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Jun 21, 2008 8:11:05 PM
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The lie that humans are of a different order than the rest of the community of life. The lie that humans are somehow exempt from the laws and patterns of ecology. The lie that "the environment" is out there while we are in here. The lie that there is a medieval Great Chain Of Being, or its modern rephrasings, with the spurious idea that humans are somehow on top. The lie that there is a food chain, rather than a spherical 3-D food web. The lie that human overpopulation and mass species extinction are okay, or unrelated, or have some technological fix. The lie that other creatures are ours to do anything we want with (just like slaves and subservient women), rather than as subjects to enter relations with. The lie that industrializing 'production' of animal and plant food is the equivalent of thankfullly eating a few individuals while commiting to ensure the health and freedom of the eaten species in perpetuity. The lie that it is okay to not return our bodies to the circle of life to which they belong. All these are the same hugely destructive lie, so let's name it: Anthropocentrism is the world's greatest lie. The lie that humans are especially special, when all species are special and can be valued for the part they play. The lie that "survival of the fittest" means competition and the dissatisfaction of defending one's position, instead of fitting IN, fitting one's place, belonging, enjoying one's proper role, and the satisfaction of relaxing into one's position. The lie that it is better to force change rather than adapting to the situation. The lie that unlimited economic growth is desirable or possible on a finite globe. The lie that we came from space aliens or other sky beings instead of from soil beings. The lie that animals and plants and fungi and protists do not also partake of the angelic, are not also divine. The lie that our true home is in the sky rather than right here on Earth. The lie that other creatures were promised to us with land, or that we were not also promised to them in mutual interdependence. The lie that we could ever possibly succeed at space colonization without living sustainably on the limited Spaceship Earth. The lie that it would take space aliens to make us Not Alone, when we are surrounded by siblings. The lie that we could survive damaging our habitat. The lie that our habitat is ours, rather than shared. The lie that it is okay to turn more wilderness into houses, roads, and farms because we are in charge and it is ours to choose. The lie that we are in charge. The lie that we are the only intelligent life on this planet, which is a lie repeated despite our not having the biggest brains or most complex neurological systems with the most neurons, dendrites, interconnections. The lie that our lives count more than theirs. The lie that trading marvellous uncontrolled wild nature for more controlled food production, even vegetarian food production, just to increase the planet's carrying capacity would be a good trade. The lie that, for one magic exceptional species, somehow excess food does not mean more population, which is a lie repeated despite every ecological study ever done and every year's evidence to the contrary.
by zotlynn
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