People v. People

There is a reason why human beings evolved, on Earth, as they did.  We breathe oxygen because the atmosphere is made of it, we drink water because any creature that couldn’t would have died out long ago, and the foods which keep us alive and the drugs which keep us healthy, not to mention entertained, grow here in great variety and large amounts.  Earth is a paradise planet, a veritable Garden of Eden for human beings.

Eden - It's Earth

So, why are we so bloody miserable?  It’s not because there’s a lack of food, water or any other natural resource.  It’s poorly distributed, sure, but that’s our fault.  For the last 8,000 years or so at least, and probably long before that, man’s greatest enemy has been man.  We are divided into 200 or so countries and all but the tiniest of those are subdivided into groups which hate each other and think the world would be a much better place if the other side could be eliminated, crushed or converted.

If we could learn to think creatively, and work together, we could really have it pretty cushy.  Unfortunately, most people are just not that smart.  I wrote this poem about them.

There are things that you can’t explain

to people who think with a reptile brain

when they see something they’ve never seen yet

it’s automatically seen as a threat

a threat is something that they don’t like

they coil and prepare to strike

just the way that serpents do

at anything that’s strange or new

so, in a world that’s changing fast

they’re still rooted in the past

We’ve tried, and tried and tried to find

some argument or stratagem

that would work to change their minds…

just be glad you’re not like them