In response to a meme

[oneiriad]

Specifically, the alphabet meme I posted a while back...

order_of_chaos wanted me to talk about

mythology.

I rather like mythology actually - most mythologies. Greek, Norse, Judeo-Christian, Egyptian, whatever. Oh, it's not like I believe them, but I like them nonetheless. I like them for the stories. I like them because they are stories that have lasted, stories that have had significance to people through centuries, through millenia. Good stories and of such infinite variety. And the stories keep on being retold and twisted to suit each new situation, which is also a pleasure - to see things stay the same and change at the same time. So I like mythology, whether I'm feeling nostalgic about an old animated series with Sun Wukong or whether I squee when Seth uses the world's apparently oldest pick-up line on Horus or whether I'm cheerfully deconstructing the Norse myths (because seriously, the asa gods kick off with attempted genocide and it goes downhill from there - and those are the guys we're supposed to cheer for?! WTF? (I suspect that the asa gods would be very disappointed if they came to modern day Scandinavia. Of course, one might argue that considering the patterns of emmigration and immigration over the last millennium, they might prefer to go hang out at the White House, which would actually explain an awful lot)).

Anyway, I like mythology. And do you know the best part - there's still so many of them I barely know anything about. (yes, this is a positive thing - I can't imagine any situation more likely to drive me to suicide than finding out that there was nothing more to learn, to find out - suicide due to sheer boredom. Good thing that's not very realistic in this world. :-)

quaryn_dkwanted me to talk about

økologi.

Økologi. Ecology. Organic food and non-polluting energy and all that. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all for it. It makes you feel good, doesn't it? It evokes images of not covering the sky with thick black clouds, of not spraying poisons on fields that leads to the shells of eggs of birds of prey cracking, of not stuffing 20 chickens into a cage that barely has room for 2. It's all good, yes, though a tad expensive.

However. Earlier this year the media was talking about how ecologically minded farming + the Chinese drinking more milk + biofuel becoming more and more popular (+ one article talked about the Italian Mafia, but I am somewhat unconvinced) + bad harvests in some places + several other factors, how all this had contributed to create a situation were food prices were skyrocketing, causing riots when people couldn't afford to eat.

Don't get me wrong. Farming that doesn't cause damage to the environment is a good thing; and they tell me milk is healthy, so the Chinese are propably smart, drinking it; and biofuel is nicer than all the gasoline - but I can't help but feel that it's kind of a good thing for people to be able to eat every day. And no, I don't think that ecology is solely to blame for famines. I just think that everything is connected and that you can't do something about one thing without affecting everything else, for better or for worse.

A while ago there was some sort of science convention in Copenhagen, where experts were going to rank the world's biggest problems - and the very thought leaves me with a desire to bang my head against a wall. Why can't these so-called smart people see that there is something very wrong about making top ten lists over biggest problems and then saying that well solve the number one. Top ten lists - that's something for "worst moments of Batman" or "most delicious recipes for chocolate cake" - there's far too much subjectivity involved for it to be a good idea to apply it to important things. And imagine, imagine you actually solve the number one problem - who is to say that the consequences of your chosen solution won't aggravate 4-5 other problems? And not necessarily in ways we can foresee - I mean, back when cars were invented, the biggest concern was that they might frighten the horses, so a man with a white flag had to walk in front of the car. People didn't foresee the traffic jams and road rage, the pollution and the thousands worldwide who die in traffic accidents every year.

I'm not saying we shouldn't act, I'm not saying we shouldn't try - but I am so tired of people who pick one cause, one problem, and think that if they somehow solve it, then everything will be alright. Everything is connected. Why don't people ever use a little creative thinking. For instance, if they want to save the endangered tigers, maybe they should begin handing out free condoms in the area, thus (hopefully) leading to fewer children born, leading to less pressure for more room for people, leading to the living spaces of the tigers not getting encroached upon... (and why do they even want to save the tigers in the first place? Isn't evolution supposed to happen? Not that I don't like tigers (except if one tried to eat me), but might there not be some incredible new animal that isn't getting to evolve because we're doing our best to keep nature artificially stagnant?).

I think I went off on a tangent there. Sorry.

Comments

[linaelyn.livejournal.com]

...considering the patterns of emmigration and immigration over the last millennium, they might prefer to go hang out at the White House, which would actually explain an awful lot)).

BWAH!!! That's the answer, of course.