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12-17-2009
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George Monbiot
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Subject: Redefining Humanity
In an article titled,
This
is bigger than climate change. It is a battle to redefine
humanity, published in The Guardian, George Monbiot lays
bare the soul and the intend of the entire environmentalist movement.
Describing the Copenhagen climate summit, he states:
"This is the moment at which we turn and face ourselves.
Here, in the plastic corridors and crowded stalls, among
impenetrable texts and withering procedures, humankind decides
what it is and what it will become."
And like all good socialists, the issue for Monbiot is not what
will we, as individuals, become. The only relevant question
is what will be the transformation for humanity as a whole —
with all of the inconsequential individuals simply forced to conform
to the collective will.
And who is to decide this bold new direction for humanity? Well, for
Monbiot that's a moot point as the decision has already been cast,
with the consequences of that foregone decision sprinkled throughout
the remainder of the article. Consider such prescient observations as
the following:
"The meeting at Copenhagen confronts us with our primal
tragedy."
"Now we find ourselves hedged in by the consequences of our
nature, living meekly on this crowded planet for fear of provoking
or damaging others. We have the hearts of lions and live the
lives of clerks."
"The summit's premise is that the age of heroism is
over."
"[I]t is ... a battle between two world views. The angry
men who seek to derail this agreement, and all such limits on
their self-fulfilment, have understood this better than we
have."
"[F]ossil fuels have granted the universal ape amplification
beyond its Paleolithic dreams. [... allowing] us to live in
blissful mindlessness"
"The angry men know that this golden age has gone; but they
cannot find the words for the constraints they hate. Clutching
their copies of Atlas Shrugged, they flail around"
"All those of us whose blood still races are forced to
sublimate, to fantasise. In daydreams and video games we find
the lives that ecological limits and other people's interests
forbid us to live."
"There is no space for heroism here; all passion and power
breaks against the needs of others. This is how it should
be"
As Ayn Rand once wrote:
"Man is the only living species that has the power to act
as his own destroyer — and that is the way he has acted
through most of his history."
This article perfectly summarizes the real issue behind the
environmental movement. I agree that it is concerned with nothing
less than the redefinition of humanity. And the vision of that new
humanity is as a passive video-gamer, vicariously placated by
virtual-acts that were once undertaken in reality. With our lion
hearts caged, and all thoughts of heroism ground out of existence,
we will all voluntarily accept our new place as clerks and stewards
of the planet, and sacrifice ourselves in service to "other
people's interests". Nothing more can be expected when the
"original sin" of our human nature unavoidably leads to "primal
tragedy".
Monbiot articulates the polarity that exists between
environmentalists' view of mankind and those held by Ayn Rand. So,
who's the destroyer and who's the savior? The choice is yours.
Either lay down you copy of Atlas Shrugged and accept your redefined
role as a hapless, mindless sheep — or grasp your copy firmly
in hand and wield it as the tool it was intended to be, standing
proudly in the long tradition of our Paleolithic ancestors who knew
how to dream of a better future and then work creatively to realize
it.
[Thanks to Robert Tracinski for bringing this article
to my attention.]
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