In his book ' Sapiens ', I find it fascinating that Yuval Harari refers to the construction of a tower representing human progress. He compares a tower constructed of mud bricks and wood to a tower built of steel and concrete. He conjectures that the steel and concrete tower 'would grow story by story as far as the eye can see'. The mud and wood tower would disintegrate at some critical point.

The book was published in 2011 and failed to perceive the inevitable complexity of contemporary society. I find it fascinating to compare it with the story of the Tower of Babel in the Bible and how God intervened with a divisive hand in human affairs. The steel and concrete tower has no doubt reached its critical point. 

The emergence of the pandemic and the ensuing chaos is not unlike the scriptural account of the Tower of Babel. A cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause was detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. There are several theories about the origin of the first case. The virus is thought to be of natural animal origin.

A profusion of misinformation and conspiracy theories followed regarding prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Deliberate false information has been scattered through social media and mass media. Incorrect information has been propagated by celebrities, politicians, and other prominent public figures.

The ensuing chaos is costly and can lead to the demise of a culture. The codependent nature of all that holds the steel and concrete tower together is becoming fragmented and unstable. The entire population has become obsessed, even hypnotised. There is so much contradiction and confusion that the masses have lost their sense of rational thought and judgment. 

Information is constantly being compiled about us; we are in danger of being globally ushered in a direction we would prefer to avoid.  

 I find it extraordinarily fascinating reading 'Sapiens' the book written by Yuval Harari. I have always been fascinated by the emergence of early humans in Africa roughly 300,000 years ago. Fossil evidence of early advanced humans emerged in Africa from around this period.

Our early relatives were hunter-gatherers. While seeking nutrition, they gathered edible vegetation, butchered large animals, and scavenged the kills of lions and other predators. While I was aware that they migrated northwards and populated the inhabitable portions of this planet, it all seemed fundamental enough knowledge. 

I have been entirely unaware of the devastation of the flora and fauna that accompanied their progress. I could envision a degree of disruption to the vegetation and the resident wildlife but not to the extent that it seems they might have been responsible for having committed.

Through the ages, those early wise humans (sapiens, the one who knows) achieved extraordinary feats in adapting to the challenging climatic conditions they encountered as they overwhelmed the planet. 

In a sense, one might be tempted to respond with some pride being our early ancestors, but it is also apparent that they had little regard for the destruction of the environment. We have inherited that characteristic; acting like our early relatives, we proceed without concern for future resources or the planet's health. We strip it of all it has to offer.

Unlike the domino effect often used to illustrate a causal impact, our predicament is more like the Tower of Babel in the Bible. The story unveils how God intervenes with a divisive hand in human affairs. There is a tipping point to all human endeavours based upon greed, deceit and deception. As we seek to construct a tower comprising many fragile codependent entities, the structure will disintegrate as it is built.

 A copy of the letter to the new general manager recently appointed to manage our institution for the elderly. He expressed concern for the spread of the coronavirus and suggested that it is mandatory for the unvaccinated to wear masks.

My letter follows:-

I note your concern and advice about the wearing of masks and the need for isolation. I have not had the vaccination and don't intend to have it either. The NHS rates me as high risk owing to many encounters with what was deemed to be terminal cancer 20 years ago. I am in excellent health and have no intention of risking adverse reactions arising from the vaccine. 

I am a pharmacist, and I deregistered after 50 years of active participation. I find the global reaction to COVID implausible. After all, what is the point of being vaccinated if it is to fear the presence of the unvaccinated? Both the vaccinated and the unvaccinated carry the active virus on their person to the same extent. The virus is inactivated only when it enters the bloodstream and encounters the body's defence mechanism. It follows then; even a vaccinated person can be teeming with the virus within their throat and nasal passages just waiting for expulsion. The same is true for any other viral or bacterial infection, whether influenza or a common cold.

The current hype or extravagant and intensive reaction concerning COVID is beyond all reason. In Britain, mad cow disease reached its peak in 1993, with almost 1,000 new cases being reported every week. Since then, little has emerged while most young people of influential age today were born around 1990, are 30 years of age and have been through university.

Current young policymakers and reporters are unaware of life before 1960 when we had to contend with poliomyelitis, measles, mumps and many other diseases. Currently, the coronavirus kills around 0.5 per cent of the people it infects; it is probably minuscule within the global population. In the 20th century alone, smallpox killed hundreds of millions of people before its gradual eradication.

The world reaction to the coronavirus is extreme and ignorant. It has probably caused more chaos than necessary and permanent damage to humankind's superstructure. This strategic structure is the central or most important element of human existence. It has become so large that a tipping point is inevitable, and it has probably reached a rational limit to increase further.

 On Saturday 30th October 2021, on the eve of the COP 26 global meeting, all cathedrals and churches within the UK  are to sound their bells for 30 minutes to ring out a warning to humanity, drawing attention to the climate catastrophe ahead. 

COP26 is the 2021 United Nations climate change conference. The UN has brought almost every country on earth together for global climate summits, and it stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’. Climate change has gone from being a fringe issue to a global priority.

Our local church has sounded the bells somewhat early. As I sit and listen to them, I am moved and filled with sadness—great towering thunder clouds beyond drift by interspaced with blue sky. The clean, fresh autumn breeze flushes my space, and I wonder how we could have arrived at a situation of this nature.

A short article written by a farmer in our local village newsletter reflects the state of the world. 

He comments that fertilizer for next years planting should have been delivered in June, five months ago. Currently, there is no sign of it, and it is unlikely to arrive any time soon.  It is apparently in the country, but there are no truck drivers to deliver it.

There is no Roundup in the country until next year. This herbicide is essential for autumn planting. It is used to kill weeds before the cereals are planted. The number of cultivations on the fields can be reduced using less selective but expensive herbicides.

Rape meal,  the residue after the oilseed has been crushed, is used as cattle feed, last weeks order has not arrived, and we have a day worth left.

Feed supplements that are imported are not available until November, so their use is limited. The price had doubled in 12 months. By reducing this, the fat levels in the milk have dropped. Combine this with poor quality first cut hay, and milk production has been reduced.

Staffing is a problem. It is a mix of lethargy, physical and demanding, long hours; it is hard to find willing workers.

 After 86 years, I cannot help reflecting on the past and how different it was. I must nevertheless hesitate and take note of everything going on in the world around me. 

Before 1963 when American medical researcher Dr Jonas Salk announced that he had successfully developed a poliomyelitis vaccine, we mostly disregarded the threat of infection and continued with life as usual.

The MMR vaccine was announced in the USA in 1963, and I was 28 years old. Published measles cases in the United States fell from hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands per year. These illnesses were regarded as a fact of life; before that, we stayed in bed until we recovered.

Now we have COVID, and it is regarded to be a pandemic because its effect is widespread. The pandemic is reported to have negatively affected many people’s mental health. It is worth considering that measles affects about 20 million people worldwide a year. In 1980, 2.6 million people died of measles, and in 1990, 545,000 died. (Wikipedia)

One cannot help wondering if this pandemic is a self-inflicted wound driven by opportunity and profit. It has become manifest that more than a third of 26 significant trials of Ivermectin for use on Covid has serious errors or signs of potential fraud. (BBC News)

Wednesday 06

Having had a week of disagreeable weather, Myrtle and I decided to take an early morning walk into the pastures surrounding our home. The days throughout the past week have been dark, cold and wet. A few days ago, I was shocked to see that our barometric pressure was the lowest I had ever seen, 980 hPa.

Our morning today was a clear sky, cold and dry. We felt invigorated; a few high altitude clouds formed a pattern seldom seen. We aim to walk at least one mile every day, but we decided to continue being such an exhilarating day. Despite our season being well into Autumn, the vegetation is still lush and green.

We were excited to see a butterfly, and it evoked thoughts of how few insects we encounter when on walks. Beautiful scenery, enormous fields with straight rows of growing crops and a tiny train passing in the distance. It reminded me of pictures in the encyclopedias I had in my youth.

Marcus Aurelius inspired me. We don't control the world around us; we only control how we respond; he is a student of stoicism and the last of the five good Roman emperors. It was good to be alive on a day like this. It is good to embrace adversity, to challenge ourselves, as Seneca said, stay in the present, stay in reality. Our big mistake is to think that we anticipate death, but most of the death has already passed; time passed is owned by death. Death is not something that lies ahead of us. In the uncertain future, we die each day, and the past is irrecoverable. We returned home, exhausted.

A Call to Alms.

It is a weird sentiment to quietly reflect upon the probable destiny of life on this planet. For decades, scientists have warned of impending doom. Given the current human population, it is not surprising that the rapidly intensifying changes are now evident.

It has taken 200 years for the global population to grow from a little more than one billion to the present estimate of 7.8 billion in January 2021.

As a species, we persistently desecrate our irreplaceable home. In contrast, we search for an alternative world that may only benefit the privileged few. 

There is no question; our kind is unique and not part of the fundamental and natural biological diversity purposed for this planet. We are no less alien; having deviated from the norm, we have extended ourselves beyond comprehension. With our superior brain mastery, we consistently and mindlessly besmirch our most incredible legacy to the point of extinction. 

Humans are entirely dependent on the diversity of living matter. Everything is co-dependent. By invading ecosystems, a million species are nearing global extinction. The globe faces a future of hunger, malnutrition, mass unemployment, a refugee crisis and ever more calamitous pandemics.

In pursuing wealth, ignorance and self-interest, counter-action is viewed as too costly to be viable. The mainstream is having difficulty grasping the significance, notwithstanding the steady erosion of the fabric of human civilisation,

It is doubtful that entrepreneurs will make any economic modification of sufficient scale in time to save humankind. Having exhausted the soil and the sea to feed the growing population, we lack the resources to invade or seek an alternative source.  

All that is left for us now is to return to the fundamentals of our creation. Love and take care of one another, as it was in the beginning and ever should be!