Conquerors

I recently read an article in Newsweek from famed biologist E.O. Wilson. In the article he describes with great convincing just how humans have been able to conquer the planet. He describes how humans have become the most dominant species on the planet. And we can take that thesis and put it in perspective. We might disagree about just how, or to what degree we have conquered this massive interconnected planet we call home. Some of us can walk outside of our cabins in the secluded places, or marvel at the sheer magnitude of mountains that dwarf even the tallest buildings. Others still, can walk out side of a downtown apartment, see trees and urban wildlife and think themselves as so small and that this planet still has a ways to go before it's tamed. However if we change the perspective, we can see that we are conquerors, and very good ones. Yesterday I had the pleasure of flying over the Caribbean and Bahamas . I was taken back by the sheer beauty of the water. The clouds were patchy, white, and even. As we passed high above, the clouds gave the water a brilliant turquoise color, the kind that screams postcard. Lying under the water were perfect examples of tongue and groove coral formation. The detail of these structures were amazing. The final approach to FLL gave me the best view of boats that seemed to be flying, ans the water was so clear the line between ocean floor and water could not be drawn. riad Dotted along this view were a myriad of islands, many with little of no sign of humans. Similar  I mentioned earlier, this was my moment to feel small.

But then there was contrast, and a new meaning to just what impact we can have on the planet. As we hit the coastline stateside, the opposite of unconquerable land became abundantly clear. As far as I could see there were buildings, streets, and culdesacs. Associations, warehouses, and parking lots.....interstates. It became abundantly clear that we are conquerors, and really good ones. E.O. Wilson argued that the reason we have become so successful at this is our ability to form tribes, yes tribes. Think about the impact that you individually can have on this planet. Very little. Now if you have a tribe, you're in business. An individual can be a catalyst that brings about a massive change, yes. But it's those that follow that collectively make the largest impact, effectively forming a tribe. And you see this works, but it could work for bad, or it could work for good. If we see that the planet is being conquered by tribes, we can use that to our advantage. We can form collective efforts to reverse the negative impacts that we might be having on the planet. Though it seems like that is being done already, and we still seem to be in trouble. So there has to be a new approach to this, something that will appeal to a lot of people. Something that creates a tribe equal to that that has conquered the Earth. The thing is, I don't know if we have figured it out quite yet, and I'm not sure we will in time. Though what is encouraging is that we see that it can be done, it has been done. We just have to ensure that the tribe we form, works for the good of all people.

~B