The
Existence of Homelessness Epitomizes Our "Civilization"
Perfectly.
For a human
to have a home is a necessity, not a right, because a home should
be (from among other things) a place where one regenerates one's
mind and one's strength necessary for being able to be a useful
member of one's community. If one does not have such a place to
regenerate one's mind and strength, one will, eventually, lose the
ability to function as a useful member of one's community. One
would become, eventually, a burden to the community.
A sane community would want all of its members to be fit, mentally
and physically, in order to be useful members of the community, for
which all have to have a place where they can recuperate,
both--mentally and physically.
An insane community would make it difficult for its members to have
a place where they could regenerate their minds and strength, so
that, eventually, they would be unable to contribute to the overall
welfare of the community well, and they would start becoming a
burden for the community.
I conclude that we live in an insane society, and that if we
continue to address our problems inadequately--just see what is
being offered as solutions to the problem of "homelessness" (search
term: "homelessness")--we shall contribute to the end of the world
as we know it (soon, if we don't start doing something sane for
change). To hope that the world to come after this one will be
better than the one we have now is insane.
The sane solutions to our problems would include the assurance that
every member of our society has as perfect (read: truly
sustainable) a home as possible, so that each member of our society
could contribute to the welfare of our society optimally. If this
would come to pass, and because this issue touches all other
aspects of life, it would, literally, save the Earth; or it would,
at the very least, become a foundation for making "saving the
Earth" a possibility.
The surface of the Earth is a resource that is limited. Humans and
all other life-forms compete for a place/space to live on/in. Now
and then a relative balance is achieved after a period of imbalance
caused by what-so-ever causes. It is believable that the current
imbalance we observe on Earth now has been caused by an impact of
an extraterrestrial object some millions of years ago, whose impact
caused an extinction of various species and gave a rise to (from
among other species) mammals, among whom humans have become most
prominent. It is reasonable to think that a balance will be
achieved again sooner or later.
Humans, being intelligent, should be able to affect the transition
to a stable state so that the least disruptions occur;
Unfortunately, so far, we have been adding to the imbalance caused
by the supposed asteroid impact to such an extent that many
authorities speak of new extinction caused by humans themselves
(out of many sources: "The Sixth Extinction" by Richard Leakey and
Roger Lewin, Doubleday, 1995; Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1996; The
Sixth Extinction synopsis:
www.well.com/user/davidu/sixthextinction.html).
This situation is not irredeemable, perhaps. Could we still make a
smooth transition to the next relatively stable state of conditions
in the Earth system, or have we already caused so much imbalance
that all we can do is to just wait for the (certainly not benign)
outcome?
Perhaps (providing there still is enough time) we could start
managing the space that is needed for human homes and other
species' habitats in a rational, responsible, and a sustainable way
in the interest of all?
The overall quality of our lives starts and ends at home. As long
as most of us don't have a home that would deserve to be called
that, we don't stand a chance. Punishing people for merely trying
to take care of the basic necessities of life means the end of this
world indeed.
Our, the very much overdue, transition to an enlightened, truly
sustainable existence should start at home. No other way could be
as organic and natural as there. Truly sustainable homes would
start forming truly sustainable communities ... We have to start
somewhere ...
A good, truly sustainable home for everybody is a necessity, not a
right.
Thank you, Hearthstone - ModelEarth.
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