The
American "Declaration of Independence"
(1776) was right in its time and in its context. At that time of
slavery, colonialism and imperialism it was right and proper that
the slaves and colonized should stand up for their dignity and that
they should demand freedom from oppression.
Bu
now we live in the age of ecology. A new consciousness is born.
In the wake of multiple environmental crises, a new realization
is dawning upon us: we depend on the Earth. We depend on the laws
of nature.
The
Industrial Revolution, scientific discoveries and tehcnological inventions
have created an illusion that we, human beings, are the rulers of
the Earth. We can take nature's laws in our hands and do what we like
with them. We are the masters of creation. We are in charge of the
natural world. The forests, rivers, mountains, fishes, animals, birds,
fossils, oil, gas, coal and everyhting else are there for our use
and benefit. We have dominiion over the land, the oceans and the sky.
We cans plit the atom, engineer genes and conquer the Moon. We can
diminish the wild, enslave the beast, dam the rivers and deplete the
energy
reserves accumulated over millennia.
There are no limits to our power.
This
is human arrogance at its worst. As a result, we have turned the abundant
bounty of natural gifts into scarcity. In Hindu mythology, when the
gods made time, they made plenty of it, but we turned it too into
a scarce commodity. We reduce the vast Earth to a battlefield where
we are competing and figthing for materials and markets.
We
pour polutants into clean rivers. We assault the atmosphere with greenhouse
gases. And above all, we are throwing the future of the planet into
a thermonuclear nightmare.
Now
we are at a crossroads. We can decide to continue to follow
the same path. More of the same perpetual economic growth. We can
stick to our technological addiction. We can pursue genetics, robotics,
nanotechnology and nuclear technology. We can take the road to ruin:
the path to the abyss. Or we can take the path of ecology. The path
of values and ethics. The path of participatory science. We can decide
to relinquish certain kinds of knowledge which enable us to lord it
over the Earth. Like the Chinese in the Middle Ages who discovered
gunpowder
and decided to use it only for fireworks. We can be wise in a similar
way and say - enough is enough !
For
survival and for the good life we need humility. We come from the
soil and we will return to the soil. We are part of nature, neither
above it nor separate from it. Nature is the source of all life. The
source of joy and celebration, the source of arts and imagination.
The source of poetry and inspiration. It is the source of music, dance
and delight, the source of beatuy, wisdom and insight. For our existence,
for our happiness and health, for our nutrition and nourishment, we
depend on the Earth. The Earth provides plenty for everyone's need
but not enought for anyone's greed. Earth provides food, water and
shelter, not only for humans but for plants, animals, birds and all
other forms of life. Therefore it is time to declare our utter dependence
on the Earth.
Sathish Kumar's autobiography,
No
Destination, is published by
Green Books at £9.95.
Article originally published in
Resurgence No. 203 Nov./Dec. 2000
