The Comfort of Denial: Why Religion and Capitalism Fail Our Planet

It never ceases to amaze me how many people are religious in America today and around the world given the general feeling of helplessness toward the global environmental crisis. With the wealth of information we now have from the internet it seems as if God has become a mass practice in cognitive dissonance and pluralistic ignorance. People no longer choose to see, they choose not to see because they can't handle the mental inconsistency between physics and faith. We as global citizens are approaching an informational precipice where it will be harder to remain ignorant then it will to attain knowledge.

Homo sapiens are a social animal and are designed to learn through social means. A mere discussion can communicate as much information as a book, with a better retention rate, and in a shorter period of time. This is why any language teacher will tell you that if you want to learn a language fast, go to the native country which speaks it fluently, because it will force you to adapt, speak, think, and dream in that language.

Today, the universal world-wide language/understanding is that human malfeasance is eroding the environment and will cause an ecological disaster. Unless you have an MBA from Harvard (a.k.a. disconnected from reality in a "business is THE, be all, end all" paradigm) people around the world are aware that the earth's biosphere is in decline, the human species is responsible, and we are transferring an insurmountable burden upon our children's shoulders to find solutions and correct the mistakes we've maid.

We teach (a.k.a. train for obedience) kids to be civil and solve their problems with words, but all their heros (Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, etc.) use violence. We tell them to apply the golden rule and "treat others like you would want to be treated" but continue to bomb and terrorize other nations because we want to exploit their resources. We tell kids "cheaters never prosper" when every successful athlete has taken a performance enhancing substance. As history shows, violence solves a lot of problems, the biggest bully get's his way, and s/he should cheat to get what s/he wants because no one will be able to do anything about it. If this isn't the case, then men like Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Hitler, and George W. Bush would have never rose to power. The truth is that our species refuses to recognize that those in power simply take what they want, feed us lies about it's desirability, and train (a.k.a. "teach") our children to lionize their actions in order to maintain ideological dominance.

Thanks (largely) to America and Hollywood's materialistic influences, our species has an absolute obsession with perceived value as material wealth and the accruement of money--due to observational learning. "First you get the money, then you get the power, then you get the women." But there is no better example of our diluted narcissistic selfishness then religion.

Many Americans (40% according to this article) believe that Jesus will return in their lifetime. How arrogantly selfish! As Carl Sagan would probably say, you have truly elevated your imagined self-importance to new heights. So to re-cap, not only do people believe their is a big heaven in the sky that is waiting for them when they die (because our species is just 'that' special), but they think Jesus will come back to 'save them,' personally, in their lifetime.

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The real problem with our species is that "Man is not a rational animal, he is a rationalizing animal;" which is a very revealing quote by the science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein. We as a species make sense of the information in which we have been presented. However, because most (will) stay willfully ignorant, our species will never deal with the ecological catastrophe we have created. Those alive today will continue to waist non-renewable resources and live with the expectation that this life is only a temporary reality until "I" reach my (un-reasoned, irrational) home in the sky when I die or when Jesus comes back to rescue me.

Let me set the record straight. There is no God, there is no "salvation," no God is coming to help you, and the world is such an awful place, that you want so desperately to escape from, because you refuse to be a responsible adult and do something about it. Instead, you act like a child; or a less developed and culturally aware hominid. One of two things is occurring. Your prefrontal cortex has not been developed enough so that you can recognize and understand truth from fiction. Or, you are refusing to look at the information in order create a more accurate portrait of the world.

Capitalism is were profit is considered over all other concerns, were efficiency and abundance are shunned because it's bad for business, and were the environment is only a resource to be exploited and not an asset to be maintained. Like with any mental disorder, the first step to redemption is admitting there is a problem. My point here is that the human species will fail to recognize that the inherent problem with our global environment is due to our business model (which was spread through globalization). Capitalism thrives because it feeds our primeval motivations for wealth, extravagance, and everything social status entails. And, it goes unchallenged because your deepest rooted belief system (i.e. religion) annuls you of personal responsibility and supports our selfish desires which Capitalism enables.

You, your kin, your friends, ideology, and religion are the reason why this world is the way it is. You can blame whoever, hope whatever God you pray to saves you, and deny the world you live in; but that doesn't change the fact you exacerbate the situation and are contributing to an act of inter-generational tyranny. I, personally, have accepted this; but have you? I hope the world proves me wrong, but I don't think I am here. We will fail as a species, by our own hand, because we refused to "grow up" and take responsibility. So, next time you see your son or daughter, please tell them I said "I'm Sorry!" ...for their burden, and your inadequacies.

The Time for Rationality is Now

We can no longer afford to hide behind comfort-seeking delusions or the hollow promises of a system designed to exploit rather than sustain. The burden we are placing on the next generation is not just an economic failure—it is a moral one. It is time to stop rationalizing the destruction and start demanding a fundamental shift in how we value our planet and each other.

Are you ready to move from denial to action?

True accountability begins with understanding the intersection of our economic models, social justice, and the environmental reality we inhabit. For a deeper look at what it means to build a sustainable, just, and logical future, visit NouveauEconomics.com.

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Other Related blog(s): SocioEconomic Market, Sociology of Love