250 years of freedom, except for:

• Black Americans who were enslaved, segregated and lynched
• Native Americans who were killed, their land stolen and their children sent to boarding schools
• Women, who couldn’t own property or vote
• Japanese Americans who were sent to internment camps during WW2

What is happening in Gaza is genocide. The accumulating evidence continues to reinforce the conclusion of the International Criminal Court. Today, this article appeared in the New York Times, which is hardly a pro-Palestinian media organization. The author of this article, Dr. Bartov, is a professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University. This situation in Gaza presents an important moral dilemma for American citizens, whose government, led by Donald Trump, is willingly participating in this genocide. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/21/opinion/israel-gaza-palestinians-genocide.html 

Overcoming Human Nature & Some Tasks Toward a Sustainable Future

Humans are biological organisms, an offshoot of the hominid family of apes. In the words of a recent book, “Survival of the Friendliest”, humans are lightly self-domesticated wild animals. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/10/31/928764215/how-humans-domesticated-themselves . In Western culture, over 150 years ago, we moved past the Abrahamic religions which teach that humans are a special creation of God, separate from the rest of creation, and commanded by God to take control of nature and to “subdue it”. That illusion started coming to an end when Charles Darwin published his famous work. 

Humans are gifted with a high degree of self-awareness. Because of this high degree of self awareness, humans have the ability to overcome their biological nature and, maybe for the first time in earth’s biological history, maybe humans can transcend their biological natures and advance to a higher stage of evolution. We have the capability, and therefore, the responsibility. It appears to me however, that the odds of humans, as a species, transcending their biology anytime soon is virtually zero. So, Mad Max, here we come! 

But the point here is to point out the path to a better future, a Sustainable Future, regardless of our chances of getting there anytime soon. I’m an old man and about to depart. So, at least, I want to point out to fellow humans what I perceive to be the path to a better and sustainable future. And encourage us to choose that path. 

Some Resources

• Book:   Survival of the Friendliest – Vanessa Woods & Brian Hare – https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/550437/survival-of-the-friendliest-by-brian-hare-and-vanessa-woods/ 
• Book: On Human Nature – Edward O. Wilson – https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674016385 
• Book: Sociobiology – Edward O. Wilson – https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674002357 

Some Characteristics of Human Nature as It Relates to the Problem of Sustainability

As we work out that path to a Sustainable Future, we need to accurately assess where we are at and to be aware of the obstacles on the path. We need to recognize, as well, the positive attributes and situations that will prove to be helpful. I am convinced that we need to have a basic assessment of human nature. We will find the negative characteristics of human nature to constitute serious obstacles, while we need to draw upon the best parts of human nature to assist us in moving forward.  (In the words of Abraham Lincoln: “The better angels of our nature.”)

So what are the characteristics of human nature that are relevant to the discussion?

• Humans are lightly self-domesticated wild animals (“Survival of the Friendliest”) and “About Human Nature” by E.O. Wilson. We dare not underestimate our biological origin and how powerful our biological instincts are.  
• Greedy –  In the negative category: Humans are greedy. They can never have enough. So we have the spectacle of trillionaires and starving humans on the same planet.  
• Aggressive and Violent – Humans are very aggressive, possibly one of the most aggressive species that exist. Along with this, humans are violent, very very violent. War can be used as a description of human history.The biological and human tendency toward violence results in an almost irrepressible urge to get revenge.  This is abundantly shown by the predominance of war, in many cases very cruel and violent wars over history and continue today. Latest examples in the Ukraine, Chad, Sudan, and Gaza to mention a few. Genocides are common throughout human history. Humans are also given to engage in sports, which to me, appear to be (mostly) non-lethal forms of combat. 
• Predatory – Humans are one of the most predatory species on the planet these days. They are given to deception, and then take quick advantage of the vulnerable prey, whether it’s other humans, animals or the environment. (See my article: Predator Psychology) (Folder: Human Nature)    
• Egocentric – This appears in human culture as the tendency to seek status. The more power and wealth they accumulate, the more they believe they are entitled to it. As a species humans are anthropocentric. The city they live in is the center of the country. Their country is the center of the planet. Their  planet is the center of the universe. The sun revolves around the Earth. They regard themselves as a special species, above and beyond all the other species of the planet. That is why Charles Darwin is so hated by anthropocentric humans.  Charles Darwin committed the unforgivable sin, he revealed that humans are just another species of animal on the face of the planet subject to all the laws and evolutionary links to the other animals. Galileo committed two unforgivable sins: first of all he revealed the scientific inaccuracy of the Bible. And in the second place, he initiated the process of dethroning the Earth as the center of the universe. Nicklaus Copernicus added to the indignities by dethroning the Earth as the center of the solar system. He got into a lot of trouble for doing so. 
• Credulous: Humans tend to believe almost anything that they are told that makes them feel good or fits in with their belief system. This is why advertising works so well. There is a famous book about advertising, first published in 1923 that explores the psychology behind advertising. Scientific Advertising – Claude Hopkins – multiple sources. The amazing success of many cult leaders, like Jim Jones, attests to the human tendency toward credulousness and superstition. 
• Fearful:  Another very powerful biological characteristic of human nature is fear. Fear is a very powerful and biologically deeply planted human emotion. It can be argued that fear came into being back in the age of microbes. Individual cells learned to recognize and avoid other cells and/or conditions which might threaten the health and survival of itself. From that beginning, fear has only evolved into more complex and deep seated forms. Fear is going to be a very formidable barrier in our path to a Sustainable Future. We must then pay attention to the various varieties of fear and evolve methods for overcoming those fears. If Jesus, for example, said “Fear not!” once, He must have said it thousands of times. And it appears to me that “Fear not!” was the entire purpose of His Sermon on the Mount. 
• Short term thinking: Humans tend to be reactive short term thinkers. They tend to ignore the longer term perils and problems and react to short term emergencies, such as earthquakes or floods. This tendency is biological. Ask any dog owner.  
• Territorial: The prevalence of oxytocin, the very hormone that promotes social bonding and childbirth, also causes humans to be wary of, suspicious of and hostile to the “other”, that is, other humans that aren’t just exactly like themselves. Thus the “love hormone” is also the “hate hormone” and the cause of all manner of racism, and in many cases, culminating in more than one episode of genocide. This quality of “otherness” or racism can and does dehumanize other humans and enable the entire practice of slavery and/or human sacrifice. Racism, for example, has its roots in fear, the fear of the “other”. Racism, nationalism and ethnocentrism are all rooted in fear.  As we confront the holistic nature of the Polycrisis in front of us, we humans will find it necessary to overcome our territorial nature. 
• Ability to Trust and to Cooperate: Another neutral characteristic of humans is their ability to cooperate. Thus we can organize into cities, nations and corporations manufacturing very complex artifacts such as iPads. Simultaneously humans can cooperate and vast armies come into existence.  
•  Authoritarianism: A consequence of their ability to trust and cooperate is the strong human tendency to follow-the-leader; to appoint a single human to be their leader, and to easily and predominately organize themselves into authoritarian governments. Humans tend to follow the leader, regardless of the competence and moral qualities of their chosen leader. Since the invention of agriculture, human society has tended strongly towards authoritarianism. This authoritarian tendency is a dangerous obstacle to achieving a Sustainable Future.  
• Altered Perception – Although they interact with the real world in real time, all humans live inside their belief system. They tend to filter their incoming information through this belief system and can exhibit an amazing ability to refuse to believe the obvious and to believe in absolutely incredulous fairy tales. The model here is that of the Transformer Toys where the conscious mind sits at the controls inside the control room of a Transformer machine, and observes processed video and audio on internal viewscreens, rather than looking directly outside through a view window.  https://kidsonroll.com/products/transforming-toy-robot-for-kids?currency=USD&country=US&variant=48327659094183&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&stkn=ce6a3faa578d&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23785574285&gbraid=0AAAABDdnr-BI2DojI3LaHlqJrzB18IB1L&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjvfSBhDpARIsAEiOpSvCeIx5bW5ryRdR7CdV9MOvD5uzPbFHIZl59LIKqZleXZyb1oaPBtkaAprHEALw_wcB 
• Empathy and Compassion - In the short term, humans tend to exhibit a high degree of empathy and compassion, especially in emergencies. It is common for humans to risk and lose their own lives in an effort to rescue fellow humans (and animals) in distress. 
• Nourish:  Another positive aspect of human nature is the quality of nourishing empathy, exhibited primarily by the female gender (motherhood). Men are capable of this empathy also, however. This quality of empathy enables humans to project themselves into the circumstances of other humans (and animals), feel empathetic emotions and then take rational action to help the human or animal in distress. This is the definition of love. This is a very important positive feature of human nature. It tends to be the result of an expansion of awareness. 
• Self-aware: Humans appear to have a powerful ability to mentally turn around and look at and contemplate themselves and their relationship to other humans, other species, the environment and ultimately to the Universe Itself. This ability to be self-aware can be a powerful tool to help us achieve a Sustainable Future. 
• Rational Thinking: Thanks to the frontal cortex (I’m hoping), humans have evolved the ability to think rationally, not just to react emotionally. This ability to think rationally has given rise to their ability to do science and technology. One of the chief achievements of this science is the construction of an empirically verifiable perception of reality.  
• Technology – Humans are very good at technology. Technology is used to dominate nature and other humans. Technology can be regarded as a neutral aspect of human nature, It can be used for both good and evil. I point out, however, that every technology has been weaponized against fellow humans and nature itself. The plowshare has been repeatedly beaten into swords and used in savage warfare on other humans, on other animals and on the environment.
• Story Telling: There are two other powerful human tendencies, most likely a result of their self awareness. Humans love to tell and listen to stories. This practice continues in its contemporary form as watching TV and/or going to the movies, as well as our addiction to social media. Stories can and are powerful methods of influencing human thinking.  
• Art:  Perhaps this is derived from self-awareness & story telling. Humans seem to be unique in their tendency to express themselves in drawing, pictures, sculpture, architecture and especially music. 
• Religion: The other powerful human tendency is the human proclivity towards religion. This is most definitely a by-product of self-awareness and fear of death & annihilation.  Not a small portion of human religion, though,is self-projection. They project themselves onto Nature and their environment, imagining that Nature was created and is controlled by a human-like being they tend to call “God”. One of the uses of religion is to help humans come to terms with their own mortality. Religion is also used to derive a basis for organizing human society. 

A Holistic Response to the Tasks Ahead

The overall task ahead is very daunting, to say the least. Right now, in the words of Antonio Guterres, is that the “world is coming apart at the seams.” We are in a condition of ecological overshoot: climate change, resource depletion and pollution, along with a world that is drifting inevitably toward political chaos and increasing international conflict, edging closer and closer to nuclear Armageddon. On top of that, the latest product of technology, AI, itself could be the source of another existential crisis for humanity. 

Our task then, is to draw upon the best characteristics and tendencies of human nature, as well as our remaining positive institutions, reverse the present destructive course of events, create a vision of a Sustainable Future and work together to put ourselves on a path to that Sustainable Future.   

Holistic Response: OK, how do we get started? First of all, the crisis we face today, the polycrisis of climate change, ecological overshoot and violent conflict are all now global crises. These crises are now global in scope and thus must be addressed and solved on a global scope. This demands a holistic response. Reductionist responses are not adequate to address the crisis, and may indeed, be making things worse. 

I have been convinced for a long time now, and there are many others like me who are likewise convinced, that the only viable path forward now is a Holistic approach. There can be no more “us and them”, only a “we”. There can be no more “humans versus Nature” – humans and Nature are one and the only path forward is to promote the well being of ourselves and Nature “Earth Mother’. We humans cannot be happy in our own peaceful and clean little town while we are aware that there is a vast island of floating plastic garbage roaming the Pacific Ocean. 

Thinking about the solution, just for a bit: It seems to me that there is an exceptional power inherent in that sentence in the Declaration of Independence:  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men (humans) are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights …”  That sentence has electrified and inspired humans all over the globe. The inherent power and implication in those words is a powerful inclusive holistic declaration: “All humans are alike! We are all family! I am part of that family of humans, and I too, have rights!” This holistic declaration constitutes an ongoing declaration of war upon the Patriarchal concepts of “otherness” and “specialness”. . 

To be fair, we must acknowledge that this universal holistic concept of the human family, and indeed, the holistic concept of unity with Nature is not new and has been embraced and put forward by a number of other human faith traditions, including many Indigenous faith traditions. The path forward to a Sustainable Future, involves reaching out to, recognizing and including these faith traditions into a unified perception and vision.  Some of these older faith traditions include the Australian aboriginal faith tradition, Native American belief systems, Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism.  

Furthermore, as much as I dislike the founding myths of the three Abrahamic faiths, and the literal belief in these founding myths, there is much in the practice of these three Abrahamic faiths that can and should make a positive contribution to our path to a Sustainable Future. For example, some of the largest and best hospitals in the United States were created by and maintained by American churches, such as the Catholic Church, the Lutheran churches, Presbyterians, Seventh-day Adventists and so on. Let’s not forget all the Jewish hospitals in the US, and even Islamic hospitals. Jeffrey Sachs addresses these common moral and ethical traditions in his analysis of the ethical underpinnings of the world’s faith traditions which support the 17 Goals of Sustainable Development. Ethics in Action for Sustainable Development  – edited by Jeffrey Sachs – Columbia University Press – https://cup.columbia.edu/book/ethics-in-action-for-sustainable-development/9780231202879/ I also want to point out that the current Catholic patriarch, Pope Leo XIV, using his influence and the influence of the Catholic Church, is engaged in a campaign of promoting global peace and non-violence. https://paxchristiusa.org/pope-leo-xivs-words-on-peace-and-nonviolence/ 

So, what are some suggested projects going forward?

The Task of Fear Reduction

First of all, a campaign of fear reduction. Let’s organize a campaign, if not already underway, to deliberately reduce certain specific kinds of fear.

1. The fear of the “other”, dehumanization,  racism, nationalism, religious identity, ethnocentrism. To me, the most effective method here is to arrange face-to-face, very competently moderated, meetings between members of the different groups: Black and White, Christians and Muslims, etc, etc. Humans are hard wired to communicate face to face, and the tendency toward dehumanization can be effectively and permanently canceled, one small group at a time. 
2. Fear of death. If the facts about death, as researched, informed by, and more or less empirically verified by consciousness researchers and NDE experts, were presented to audiences, I think a big dent in the fear of death could be accomplished. This campaign of reduction in the fear of death will probably meet substantial resistance from the fundamentalist parts of our society.
3. Fear of God, the devil & demons: I don’t find this fear discussed anywhere in the literature, mostly likely for obvious religious reasons. The scariest entity in the world right now is God Himself and His threat to burn unbelievers, sinners, and other undesirables, forever and ever in a burning unspeakable torture-pit known as hell. 60% of all Americans, for example, believe in hell. If this concept of the Male Cosmic Psychopath and His torture-pit known as Hell can be definitively unmasked as completely unfounded myths, this huge fear can be removed from the human psyche. This will free up a huge portion of humanity to be able to move forward with a far more empathetic world view and enhance the forming of a common human community. Removing this fear will encounter fierce and undying opposition from primarily the fundamentalist communities in the three Abrahamic faith traditions. Try explaining to the extreme fundamentalist Jewish Zionists, for example, that the Torah is a collection of fairy tales. Or, for that matter, try explaining to all those enthusiastic Christian evangelicals that their Bible is just a collection of fairy tales that were empirically debunked long ago. Unbelievably, in this 21st century, 5 centuries after Europeans burned witches, the belief in demons still persists, and according to this article, it has reached the highest levels of the Trump regime.  https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/08/charismatic-christian- church-tennessee/687624/ 
4. Fear of the unknown. That which isn’t presently understood by a human being tends to generate a level of fear which is usually not explicitly stated. The antidote for this fear of the unknown is education – the exploration and explanation of what was formerly unknown. I have personally experienced the liberating aspect of being liberated from the fear of the unknown as I explored these things in my college education as well as my ongoing learning after graduation.  Getting a rigorous rational (non-religious oriented)  college education, not just STEM classes, in itself is a substantial deliverance from fear.

Two suggested books:  

The Science of Fear – Daniel Gardner – https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/301543/the-science-of-fear-by-daniel-gardner/ 

Fear – Nathan K. Voss – https://books.google.com/books/about/Fear.html?id=ouUT0gEACAAJ 

Overcoming fear is a whole chapter in my collected writings about this topic. 

The Task of Critical Thinking

Critical thinking and the dissemination of the “Facts”, that is, empirical reality, often labeled “science”. I’m convinced that the art of critical thinking must be taught to all high school students as well as in a more advanced method to college students. “Civics” or whatever form critical thinking is taught in the high schools, must NOT be an elective. It must be a required core curriculum course, period. Furthermore, as critical thinking is taught in our high schools, these students must now be given access to empirically reliable reporting in our news media. That might involve the expenditure of public funds in order to enhance truly non-partisan reporting of the news, which all college educated journalists are taught to do. Again, this effort will encounter deep embedded opposition from both sides of the political spectrum. 

Access to accurate and non-partisan news and facts should be regarded as a human right. Accurate reporting of the news, as well as science and scientific research is an important goal towards supporting critical thinking. As such, providing accurate news and scientific research is an appropriate function of the expenditure of public revenues. All authoritarian governments, as well as many fundamentalist movements, including the Orange Fascist Regime, are adamantly opposed to free access by humans to the “Facts”. This opposition belies a fear  of the Truth by these authoritarians and fundamentalists. This fear makes it abundantly clear, although seldom reported in the media, that these two groups do NOT believe their own ideology! Period.   

Another emerging problem for the teaching and practice of critical thinking is shortening of attention spans brought on by the increasing use of digital media. Lately, an author, Rose Horowitch wrote an article in the Atlantic suggesting that the era of “reading” is coming to an end. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/08/reading-crisis-postliterate-age/687618/  To me, the practice of critical thinking demands a long attention span, needed to gather and critically ponder all of the facts involved in a particular situation, as well as to subject the submitted data to the process of empirical validation, and then drawing reasonable and rational conclusions. It seems to me, as well as other nations, that we humans are going to have to set aside our digital devices from time to time and engage in that “retro” process of reading and quiet contemplation. To do otherwise is to invite the fate of becoming short-attention-span puppets being led around and becoming prey to all kinds of Pied Pipers of Hamelin. . 

The Tasks of the 17 Goals of Sustainable Development

The 17 Goals for Sustainable Development https://sdgs.un.org/goals suggest many other tasks to help create a path towards a Sustainable Future. 

These suggestions include:

• No poverty
• Zero hunger
• Good Health & Wellbeing (Healthcare)
• Quality Education
• Gender Equality
• Clean Water & Sanitation
• Affordable & Clean Energy
• Decent work & Economic Growth
• Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (The 3 I’s)
• Reduction of inequality
• Sustainable Cities & Communities
• Responsible Consumption & Production
• Climate Action (Mitigating climate change)
• Life Below Water (Cleaning up our marine environment)
• Life on Land
• Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions (Sustainable Governance)  (Mitigation and elimination of global conflicts and warfare. The permanent eradication of nuclear weapons of all kinds. 
• Partnerships for the Goals

Discussion of these tasks have already been done by the United Nations, other organizations and authors, including Dr. Jeffrey Sachs who wrote “The Age of Sustainable Development” and “Ethics in Action for Sustainable Development”. 

PBS NewsHour carried this story on Friday, July 17. It was presented as a hopeful upbeat story about young Gazans who are seeking to find fun and hope in football and the World Cup. This story came across to me as devastating. These young boys are victims of Israeli airstrikes. As an American taxpayer, how much of my money was used to build the bombs and help Israel drop them on these young victims? This is a moral calamity. My American government has no business supporting Israel as they commit these unspeakable crimes against fellow human beings in Gaza and the West Bank. 

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/world-cup-brings-gazans-moments-of-joy-and-hope-amid-devastation