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  • March 24, 2020

    MOTHER NATURE IS A BITCH

    NOT OUR PAL — Picture by Mysty Baker inworld on Foter.com / CC BY

    Everybody thinks of Mother Nature as this wonderful symbol of sunshine and flowers, and she truly is that. But there’s another side to Mother Nature. She is also a pragmatic and remorseless bitch.

    Her job is to keep things in balance.

    It isn’t always spring time and summer, when the grass is thick and tall and the days are long and lazy. There are the fall and the winter, when the grass turns brown, the trees lose their leaves, the young and sickly die, and the old and lame starve.

    It’s all part of nature’s plan.

    Humans tend to overlook that dark side of Mother Nature because they are locked up all snug and warm, sitting in front of a blazing fire reading a book or laid back on the couch watching the big game on TV. Nobody at the top of the food chain is thinking about all the cold and hungry creatures shivering out in the rain and the snow.

    Because of our big brains, opposable thumbs, and gift of language, we have become immune to annual nature balancing devices such as winter. So our population keeps growing and growing and growing.

    Thomas Robert Malthus warned back in 1798 that when times are good and food abundant, people tend to have more children. The more people there are, the less food available per person, leading ultimately to sickness and famine when food production falls.

    Human nature drives people to have multiple babies rather than live within the limits of the planet.

    Some people point to the world today as proof that Malthus’ theory was incorrect.

    The human population of the world has exploded – especially during the past century –because of better agricultural practices and the conquering of diseases that used to kill the lame and the weak. But there are still limits.

    In addition to being creatures that are driven to reproduce, we are also warlike in our manner. We didn’t get to the top of the food chain by being nice guys.

    And with modern technology, we are ever more efficient in eliminating people with whom we disagree. The massacre of ethnic minorities in Africa and Asia; the extermination of Jews, other minorities, and dissidents in Germany, Russia, China, and Asia; the aerial bombing of entire cities that killed millions of civilians.

    And yet, scientists keep finding ways to keep us alive despite our baser nature. They are out on the front lines, tracking down diseases and developing new medical defenses as microbes evolve immunities to current medications.

    That’s when Mother Nature strikes again. Those microbes are some of her creatures too. And sometimes they win.

    Meanwhile, try not to be a victim of Mother Nature. This is the time for everybody to hunker down and take care of each other. We all need to take advantage of our big brains. Even if you’re weak, try not to be stupid.

    Mother Nature doesn’t like stupid.

    George Lee Cunningham

    Do you have an opinion on the subject? Contact me at george@georgeleecunningham.com and let me know. Meanwhile, you can always subscribe and get an email reminder of blog postings. Your name will not be shared and you may cancel at any time.