Where the Civilization Stands Today

Time and again to this nomad inside me, it has occurred to know the whereabouts of the human civilization. I have been bored to think about others as such for I have lot to ponder about myself as of now. In the literal sense, I have often seen the human civilization standing : in queues at the railway stations, bus stops, during admission processes, concerts, cricket matches, football matches, protests, revolts etc. etc. We as humans have always loved standing, be it by force or by choice.

Well this of course is not about the literal standing thing but would certainly need some serious consideration.

Picture: Statues of Ahu Akivi 

Let's see: at the current figure of about 6 billion people inhabiting the earth, we surely outnumber any other mammal species if not insects and rodents. As the population figures have grown, we have seen civilizations emerge and form kingdoms and nations. We have also tried and succeeded to some extent in reclaiming land from the seas. Food production has grown and so has its demand. Unlike some 70 odd years earlier, we now have global economies and open markets. The scope for a world war has certainly reduced and we have nuclear weapons for mass destruction. Science has made the unthinkable quite possible but the population explosion still remains a concern. Population explosion and global warming. Natural calamities can still not be dealt with easily. Time and again these disasters inflict great damages upon us. And then we look at other "human" problems; corruption at its height gives a clear picture of declining honesty levels. We are not really in serious trouble because the good old days have always been good. These days as well would be considered good in the coming years hopefully.

So, although just like other futile posts this too makes no sense, I would like to emphasize that our civilization must be looked upon with greater concern. Of course we have all the time in the world to save tigers, pandas and elephants from vanishing if we can first avert potential dangers that face us. Consider this, we claim to have stepped on the moon and we have got a spacecraft on Mars and yet we stand on the earth which gets crowded as you read on.

"Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities."
- Mark Twain