Ottawa Update 31

(An open letter to future generations.)

As I write this on January 16, 2011 I don’t know who will ever read this, or if anyone can possibly survive the horror we are presently living through. But if anyone has, I’m sure that I and much of the once glorious world you now inhabit will be dead.

We, those who didn’t survive, are the lucky ones. We are the ones who reaped all the benefits this planet had to offer and lived a life of comfort and wealth. You, those left behind, are the cursed. You are the unfortunate who have been condemned to a desperate life of suffering and misery.

For the past 65 million years we’ve had a real nice thing going. In that time this small rock we live on slowly developed a mind-boggling variety of life and geography. Aside from the occasional asteroid crash, our planet remained a perfectly balanced organism happily floating through an infinite universe. It was bountiful and it took care of the creatures upon it. And then at some point, about 150 thousand years ago, Homo sapiens showed up.

In a shockingly brief time we came, we saw and we conquered and with our successes came astounding feats. Humans created works of indescribable beauty, we climbed the highest peaks and studied the ocean’s depths. We created science and unlocked the fantastical secrets of the universe and through religion we delved into man’s very soul as we came to terms with our spiritual side that taught us to love and appreciate all forms of life.

But as our successes multiplied so did our pride. Despite achieving such dizzying heights, and learning so much, we were undone by the laziness, ignorance, greed and selfishness that came with our newfound and unrivaled dominance of the globe. Yes, it was these same forces that drove us to the top of the animal kingdom. But while we were part of the animal kingdom our desperate fight for survival kept these evils largely in check.

Ironically, looking back now, these seemingly insignificant quirks of humanity were far more powerful than all the weaponry and knowledge we ever amassed. Unable to control them they grew stronger and stronger twisting and skewering our perspective. Rather than things to be resisted they became benchmarks for us and goals to be strived for. They continued to grow and became the measure of success. What we couldn’t see was that they divided us, pitted us against each other and left us alone and defenseless. In the end, these evils promised wondrous things, but brought only emptiness and ultimately our very extinction.

In our quest for happiness humans gave up their dignity and ability to care for one another. We traded any deeper connection to the planet we live on for a few material possessions and through it all a small handful of people were able to gain control of everything and everyone. They became our heros and our masters.

As I write this the decadence goes on. Global temperatures are rising, countless wars rage, the rich become richer and we are continually taught fulfillment is gained through consumption. I have no way of accurately predicting when and where it will all end, but it won’t be long anymore. One hundred, maybe two hundred years, but not more. Avoiding the truth we carry on in the same way we always have despite the fact that we can all clearly see the writing on the wall.

Each and every one of us could have done much, much more than we did. Yet we ignored and ridiculed the many prophets sent to warn and teach us how to avert this catastrophe. We knew throughout that what we were doing was irreversible and too horrible to think about, but we were too weak to change our ways. While the great martyrs of human history suffered died for what they believed in, we ate, shopped and entertained ourselves to death and left the suffering for you.

When I think about what senselessness ruined it all I don’t know whether to laugh or cry? All I can do is apologize. I don’t know if you, looking back on how we acted, can ever forgive us for what we have done, but I am deeply sorry that in less than 10 generations of human life millions of years of this planet’s evolution have been destroyed. I am sorry for leaving behind a toxic, dying world for you to clean up. I am sorry that the only excuse we have to offer you was that we couldn’t control ourselves in the slightest when we clearly knew we had to.

On a more personal note, I am sorry that I was not stronger in doing my share to better care for things. Although I tried, I too fell far short of the of the mark. Throughout my life, I was repeatedly shown that one man can make an enormous difference, yet my small attempts were not enough and I will forever live with the regret of not doing more. I can only hope that by the time that you read this I and all who lived with me are all burning in hell because of our complete disregard for God’s once wondrous creation.

So for whatever it’s worth I’m sorry. I will fight on until my last breath, but I don’t know how much longer I or the people of earth will last. If anyone is still out there heed the lessons of the past and avoid the traps we fell into. For now take care and good luck,

Dan.