Have you heard the news? The next pandemic is imminent. In these times of technological genius it's shocking isn't it? It shouldn't be. I have been giving this a lot of thought lately because I have noticed how human beings tend to come to a mindset and stick to it like children who got away with something once while their parents were involved elsewhere and they are certain they can pull it off again despite continually failing subsequent efforts. The truth of the matter is it is all hubris. Consider how we declared war on Iraq and then declared victory. We now find ourselves in an intractable circumstance. We cannot pull out because we are too committed and there would be distinctly negative repercussions. If we stay, there will be distinctly negative repercussions as well. What to do; what to do? When we discovered the efficacy of penicillin, it was an aircraft carrier moment in the medical community. We felt like we could control the world of microorganisms' effect on our degradation and mortality. That was true, however; there is a price to pay for it. The price is the research and development of additional antibiotics to combat the "super" germs that penicillin has played a pivotal role in developing. It is a circular cycle. I admit we have extincted organisms by accident but when have we ever actually extincted something on purpose? Small pox was eradicated and we stopped making those horrid scars on the arms of unsuspecting children. Oops, it turns out small pox is not eradicated and those of us who thought we were protected for life, well, our warranties have expired and we better get back into line for protection. Capitalist theory tells us that ineffective solutions will be driven from the market place. Adam Smith tells us that the "invisible hand" will whisk away solutions that do not approach equilibrium in the marketplace. History tells us that in the long term, it just isn't true. For references, check any colonialized territory or the golden age of any society. Both of these circumstances are subsequently followed by an ugly revolt and deteriorization. Even if the theory is correct in principle, the psychology of human beings is predictable but irrational. We do not seek equilibrium we seek conquest and we continue to do things that do not work well. (See AOL, theocracies and tricloban.) It is past time for a change. We must begin to understand that to conquer is never the objective whether it pertains to war against another nation or war against the pathenogenic world. War is not a solution. War is the ultimate distraction to the underlying issue. We must abandon the fantasy that the winner is capable of "taking all." We must embrace the idea that we live in the natural world. In the natural world there is a balance, a management strategy. It is our instinct to survive. We must invoke our intellect and admit that sometimes it is not enough to merely survive and sometimes the price of survival is too high. In short, (I know it's a little late for that) we must accept that some days we are the lion and some days we are the antelope and it will never be otherwise. |
