The Crazy Apes: A Satire of Human Society

Blessed are the Meek

A recent comment from a reader reminded me of an old tale about a people protest for jobs. A stranger approached the crowd and asked one of them what the commotion was all about. The guy explained that unemployment was high in the town and that they wanted the mayor and others to do something about it. The stranger told him that he was looking for workers and offered him a job on the spot, to which the protestor replied, "Of all the people here protesting, you picked on me! Go talk to somebody else."

We all complain about pollution and climate change, but when it's time to do something about it, we want others to make the sacrifices.

The comment I received was, "Some of us have gone overboard with our acquisitions and bucket lists but for the most part many of us have just enough to make us comfortable."

The problem is that what seems comfortable living to some of us may appear as luxury, or even extravagant, to others. The bottom 10% live in dire poverty; the next 50% just make ends meet; only the top 40% are those living comfortable lives, with those in the top 10% living in luxury and the ones in the top 1% living in extravagant luxury. So, to say, I'm just living comfortably, is to say let others do something! Why pick on me? The truth is that those living comfortably are doing the most environmental damage!

The following dialogue is between two chimpanzees named Abu and Mabu: I use A and M to distinguish the speaker.

-------------------------------------------------

M: Abu, I believe you're right in saying that the goal of humans is to destroy Mother Earth as fast as possible.

A: Well. It took you long enough!

M: It seems to me that humans are good at pointing the finger to others. It's never their fault! During my period of captivity I couldn't believe how much waste they produced. It was as if the neighbourhood was having a contest as to who could take the most garbage to the curb. At the same time they prided themselves as being model citizens with an environmental conscience. As far as they were concerned, they did everything right. Their community was clean and well kept, so it had to be others who were polluting the environment.

A: They throw out tons of garbage and they believe they're not polluters? They drive around in cars rather than walking and they don't pollute the environment?

M: That doesn't count. That's part of living a comfortable life!

A: But that comfortable life is destroying Mother Earth. What right do they have to do that?

M: It's called the unalienable right for the pursuit of happiness.

A: So, destroying nature makes them happy?

M: They don't see it that way.

A: Well, how do they see it?

M: They just don't see it! Their life goal is to be happy. They don't see that their happiness keeps demanding ever-growing consumption, which, of course, is harming Mother Earth.

A: Who do they think is destroying our biosphere?

M: Not them, of course. They're model citizens just living a comfortable life!

--------------------------------------------------

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth, says Matthew in the Christian bible, or whoever wrote it in his name.

It seems to me that by the time they will inherit the earth there won't be much left to inherit. Their less than meek brethren will have destroyed it without remorse living comfortable lives.