In the beginning, no not that beginning, the beginning of homo sapien man's history on Earth believed to be around 500,000 years ago, when we were still living, or rather cowering in caves.
We survived by using our advanced, for the time, brains and intelligence.
We were cunning.
We had to be because we were not stronger than most of the animals in our surroundings and certainly not faster than the predators of the time.
We were not more deserving of life than any of the other creatures on Earth and so we both respected and feared them and learned to live with them.
Eventually we even conquered our environment.
We did this by using the resources we found around us and by inventing ways to bend nature to our will.
But the main reason we survived was our ability to work as a team and not by an 'every man for himself' mentality!
Our individual skills were discovered and utilized for the good of all.
Some were 'hunters', others 'gatherers' and the community thrived.
Community is still important and works somewhat unnoticed behind the scenes.
How many of us weave our own clothing?
Who among us can say we built the car in which we get around?
And can any individual boast he or she paved the road upon which we drive?
These skills and so many others have become normal, expected.
The loss of any of them casues much distress and even anger.
Scientists and engineers live by a simple rule: Necessity is the mother of invention.
But that's nothing new.
It started half a million years ago in the caves of winter when the cold threatened our very existence.
No one can say who invented fire or rather how it was found and tamed but it happened.
And suddenly that knowledge spread like a wondrous virus and all mankind was aware of the life saving tool.
The dissemination of knowledge kept and keeps the human race alive!
But imagine if suddenly we lost the ability to invent or the desire to seek out solutions necessary to our very survival.
Imagine becoming that complacent!
Could we live long and prosper in a world where science and fact were no longer revered but rater shunned?
How long would we stay at the top end of the food chain if we reverted to the 'every man for himself' mentality?
In the Spring of 1953 Sir Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay became the first two humans to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
Did they set up shop and deny others entry?
Of course not!
Of course not!
Reaching the pinnacle of any endeavor is to be celebrated by all but not held as a personal trophy or private club of one.
Too many have reached their own personal best by employing the labors of others then refusing to acknowledge their input.
They hold onto the bulk of the profits produced by the workers' labors as if they had nothing to do with the success of the venture.
In 1914 Henry Ford paid his workers the unthinkable amount of $5 per day, way over the going rate, claiming that he wanted them to be able to afford a Ford!
Sales of the Model T and others soared.
A few years ago it was reported that the World's wealthiest family and owners of Wal*Mart paid their workers just enough so that they could only afford to shop at Wal*Mart.
While that has since changed it only did so as a result of the public shaming and protests.
Of course the founder of a company or inventor of a 'better mousetrap' should be lauded and allowed to retain the 'lion's share' of the profts generated by his or her endeavor but not to the point of a predatory practice of below poverty wages for their workers.
It is in our nature to push the envelope, to try to do the unthinkable or previously impossible.
Once we attain the summit, we must welcome others, for that is how humanity moves ahead.
This idea was famously voiced in 1675 by Sir Isaac Newton.
After receiving praise for his discovery and explanation of the force of gravity he humbly said, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."
A rising tide is said to lift all boats, not just luxury yachts!
We must not lose sight of reality lest we fail to see the forest for the trees! And protecting both the tress and the forest should always be a priority.
But now the shoulders we once stood upon are forgotten.
Facts no longer matter or are belittled as fake!
Fire, once our savior, has become the harbinger of doom in many places.
Our planet is warming at an alarming pace and, like the fabled Nero of Rome, we sit idly by and watch it happen.
We heatedly debate its cause while ignoring the steps we could be taking to stem the tide.
What will it take for our leaders to understand the life-threatening nature of the problem and act before it's too late?
Or is it already too late?
For the sake of mankind, the World must join together and take control of our environment back from the captains of industry who seem only to care about their own personal wealth.
But in case they fail, where are those caves again?
