Earth has been around for billions of years, and our species for just a few thousand. So it’s a bit interesting that Earth Day has only been around for less than 50 years. It seems like it took us a while to realize the importance of the earth, but anyway today is Earth Day- and with this blog, while it isn’t my intention to criticize the good intentions of people today who are planting tree saplings, some extreme pseudo-environmentalists need to be put in check.
Now I’m all for celebrating Earth Day, cleaning up the earth and giving it respect, but what I have a severe problem with are people who take this idea to the extreme: pretentious environmental green-friendly “crusaders” who think they are doing a service to humanity and SAVING THE PLANET by shopping with their reusable handbags for organic licorice and recycled, biodegradable toilet paper. And if you don’t, you’re beneath them and responsible for destroying the planet..
…are you f***** kidding me right now?
It’s one thing to acknowledge that we’ve hugely screwed up our habitat by ripping holes into the ozone layer, flushing gallons of nuclear waste and oil into the ocean, while deforesting thousands of acres daily for fast food corporations to raise and farm their cattle. But instead of accepting that we’ve messed up a lot more than we can fix and acting with humility, we take pride and reward in doing things we should be doing from a long time ago.
Similar to how a heart-patient takes his diet more seriously after his first heart attack, peace and respect for the earth didn’t become a priority until many people realized that it would cost us the demise of our own species. So basically, Earth Day was created out of a selfish need for self-preservation. I can’t say I disagree with that notion.
Long before Earth Day came into existence, there were many people who cared about the earth and respected it. Case in point, the Indigenous people of the Americas. Way before colonization from the British and Spanish, many of these now-extinct groups were known to exist in harmony with nature. Today, nearly all those people are wiped out like just every other virtually extinct animal species on the planet. In fact, about 20 species from this planet are becoming extinct each day, independent of how we act towards Earth. There’s no exact cause for it, but just as each species that has come into existence on this planet, they will eventually die out. We as humans are not separate from this chain, and like most guests who have disrespectfully and overstayed their welcome, our host will have to kick us out sooner or later.
We’re not saving the planet with Earth Day. If anything, we’re just doing a little house cleaning until the next species arrives to take our place. Until then, let’s be kind to one another and share ideas while we zip around the Sun in our high-speed blue-green planetary spaceship.
