Cultural Ecology
Cultural ecology examines the relationship between a culture and its natural environment. The beliefs a culture holds about its place its environment ultimately underpins everything that a culture does. It determines how that culture interacts within itself, with other cultures, with non-human creatures and with the world as a whole.
Our cultural ecology sees human beings as seperate from and superior to the rest of nature. We believe that all of creation exists for man's benefit.
Deep Ecology advocates a change in culture to one where we see human beings as equal partners in the community of life but not the owners.
In order to make any real changes in the world and in our personal lives we need to unearth all the cultural baggage we carry. To do this we need to really get to the roots of our mythology and understand why in a mere 10,000 years our way of life is on the brink of disappearing. Our cultural ecology needs an overhaul.
Mother Culture
Mother Culture is the ambient voice in society, driving our cultural ecology. She is that constant hum in the background that tells us where we have come from, what we are doing here and where we are going in the future. She is our parents, our family, our friends. She is our teachers, our preachers, our leaders. She is our media.
Nobody Wants To Destroy The World
Despite the fact that we don't consciously choose to lay waste to the earth we do it anyway. This is because we are stuck in a self destructive civilizational system. Our culture is driving the destruction and as long as we cling to this culture we will be a scourge. The answer is to leave behind this cultural ecology and set of beliefs and adopt new ones.
We Think Evolutionary Law Doesn't Apply To Us
Our culture believes in the myth that any biological or evolutionary laws that might apply to living things somehow don't apply to us. We believe that our civilization has broken free from nature's limits and sets its own agenda. This myth is not true. Civilization is as much bound by evolutionary laws as any other way of life by any other species. The law states that if you break it you will be eliminated. We are witnessing our way of life being eliminated right now.
We Think Primitive People Live In Fear
Our culture detests the way of life of so called "savages." Our culture with its sneering sense of superiority thinks that our way the best way of life humans have ever lived. We think "savages" live in constant fear, always chasing food, living at the mercy of the elements, dying at a young age. The reality is in fact very different.
The White Man Has Lost His Tribe
The European powers that wiped out the indigenous cultures of the New World are a lost people. They used to have roots; they used to belong to tribes. But they themselves were taken over by empires and their old ways were stamped out. Their cultural ecology was destroyed. They only did to others what was done to them. Now people long for a sense of identity.
Humans Rule The World - Our Cultural Belief
Since our culture believes that we are superior to the rest of nature it believes that the world is ours to rule and master. The world does not submit to our rule so we go about conquering it. But our mastery is creating a wasteland. Instead of letting go of the reins mother culture has tricked us into holding on tighter.
Indigenous Societies - Why Does Our Culture Abhor Their Lifestyle?
Our culture has a deep seated fear of living in the way indigenous cultures live. The fear isn't due to lack of technology or material comfort. The fear is due to a lack of control. Our culture can't accept the lack of control that comes when you live in the hand of the gods. We fear that if we don't grow our own food then we will go hungry.
The Nature Of Human Beings - Are We Inherently Flawed?
Civilization teaches that humanity is flawed. This is the explanation that is used to justify all of the problems in the world. Apparently we can't but destroy the world because of our evil nature. However humanity is not flawed; it is just our culture that has an inherent problem. If the world is going to recover it won't be because humanity has been reformed, it will be because we have abandoned our destructive culture.
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