The Great Filter redux




I ended the previous blog 941 - about humanity’s chances of survival - with a fatalistic, if not defeatist statement: “This is the thing: We - you and me and our leaders - don't have to concern ourselves with all this (our pending doom), since it will not happen in our time ... so why worry?! We can go back to sleep and leave it to future generations, who may find solutions to the dilemma. Anyway, maybe Musk & Harris are wrong, fingers crossed.”





But seriously, I had asked, “what can be done?” Will the entirety of the human race behave the way many previous civilizations have behaved before: The 1000 year Roman Empire lost their predominance to Barbarian forces from the far North ... forces that brought on the dark Middle Ages.


The other 1000 year empire, Hitler’s Third Reich, lasted all but a decade before it imploded under horrific circumstances. These are just a couple of examples, but untold human civilizations either self-destructed or were destroyed by superior forces ... is humanity’s fate pre-ordained ... we can’t help ourselves ... doom is in our DNA?





Leaving aside the distinct possibility of an asteroid destroying us, or the lesser possibility of an alien - maybe an alien AI - civilisation conquering humanity, human kind - divided by nationalism, PATRIOTISM and RELIGIONs, some of which will fight to the death, quite prepared to destroy a civilization they happen to disagree with - face a violent, uncertain future, soaked in bigotry, fanaticism and dogmatism.





But there are religions who stand for diversity & peace. BAHAISM: “In the Bahá'í belief humanity is involved in a process of collective evolution. The need of the present time is for the establishment of peace, justice and unity on a global scale.”


JAINISM stresses spiritual independence and equality and the obligation to be non-judgemental; Jain philosophy emphasizes the necessity of every individual’s effort to move soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Jains advocate non-violence toward all living beings.


BUDDHISM also is a peaceful religion/philosophy, where the Buddha has stated: “Awaken from the slumber of ignorance, delusion and unconsciousness. Awaken to truth, clarity and compassion.”





Which philosophy will prevail? The delusional one of nationalism, patriotism, fundamentalism, imperialism and economic expansionism ... with the policy of extending a country's power and influence through the military, again and again resulting in  WAR?  The Spanish film director Luis Bunúel said, “God and Country are an unbeatable team, they break all records for oppression and bloodshed.”





Or a philosophy of humanism based on clarity & compassion, where THE TRUTH of equality of all humans is recognized as the greatest good, the noblest goal in life?


KRISHNAMURTI says, “Patriotism & nationalism cause war; so long as there is nationalism, so long as you are a German or a Russian or an American, clinging to sovereignty, to an exclusive nationality, you are sure to have war.”


Humanity has a choice, we can self-destruct with war, ruining our environment with climate change or by over-development of technologies that can annihilate us.





Or we can choose enlightenment, where we recognize our fragility, respect the environment, strive for peace - monitored by a powerful, just, secular world-government, the UNITED NATIONS, with the authority to call to account recalcitrant states - where countries work together in peaceful, sustainable exploration, without fighting wars over territories, resources, food and water distribution.


In that UTOPIA citizens would strive for Gross National Happiness (GNH), instead of an ever-growing Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as is commonplace currently.





In the context of my blog 941 it is clear the world is facing an existential crisis. Anthropogenic Climate Change, brought on by continued consumption of fossil fuels and its concurrent depletion of the environment and resources such as food and water, is a real and present danger to humanity.


At the same time isolationism and nationalism, as preached by POTUS D. Trump, will be a major stumbling block for the prospect of peaceful continuity on our planet.


We probably won’t need aliens to bring our civilization to an end.




photos from Balmoral, Sydney, Australia