Sustainable Goals

Sustainability is the ability to exist constantly. In the 21st century, it refers generally to the capacity for the biosphere and human civilization to coexist. It is also defined as the process of people maintaining change in a balanced environment, in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development and institutional change are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations.

-- Wikipedia: Sustainability

"Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."  I've always thought that Democrats and Republicans all want the same things, but our disagreements arise from how we go about achieving them.  Democrats seem to throw nonexistent money at an issue until the money runs out, while the Republicans prefer to find the money first and determine a sustainable solution.  Neither of them uses money based on anything tangible, however.  The problem with sustainability is that it takes a firm and tangible foundation in order to have any guarantee of success, and that takes significant time to put into place, which is tough in a society that wants everything... right now.

In the realm of reality, one has to consider ideas in the context of what we know, and knowledge is usually based on history.  With what we know, what are the odds that a particular idea is sustainable?  Philosophically, we can agree that socialism as a system of government, regardless of its appeal, simply isn't sustainable; it doesn't work.  Why?  Because, sooner or later, other people's money simply runs out.  There is an old adage which I find valid in most circumstances:  It takes money to make money.  In the larger picture, you must have the sustainable raw material to continuously produce a product, otherwise, the product is just a "flash in the pan."  If the individual has little or no expectation of bettering their station in life, then they are simply another cog in a closed system.  When a cog wears out, another takes its place, kind of like slavery.  You exist only for the good of the whole, but that will, sooner or later, leave the "cogs" wondering who is in charge of the whole?

For many in the field, sustainability is defined through the following interconnected domains or pillars: environment, economic and social, which according to Fritjof Capra is based on the principles of Systems Thinking. Sub-domains of sustainable development have been considered also: cultural, technological and political.

-- Wikipedia: Sustainability

Socialism is not a complex adaptive system.  Socialism, regardless of youthful thinking, exists for the good of the whole, not the individual.  Unfortunately, people are complex adaptive systems.  We have to be in order to survive.  Complex adaptive systems are defined as systems "in which a perfect understanding of the individual parts does not automatically convey a perfect understanding of the whole system's behavior. The study of complex adaptive systems, a subset of nonlinear dynamical systems, is highly interdisciplinary and blends insights from the natural and social sciences to develop system-level models and insights that allow for heterogeneous agents, phase transition, and emergent behavior."

While sustainable development may be the organizing principle for sustainability for some, for others, the two terms are paradoxical (i.e. development is inherently unsustainable). Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

-- Wikipedia: Sustainability

"Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."  We have socialist politicians who seem to have no concept of "sustainable development."  They seem to be more concerned with the needs of future generations than with the present.  In reality, if we pay no attention to the needs of the present we will ignore sustainable development and purposely endanger  the future by "compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."  This all amounts to a concept of intelligence we no longer teach; its called being smart.  What's the difference?

"Smart" is about having good sense and making good use of it along with any intelligence you have.  A person without good sense probably suffers from "artificial" intelligence.  They're nothing more than a computer without the sense to use what they know... or, to know when not to.    

Considering all of this, can free-thinking and civilized societies ever have expectations of sustainability?  Well, maybe we have to accept, first, that human beings are probably the only life on this planet who have the capability to define expectation in a robust manner.  This freedom to have robust expectations is something nobody can take from us.  The freedom to expect something better, the ability to rise up and be better than we are and to have an expectation of reward for attaining our goals, can only be truly recognized and enjoyed in free-thinking and civilized societies.

"Nearly half of American millennials would rather live in a socialist society than in a capitalist one, according to a YouGov poll. That said, only 71 percent of those asked were able to properly identify either."

-- David Harsanyi, editor, opinion columnist, author

(Millennials would benefit from reading H.G. Wells, followed up with a good dose of George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Kurt Vonnegut, Ray Bradbury, and any other authors of dystopian fiction who show up on "banned books" lists.  Personally, I find their writing both enlightening and frightening, but I digress... or, do I?)

The socialist view that your reward for life is life itself, or that any pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness is the purview of the "state," and not the individual, crushes the free will inherent in the complex adaptive system of the human mind. This governing system sounds like a "dictatorship" even before it becomes one. Socialism dictates what your expectations are to be, what freedoms you are permitted, and how far you are allowed to rise. Socialism dictates your present and your future.  Socialism is a closed system which dictates to its parts.  It is only sustainable as long as there is fuel to run the engine. When the fuel runs out it doesn't matter how many cogs make up the whole, the engine either ceases to dictate or ceases to dictate optimally.  The engine begins to rebel as a way of indicating problems concerning sustainability.  If outside maintenance isn't forthcoming the engine will, as historically evidenced, die a painful death.

Are we currently on shaky ground with sustainability?  I'd have to say, yes.  Our complex system of interconnected parts has forgotten that we are a complex system of interconnected parts.  We have become too wrapped up in nonsustainable philosophies of "do for me" and "it's my way or the highway."  I am all about living in the "now," but living for today is not a philosophy of selfish desire.  We need to live for the betterment of ourselves, yes, but we must also consider those around us to ensure they have the opportunity to better themselves, as well.  Choosing not to help yourself is a choice with consequences.  Consequences can be the best of life lessons.

We had fed the heart on fantasies,

The heart’s grown brutal from the fare;

More substance in our enmities

Than in our love; O, honey-bees,

Come build in the empty house of the stare.

-- "The Stare’s Nest by My Window," William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), poet 

What we do today, as an individual or a society, has great bearing on generations yet to come.  The only way we can ensure a better world in the future is to make sustainable decisions in the "now."  Making sustainable decisions now will help us attain sustainable goals and ensure a free-thinking and sustainable world for future generations.

If you haven't grasped the philosophical idea, here, I'll repeat it one more time: SUSTAINABILITY.  

It's a concept.

"Many of us worry about the situation of the world . . . We need to remain calm, to see clearly. Meditation is a means to be aware, and to try to help."

-- Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk, global spiritual leader

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead Chaplain and Chaplain Program Liaison, at the regional medical center.