Humanity is in Trouble, but we Must Act Anyway

The point of the previous post is that we are in deep trouble. But we must take whatever action we can now, without feeling either hopeful or hopeless. We owe it to our children and their generation, and all future children. We also owe it to the other creatures that we share our planet with.

There is a quote from novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald that is appropriate:

… the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise.

The thing is, one never knows; to pretend otherwise is arrogance. We can’t be certain that we are doomed, so we are responsible for doing our best to improve our situation, or at least minimize the harm.

To balance the article cited in the previous post, consider this one, from today’s Atlantic Monthly.