Homelessness in Washington, D.C. 



I have written in this space of how we should take our cue in building a better world society from nature herself. The principle of balance should guide all we do. What does that mean? 

In nature, there are millions of species, most of them invertebrate, interacting all of the time to create a total environment that is vigorous and evolving. Sub-environments, habitats, and niches - and the living things in them - are all interacting in ways that strengthen and support each other, including and especially at the microscopic level. It is organisms made of single cells or a few hundred cells, that is "icky", squishy things, that make all other life possible. In a single spoonful of healthy soil, there will be more individual organisms, from hundreds of different species, than there are people on the earth. 

But what does this mean for us and our redesign not of the human genome, but of human society? 

If we take nature as our guide, and transfer the biodiversity model into a memodiverse one, then we need to start to work on building a worldwide consciousness that values all kinds of people. And that does not mean that we have to guarantee every person an affluent life. But if we do make sure that they have at least adequate lives - basic food, clothes, shelter, and medical care - the hint from nature is that over the long haul that kind of society will be more flexible in handling surprises and shocks than one that is more monochrome and conforming. We need diversity in behavior, varying lifestyles, tastes in food and art, languages and so on. These varied people, if they all have been programmed to respect one another's rights, make the resilient society. Nazism, Communism, and all the monolithic styles of states keep losing out to the pluralistic ones. History says so.  

In short, it's long since past time that we took care of everyone, at least at a basic level, all over the world. We have the technology. We can rebuilt this messed up species - especially in its most basic aspect, namely its culture. And why? It's just smart business in the long haul.  

In the shadow of the mushroom cloud, have a nice day anyway.     


  
                                                    homeless shelter, Boston