I just read the letter online, in the latest issue of the Sun, sent in by Mr. Bill Denneen (“You’ve been warned,” April 21) and as much as I can understand his attitude on overpopulation and the challenges that such is making and will continue to make upon the infrastructures of governments around the world, Bill’s efforts at education notwithstanding, it’s very sad to see that Bill sees his death as an escape from what he perceives to be some form of impending doom for all of mankind.
The internet is beset with videos and webpages galore on this topic of the carrying capacity of the Earth for humankind. Gloom and doom is sprouting up all over the place. And to add to the fire of fear are biblical references to the end of us all and the soothsayers who use such references to convince one and all to seek salvation in their particular bent of religion.
Yet despite the fall of Rome, its legacy lives on throughout Europe and into the United States and around the Mediterranean. It may have broken but much of it worked, and worked quite well enough to provide the basis for not only government infrastructures but for political blueprints in the challenge of governing and in conducting warfare.
Perhaps the most important lesson I learned from my days of high school and college was that despite the seemingly awe-inspiring challenges that have faced mankind, that basic need to survive despite the odds—and not only to survive but to overcome and build a lifestyle that provides enrichment and a viable foundation for future generations—has ALWAYS seemed to have arisen from the ashes of the gloom and doom of those days. It’s only the nature of man, regardless of where he lives and his cultural heritage, that the tendency is for all challenges to be confronted, to be understood, to be fought against, to be defeated, to be overcome, to be a portent of what should not be.
From the lessons of the past, from the needs of our future, the issue of man’s place upon this world has been laid entirely upon his shoulders. I believe that we are up to the challenge to deal with the insurmountable. Bill, I would hope that in your last days that you would rather hope for the best instead of giving up to the despair of hopelessness. Your rest would be so much more so. Peace.
This article appears in Apr 28 – May 5, 2016.
