breaking point

Hellish this world with its plastic bottles and vehicle fumes. It's difficult to see where humanity ends and depravity begins. They are two sides of the same coin. Perhaps it has never been any different; only now there are more of us with a greater technological capacity, allowing us to cause more damage to a planet that has grown tired of our callousness towards it. Despite being the rulers of our own destiny, as a species we are hell bent on self destruction. The selfish and blinkered nature of modern society only lends itself to furthering this traumatic decline. Yet it could all be so different, principals and morality are the only things missing and every human has the potential for these. Giving a shit about the environment and the other people and things in it. Just having a clue and giving a damn. That's it, just giving a second thought to something other than that which is under your nose automatically makes the world a better place. Altruism is the only beautiful thing in the world, but it's probably a step too far for most. Compassion though and patience should not be - the cultivation of these things is worthwhile both on a personal level for a greater awareness and inner happiness but even more beneficial is the fact that others will prosper as well. But where to begin in a world where even those that know these things struggle to put them into practice in the face of overwhelming practical and financial constraints. We constrict those who help others in real terms as part of their working lives - nurses, teachers, conservationists and disproportionately reward those who make little or no difference to the greater good - bankers, footballers and executives of corporations who put profit above sustainability. We've bred multiple generations of fame hungry wannabees who's interest in the real issues of life is increasingly paling in the face of concern over entertainment, fashion and frivolity. Again, perhaps it's always been like this but everything is exaggerated, including the effects of this ignorance and disinterest. Never have we been better equipped to educate and communicate throughout the populus yet instead I get the impression the younger generations are ever more eager to blame the mistakes of those gone before rather than taking responsibility for change into their own hands. I remember learning about recycling and littering some twenty years ago at school and thinking it would be second nature to young people by the time I was an adult. But putting rubbish in the bin or saving water has, if anything, become a dying art - environmentalism is unfashionable. Consumerism and expendability are en vogue in a disposable culture that buries it's rubbish, burns fossil fuels and makes light of the consequences. I hope I'm wrong. But if not, soon it won't just be other species in far flung destinations feeling the effects of our wasteful nature, millions will suffer and die. This world of plastic bottles and vehicle fumes cannot continue to sustain itself.