- Anything Else -
This one's for you, Mr. Gort
Posted by: Nikhil Jaikumar ( People's Collective Council, Massachusetts ) on May 25, 1999 at 17:10:21:
A while ago someone, addressing the United Nations, amde a statement to the effect that "Man is one sentient being among amny others....the assumption that he is at the top of a hierarchy, superior to the rest of life si no longer tenable.It ignores the mysterious interactions amongthe different branches of life, which have been confirmed by modern science....conserving the earth therefore benefits us and not just future generations."Who said this, Stu? three guesses and the first to don't count. This mights surprise you, but it was NOT a "leftist malcontent", nor was it an American radical-environemntalist. It was, in fact, the UN ambassador from Bhutan. Bhutan is one of the most conservative regimes in the world; it is a rigidly traditional, theocratic monarchy that imposes a strict national dress code and requires linguistic and religious conformity. In other ways, I suppose it is fairly progressive- they ahve free deucation and health care, a strict environmental policy, and nationalized forests. But the fact remains, in terms of their adherence to tradition this si psosibly the most conservative country in teh world, and one of teh few to base economics, environmental poilicy and everything else largely on the Buddhist religion. the ambassador's flat-out denial of human superiority derived not from trendy Western fads but rather from a 2500-year-old religious authorty. How does taht fit into your preconceived veiw of teh world?
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