Okraalom (Subtitles "The Eagle and the Dove")

Okraalom (Subtitles "The Eagle and the Dove") is a published book that harks back in the Syai world to when it was at about the stage of development  as our earth civilization was toward the end of the seventeenth century, that is, at the beginning of the post-medieval, modern era. It is adapted to illustrate, by means of close attention to detail, the state of civilization at that time in our world. It does this despite that the main events and background (even some of the themes) of the novel refer only to the very different world of the Syai. It can therefore be put in to a category such as fantasy-fiction, based on genuine historical records. One "collective character" in the book - the natives of the main island featured in the story - bear some resemblance to the Maori - I trust not unsympathetically. 

World and human species in jeopardy. What's to be done?

There could be one hundred billion trillion Earth-like planets in space, making it "inevitable" that extraterrestrial life exists, according to a  leading astronomer. (The Telegraph science correspondent).

A brief observation like this blog of the present state of the planet and human civilization as if "from outside" (possibly by such as the Syai?) may seem too sweeping to be taken seriously. Ignore it? No. It may be a tiresome cliche to refer to "elephants in the room", but "elephants" there are, and I dare to name them (as I think T. and the Syai would). 

(1) The retentive-come-expansive expectaions of the rich are the main cause of the plundering of the planet reaching unsustainable intensities.  
(2) Human fertility with its relatively recent explosion of numbers. Notwithstanding that the pace of that expansion appears to have slowed for the time being, there's no sign that increase in numbers will not continue - not without radical changes in global cultures.

Valiant efforts are indeed being made to lift some of the world's most crowded and climate-affected areas out of poverty, as well as to oblige the well-to-do to accept more transparency and less corruption, but the "elephants" remain. Rather, the world should unmask the "elephants" as dragons, biding their time to break out eventually, in full fury. Well-meaning reformers can damp down small fires started here and there by the dragons' breaths, but the dragons themselves have very thick skins.

What would "outsiders' like the Syai advise us to do?  Well, we can act on the expectation that the rich will continue to have all they need for a comfortable, interesting life, even after they have been sheared of their source-assets and their power monopolies and (in many cases) their obscene salaries and perks. Sources of prosperity must be taken into 'commonwealth' and managed accordingly by dedicated servants of 'commonwealth'; persons of good education and ethical integrity. Those who have established themselves to become very wealthy, often allow their offspring to live in a fools' paradise; 'princes' and 'princesses', with no need to exert themselves and contribute anything to 'commonwealth'. Let's put an end to that.

The line must be crossed (especially for men) over the present non-regulation of fertility. Except in extraordinary circumstances, every adult person should be licensed to have one, two or three children and no more. There might well be some encouragement to reduce even that quota. China with its experience of population-growth limitation might well take a leading role in global enforcement of this regulatory program.  Nations that refuse to follow should face ostracism and blockade. Proselytizing religious leaders who seek "tribal-style" population increases in their followers to overwhelm non-believers and take theocratic power, should be exposed as dangerous enemies of peace and prosperity.

It's a survival agenda, and hardly likely to happen. But with reference to the opening of this blog: only one acorn in hundreds of thousands from a single oak ever puts down roots and lasts long enough to become a mighty tree.

What do you think the Syai would think of this world?

T. explanations of humans behaving in typical ways and organizing things on their planet would have shocked and intrigued the Syai people. They would have expressed fears for the survival of our species. According to T., in comparing their civilization to ours, they picked up on the following points:

1.  The rich are concerned with making and keeping the planet as their exclusive playground.
2.  The poor are left free to churn out babies knowing that these babies as children and adults have little or no prospect of a decent life.
3.  The governments are happy (mostly) to be only partially free of corruption, and almost all are inclined to be tolerant of corruption in their most wealthy or influential supporters.
4.  Religions cannot disguise the fact, though they desperately try, that they have a historic and present role in fermenting bloody conflict; partly because they are extraordinarily stupid in getting their ethical priorities into a humanist non-supernatural perspective.
5. Scientists ... too easily bought.

6. The healthy don't find it easy to accept that sport is not reality - only play!
7.  The sick too easily excuse themselves for not having controlled their appetites for things that made them sick; also, don't make much effort to moderate their demands for consumption of financial and other kinds of resources. (That is not to imply that an empathetic social system shouldn't do its best to take care of them.)

The wisdom men and women are capable of, doesn't show up much in conservative traditions of religion of 21st Century

Says the witch in Game of Thrones, "The night is dark and full of terrors."  Strong beliefs (easily corrupted) are the launching platforms of action. That explains a lot of the mayhem around the human planet of today, especially in regions rich with oil (and oil money), of strategic importance to ex-colonial powers and riven by religious conflict.  

But the source of the terrors and the darkness of ignorance are not what we hear or see on screen somewhere far away out there. They are deep - or not-so-deep - inside us!  Because traditional organized religion and its off-shoots are "out there", they can't help us much in saving our sanity, procuring for us a sustainable biosphere, and providing us with ethical standards of behavior. In fact they seem inclined instead to drag us into the "dark and full of terrors" regions. The religious founders and pious ancients are not really as helpful in making us intelligently moral beings as the philosophers of ancient Greece and China with their love of natural beauty, elevation of Reason, and penchant for critical social- and self-examination.                        (Picture by Severen, 6 y. o.)