Whose Land?

 

 Whose Land?

If you are a religious person, or a modern scientist, you know one constant thing. All of what you know is from the planet that we are on. Read the beginning of the Old Testament and all that God is reported to have created, including humans, is made from the Earth. Only light originates somewhere else and is reflected by things on Earth.

Every created thing is here since it has a place on Earth. The insects, plants, seeds, and all of what we know will not exist without the planet that some call Mother Earth. The Father is from somewhere else. My kingdom is not from here, the son said. No further explanation, only that it is above. On Earth, anything is above. Religious people talk about Heaven being above, perhaps meaning what the scientists call space. Humans can create a tiny place that is like Earth in space, but not enough for much to happen there. We must bring things from Earth to survive there, even for the shortest time.

Long before there were humans on Earth, all living and growing things competed for space on the planet. When humans came, they fought for space on Earth. We can follow archaeology or stories from the bible and come to the same conclusion. Humans fight for space on Earth. Only some of the space is premium Real Estate so the fighting is most fierce for the best choices.

Ancient people fought with crude weapons and modern people use the best technologies available to kill each other for room on the planet. The largest populations don’t have the most efficient weapons but make up for it in numbers. The latest wars that we have witnessed showed that being advanced and rich doesn’t guarantee to win against other humans. If all the military options are used, we can be guaranteed mutual destruction and annihilation of our species.

Scientists and religious scholars must agree that humans fight when there is scarcity. Natural disasters are most often followed by wars. Major human migrations happen when there are droughts, floods, plagues, or equal disasters. First, the poor and weak perish, some charity attempts are tried and fail, and later people understand the end is on the horizon. When flight is not available, the only thing left is to fight. Those who may have been poor begging refugees go back and learn to fight. We saw it recently in Ukraine when people who had never been close to a gun became effective soldiers, fighting and winning against a well-trained regular army.

I grew up in Israel, where the Jews went after they were almost destroyed. Their ancestors had that land in antiquity and were deported on mass bout the year 70 AD when they failed an attempt to protect it. 2000 years later, the British gave it back to them, but there were other people there. The Jewish race needed a piece of the world, but so did the Palestinians. My parents, who never knew life without war, emigrated to the most peaceful place they could find, Canada.

Some years after I became a Canadian, I learned our own history. We also took this land from others. A combination of disease and human-caused starvation weakened the First Nations and systematic discrimination made them poor subjects instead of proud owners. I will remind you again that all living things need a piece of mother Earth to live on, and it should be able to sustain them.

Now 2020 years after the theory of success achieved by people loving and caring for each other became popular amongst humans, we are facing catastrophic times again. Some hint that it is the perfect storm. Diseases are on the rise and our modern healthcare systems are breaking down. They have been weakened by politicians and starved of emergency capacity, and resources. The planetary natural, self-generating immunity systems are all on overload. We failed to transition to types of energy that can sustain in line with our constant development and accelerated use of favorite resources. Urgent action is required, yet blocked by the self-interest of a few. They are buying political support that many of us are happy to sell. Thirdly, the world’s economy and military powers are restructuring. Old and tired forces are less effective in keeping new players from playing the game of power. The empires of the past are turning inwards and the most populous countries demand to have a role on the world’s stage.

Most people agree that the best way to learn and teach is by example. I look around where I am living and see an opportunity to provide the right kind of example. Here in a Pass between mountains, humans came to trade for thousands of years. Now, this community comprises many nationalities and a sampling of races. It is a seed unique to the human experience. We have a common language and something forged together the ancestors of the community underground in mines. The old influence the newer people and there is an attitude of together is better.

We are used to our place, but people who see it for the first time notice something positive and rare. You can tell by how the place is growing and expanding. Drive from Pincher Creek and look at the countryside dotted with new homes.

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