mikk,

Wise words.

It's the age-old conundrum experienced by homo sapiens sapiens...the biological drives from the "old brain" and the intellect from the new brain (neo-cortex).Our greatest challenge is getting the balance right.

Trashcanman says..... (ps..welcome to this forum)

1/ "Sure, if all Christians followed the teachings of Jesus 100%, they would be less selfish than most people."

COMMENT: Not quite trashy :) let me just add one qualifier.. "correctly intepreted/understood"

If we took your point at face value and understood Jesus words all literally, we would be blind and crippled with no eyes or hands or feet.

Then...
2/ "Many small tribal communities live that way, and they are hardly materialistic."

Trashy.. as one who lived for quite a while in a tribal situation, I assure you.. they are just as, if not more selfish than we are. It manifests in different ways though. Yes.. in the absense of refrigerators, if one managed to drag back a wild pig from the jungle, the meat is distributed among all the families. Not evenly, but a representative token. (not all tribes are the same for sure)

Pericles... I must have been on drugs :) if I didn't make my point clear enough for you. Sorry about that.
Still too early and toooo much 2 do 2day to tackle your other points in depth.. patience and if I need a reminder.. prod me in a day or 2.
Grandaughter clambering for "da kittens one" on youtube.. sigh..
Friends daughter scurrying around..cats driving me crazy (yes..those 'slaves' :) Son doing piano practice.. just been for a 5k walk....

I'll get back 2 ya. In the mean time, stay well.

Al, I hope you are not on drugs in front of your grandchildren. ;)

Well said mikk, it is easy to become cynical about the nature of human beings. The results of negative behaviour stands out more due to its consequences, the good often lost in the noise of the other.

Squeers <This morning on Saturday Extra I listened to the sound of a baby dying of starvation>

It could well be your baby or grandchild you hear dying of starvation if ever you loose access to the richly providing territorial resources of the West. Resources like the mining industry that are proping up our prosperity very literally at the moment.

Millions more babies would have died across this globe if the Western Nations didn't provide billions in global welfare on a constant basis.

Some of the religions that the people in these countries believe in have the philosophy that they can pump out children until there is standing room only left in their countries and very little else left in the way of resource sustenance that hasn't been used up or depleted.

Then they look with envious eyes at other countries and say you should give us what you've got.

While the West keeps providing aid we save them from the consequences of their mismanagement or stupid overpopulating in the name of religion.

Maybe if they had to face the consequences of being almost decimated as the law of nature dictates they would change their leaders and way of doing things.

Babies have been crying as they died right across this planet from day one and we couldn't hear or see it because we have only had Television in Australia in the last 60-70years and we didn't have satellite television until later than that. Maybe television interferes with the natural order of things, nature certainly never asked for our assistance in all the thousands of years before.

I know this sounds harsh and I feel for the dying babies too but how far do we sacrifice our own children or put them at risk from the neverending demands of these people.

How much sacrifice is too much. It seems to me that the West and Europe is already buckling under the weight of all the hostile millions let across our borders in the name of human rights and compassion

CHERFUL

I have no words for unspeakable people like you.
Your attitude makes me sick.

Squeers,
that's a very interesting comment to CHERFUL's observation. Could you please elaborate ? Thank you.