The Extinction and Extension theories/ Part 2

When people abuse their authority, they get removed democratically and we accept it. When they don’t follow the law, we call them outlaws. When they kill other human beings, we imprison them. However, when individuals kill millions of other creatures from greed or ignorance, we do nothing.

We have started to believe that:

a.    Human is the leader of all creatures
b.    Human is the ultimate, absolute and only focal point on the planet
c.    Human is the reference for other creatures, not God.

This way of thinking has led to the extinction of other species. If we use the new term, creaturitarianism, we find that the human will become:

a.    The leader of all creatures
b.    The focal point, but not absolute
c.    God is the reference, not the human.

The first one is the Extinction Theory and the second one can be called the Extension Theory.

When we apply this theory, we agree that the role of humans is to preserve humanity, to help other creatures of God and to live on the planet according to the interdependent system created harmoniously to keep life going forever.

Is creaturitarianism the answer? Part I

Creaturitarianism is a new concept which first appeared in a talk I was giving at one of the universities in Minnesota in 2008. Why creaturitarianism and not humanitarianism? Is humanitarianism out of date? Or is it a notion abused by people who don’t relate its functionality to peace?

The term “Humanitarianism” was coined in the early 19th century and was an attempt to secularise society by emphasising the importance of the human as opposed to the divine. I feel that in the 21st century we need to reassess this term, understanding the impact our treatment of the environment and other creatures has on the world, and ultimately on humanity.

All the problems we are currently facing have been caused by one sole creature, not by all. This creature, the human being, is letting the rest who form God’s creation suffer. This is in spite of the fact that God has given it the authority to be their custodian and leader. When such a creature abuses its authority and forgets the partners helping it to live in peace, problems, such as natural disasters brought on by climate change, tend to happen.

The world works according to a complex and perfect plan and whether we believe that this plan was drawn up by a creator, by nature itself or some other method, there is no doubt that healthy, successful and continuous life for us all depends on our adherence to this plan. By breaking the rules, it is us who will ultimately pay the price.

This is why I will be putting forward the case of creaturitarianism as a holistic alternative to humanitarianism in a 2 part series.

Who has to pay for...?

We’ve been witnessing the global problems faced by humanity. We’ve also been witnessing the symptoms of such problems and quite often we fail to get to the root of the matter or don’t want to discuss it at all.

Let me list the problems we are facing: climate change, global warming, pollution, food crisis, oil crisis, financial crisis, wars, poverty, ignorance, HIV, malaria and TB. Who is causing these problems and who will pay for them?

Recently, I’ve been listening to speeches full of promises by politicians from all over the world. In their alluring speeches, they were trying to cover the fact they intend to axe different social benefits (health, education, financial support to elderly). It seems to me that the needy will be the ones to pay for all the problems.

My message is: let us be honest in finding a solution, admit when we’re wrong, win over the hearts of the needy and join the humanitarian cause.

PACKAGE and Water moral value

 There are many reasons behind the world’s severe water shortage nowadays, among them climate change, pollution, human abuse (swimming pools, soft drinks) etc.  We need a way out not only to save our planet, but to make it habitable for generations to come.

Water is the most valuable commodity and humanity cannot afford to live without it. We must create a new value, called “Water moral value”- the ethics of using water resources. The sacredness of water needs to be engrained from childhood onward, both by religious and social leaders.

The masses need to be converted into becoming Water moral value advocates. We need to have PACKAGE on our side:

• People’s belief; 
• Academia; 
• CSOs; 
• K - capital, therefore business and economy; 
• Astronauts, as the damage on Earth can be felt in the Universe; We need people who are visionaries, who can take much more than a bird's eye view.
• Governments; 
• Environmentalists. 

The PACKAGE components are most likely stakeholders to shape the Water moral value for generations to come.

The WOT Syndrome, the DIP Factor and the MDG goals

The UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDG) for 2015 are: end poverty and hunger, universal primary education, gender equality, child health, maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, environmental sustainability, global partnership. I believe they are basic God given rights to everyone. Ten years after the declaration of MDG, the world is still searching for an answer as to why we are failing to achieve them.

Are we willing to achieve these goals or are we just willing to discuss them? Believers should deliver their belief in action. If governments and institutions believe in MDG, we should have seen the fruits of success by now. Why aren’t they achieved?

Part of the answer to this question is, in my opinion, the current focus on the security mentality which in recent years has exhausted our financial, logistical and intellectual resources. This could undermine the achievement of MDG by 2015. This is why we are still suffering at the cause of the DIP Factor (Disease, Ignorance, Poverty) and the WOT Syndrome (War On Terror).

It is time to set aside political indecisiveness and, instead, concentrate our efforts on saving the planet.

Stop the bleeding...

Migration can happen in times of conflict, famine, economic struggles, natural disasters etc. What of the fate of the Internally Displaced Persons, people lost inside their own countries? In flood-ravaged Pakistan, around 20 million people were affected and most of them were left homeless, losing their livelihoods and hope to restart a normal life in the near future.

The floods could potentially be an effect of climate change, having started 20 years back. Who should be paying for climate change? How can the humanity escape its effects?

The philosophical problem in international conferences is that speakers do not stop the cause of bleeding, but instead pump more blood into the sick patient. Talking about fining high CO2 emission countries and reducing carbon consumption doesn’t stop one single bit of smoke from polluting the air. It’s time that high CO2 emission countries stayed true to their word and reduced their consumption, creating a greener environment and altering the course of climate change.

Faith and value/ Unity and diversion

In this day and age, we should develop a new value and language common to all humanitarian organisations: both faith-based and non-faith based. However, very recently I have heard words which I believed forgotten in this day and age and in the humanitarian context. Those words are converting, proselytising, etc.

In my own view, the vulnerable people need to be protected and helped, from a neutral point of view. Faith and politics need to be separated from humanitarian work. Humanitarianism is not about what we need to do. On the contrary, it’s about what people need. It’s not about our right as NGOs, but about people’s right to the service their community needs most.

Let us call all of us value-based organisations, and share a common ground for helping the ones who we work for: our beneficiaries.