Friday, November 5, 2010

Doomed Eden



Somewhere out there in Universeland there is a planet exactly like Earth, orbiting a Sun just like ours. This planet even has one big moon just as we do. But we are not there, nor is there any intelligent life there. Some accident happened and whatever creatures were supposed to become sentient and intelligent were all killed off. So this place belongs to the bacteria and the plants and the animals, but no consciousness such as we have.

It is now required by our current notions to say that if humans or something like them came to this planet, its environment, creatures, and ecosystems would be destroyed by their greed and destructive invasion. We can do nothing but destroy our planet, any other planet, and ourselves. I am also required by my intelligence to deny that this destruction is due to Original Sin. I mustn't believe in such barbaric stuff. I must eke out the rest of my pitiful life knowing that things are only going to get worse for me and for our doomed civilization. But I will still try to draw human figures no matter what, at least until the lights go out.

Picture from a previous millennium. Title: "A Home Away from Home." Acrylic on illustration board, 7" x 10", January 1998.

2 comments:

Mike (Altus) said...

I see we have similar views on civilization. We're capable of such amazing things, yet it seems we're not "smart" enough to take care of our home.
I await the apocalypse (brought on by our own doing, of course). When it happens, I'll be standing there saying "Ha ha! I told you so!"

;)

Pyracantha said...

Mike, I was feeling beaten down when I wrote that last post. Actually, I have faith in the adaptability of people and the intelligence of our scientists to be able to cope with, if not turn back, the destruction that we've done on our world. I was feeling bad about my own future, though. I still don't have many of the things I want for myself, most especially enough open space to live and work in. An apocalypse would mainly cause me to regret that I didn't buy an iPad. I don't think the apocalypse will happen that soon, though, unless you're still thinking about building that fallout shelter.