One died; two were born: Is that progress?

Posted by: adonis49 on: September 15, 2010

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Every minute, one hundred persons die; two hundred are born.  Suppose you decided to take a break from current news and shut down all communication with the world for just 24 hours.  The fact/statistics is still there in your mind:  Within the 24 hours of your total vacation from the turmoil of life 840,000 died and about 1.6 million came to life.  Among the new-born 40% are from China and India, another 45% from the developing countries.  I can conjecture that, with the current state of affairs, 25% of the new-born, alive today, are dead within the week.  Another 25% who survived the first week will die of famine and curable diseases (very affordable medicines not available).

A century ago, a family would give birth to a dozen in order to retain half of them to adulthood.  There is progress in that babies are not being born still dead as a century ago;  medical improvement, marriage regulations, and contraceptive alternatives are limiting the number of unwanted babies; is that progress?

Let me venture in unchartered territories.  One billion persons are suffering from hunger or one eighth of mankind population.  Once struck by famine, the probability of experiencing famine again is very high; the correlation between famine prone individual and dying of curable diseases is almost 100%.  Thus, among the 150 surviving children in one minute, more than 20 will experience hunger and necessarily die of curable diseases.

Let me venture a little further.  if at least 25% of world population are homeless or have no shelter for most of their lives then, out of the 130 surviving children at least 30 will be going through life without a shelter. Knowing that in developed States, capitalist systems need 20% of its citizens to be from the downtrodden in order to maintaining the slaving market going on then, at best 80 of the surviving new-born per minute will have a semblance of hope to making it to old age.  If we discount road kills, preemptive wars, civil wars, ethnic wars, gang wars, polluted water, genetically altered bacteria and viruses, incurable diseases, and the health a safety related to environmental degradation then, in the medium term, only 60 new-born with potential to survive to “life expectancy” statistics will remain out of the 200 this minute; is that progress?

Knowing that a few in each country hoard 50% of the total wealth (10% in the USA, about 20% in the European Union and Japan, only one percent in India, and maybe 5% in China) then, no more than 6% of world population have the potential to be educated, professionals, and well-to-do.

You do the math: 6% by 60 equals four individual, at most, of the 200 new-born to survive the massacre in a good shape. The four privileged individuals will have to bear the “burden” of financially, technologically, and politically to caring for the pain, suffering, calamities striking mankind.

Are we reduced to little turtles scrambling to water sources (that are depleting exponentially) and being decimated before reaching destination?

Unless social, political structures, and world policies are geared to alleviating the pain and suffering of the most needy then mankind is doomed, regardless if environmental degradation stabilizes, which is highly doubtful.

Someone wrote: “pain is far more powerful and potent than love, life, loyalty, and dignity.”  If love, life, loyalty, and dignity take the back seats to pain and suffering then, on what can mankind rely on to survive and prosper?

I contend that, in this current social and political structures, at most a third of the new-born in one minute will eventually grow  to monitor, supervise , educate and run plans and programs designed to alleviating pain and suffering.  One person out of 50 will have the means and power (financially, professionally,or politically) to decide and put to execution the plans and programs designed to alleviating pain and suffering in this wretched world.

Tags: adonis49, contraceptive alternatives, environmental degradation stabilizes, four privileged individuals, gang wars, genetically altered bacteria, health/medicine, little turtles srambling to water sources, new-born to survive the massacre, One died, pain and suffering, politics, social, two were born, writing