I don't understand Mankind.

I mean, why do we build things, and try so hard to tame Nature? Why do we do that, when, obviously, in a few years time, or a few hundred years, Nature will defeat us anyway? Take Titanic as an example. It was supposed to be unsinkable, invincible. But, as it turned out, it sank on its maiden voyage!

What about all those buildings we build? All those fortresses? All the armoured vehicles and tanks we build and construct with pride? All the Seven Wonders of the world? As the years pass, Nature will overtake our little, petty buildings. Okay, so it's my turn to feel helpless. If you think about it though, don't you think it's true? What about Pompeii? That city in Italy that was defeated by Mount Vesuvius? True, that was more than 600 years ago. Looking at the ruins now, all those temples, those forums, market squares, palaces, aside from wars, what else broke them down? Probably years of rain, sun, and all types of elements beating down upon it, yes?

There are many temples in India. In time, they will all be broken down, and reclaimed by Nature. Kind of ironic, isn't it? For all that we claim that, oh, America has the world's greatest arsenal, Britain's navy is invincible, Japan's technology is unbeatable, in the end, it will all be reclaimed by Nature. Most of us probably think that what with all our technological advances, Nature wouldn't be able to defeat us now, not so soon, anyway. But, if you think about it, people still get hit by lightning today, people are still killed by storms, buildings destroyed by earthquakes, little cities torn apart by tornadoes. In Iceland, there is around one little earthquake every five minutes! Do you think we'll ever be able to fully tame the Earth? I doubt it.

How I envy cavemen last time. True, they didn't have all the technology we have now. They probably had lower I.Q. than we have now, shorter lifespans. I don't know, nor do I care. They worked with Nature. They hunted when they needed to eat, they cut down wood when they needed fire or warmth. They probably lived in manmade structures too. But, don't you see? Theirs was a simple life, if they farmed, it would have been subsistence farming. But, the minute trade started, the second someone bought another piece of land. That was when we started working against Nature. We discovered concrete. Oh, joy, now we can build sturdier structures! Yes, but, in return for that, we pollute the air with our factories and cars, we clear vast amounts of rainforest, we deplete the sea of its marine life, and kill what we call 'pests'. 'Pests' would be most wild animals that steal livestock from our farms. Why do they do that? Have you ever wondered? Maybe it's because we've so depleted their own source of food that they have to resort to stealing from us! In a way, it would be claiming back what we stole from them.

So, we are presented with this bountiful land. What is the first thing that comes to our minds? Why, search it for any indigenous people of course! If there are anyway? Why, make them our slaves! What next? Oh, easy, we strip the land of its resources, then build houses, plantations, any money-making corporation is welcome!

This is why, in third world countries, we have over-farming, and a reducing amount of rainforest each day. They're learning from their Western counterparts. Wonderful. What a wondrous Earth this will be in the future. This is also why we must now think of inventions and ways to refill our dry lakes and create more arable land! Only for our own sakes, just so we can grow more crops.

I do not understand Mankind. We claim we can tame Nature, can we really? I hardly think so. One day Nature will come back for what we stole.

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