosaurs in my bones! And trilobites!
4 comments:
I agree that creationists should be more concerned about the environment. Some conservatives are also conservationists, and they do care about the environment. But you're right, most of them don't. I wonder how many sermons talk about the need to preserve the environment. Probably not many.
By the way, your use of the term fatalism is slightly inaccurate. Fatalism refers to the idea that the future is entirely determined already, given the current state of the world today and assuming that the world is deterministic (one set of circumstances necessarily leads to another set of circumstances, like a pool ball hitting another pool ball). You can even say the entire history of the universe has been determined based upon the initial circumstances and the laws governing the world. This means that no action any person makes (or more generally, any event at all) is free or unexpected, because it was entirely determined by the whole set of circumstances preceding it. So basically, fatalism is "fate"-ism, arguing that we are confined to our fate.
You seem to be using it to mean that any action we take in good conscience is useless and as such, one is consigned to hopelessness and apathy. But that doesn't necessarily follow.
III would say, that I am using the word fatalism to say that global warming has already screwed us, there's nothing we can do to stop it, in good conscience or otherwise. Therefore, it is basically our fate, however we strive against it. We have already sealed our fate in our past greeds. Maybe it is not the proper connotation for the word. I think technically, it could be ok though. Other suggestions for a proper word?
I agree that some social conservatives are conservationists, a lot of them sportsmen. Usually people who enjoy the wildnerness don't want to see it destroyed. I would ALSO say that these people have a sense of honor when hunting animals (unlike shooting them from a plane, or even with a gun) and also would not condone the use of snowMACHINES and 4-wheelers. People with respect for the environment. They exist. Unfortunately, they might also be hiding away by themselves and not become active in politics. But I am stereotyping.
Perhaps I mean defeatist?
Hell, I like fatalistic better just because it has the word fatal in it and that sounds more dramatic and Apocalyptic than just defeatist-ic. We could say I mean fatalistic in the third sense of the word in the wikipedia article.
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