Very good, Finwe. And what's really ironic, when you think about it, is that in a sense nature has destroyed itself...
But then again, that's just the natural distinction between the First and Secondborn. The Elves were a 'block'; they did restrain Men at first, and that is a fact of the invented Middle-Earth.
Of course it is all in the Plan of Illuvatar, and that is why we are here. It is inevitable that we should do this when you consider our nature. It is simply what our intelligence, and our deep-seated desire to 'make something' of our lives while we are here -- to contribute to the development of humanity in some way, something that the immortal and harmonious (seeing no need for it) Elves did not need to do -- and so far, largely, we have done this heedless of our responsibility to conserve and protect the Earth at the same time.
I believe it can be done, though. We do need to turn our race around, and this is possible. Our developmental nature is not unchangeably programmed with this compenent of heedlessness, and we should in fact be able to direct it towards reversing our destructive actions. (Remember that so far, these actions have not yet been that bad. They are still rectifiable if we can make the effort.)
We should then be able to take a leaf out of the Elvish book, while still being Men, and be conscientious in our steady advancement. Development is not neccessarily a bad thing, Finwe. The worlds of quantum travel and space, cures for illness, still greater knowledge than that we already possess are there for us to embrace. We are Men, as I say; our progress is going to continue and cannot be stopped. What we need to do is add 'be mindful' to this list.
Change in the way we do it is what we need, and is a goal that we can make happen. But effort is definitely first required... so don't just read this, get up and do something about it!! You are a child of this universe, as much as the earth of the stars. We owe it to the universe to be a better part. You might look at our society and see that it is warm, and a good thing, and enjoyable, and it is. We are -- to ourselves, at any rate.
Look at it from another perspective, eh?
The thing is to keep both these perspectives in mind, and be heedful of the latter while still being a part of the former.
|