Thursday, July 7, 2011

Our Outdated Fantasy Of Always More And Ever Bigger

no forest must expand every year to be considered a success
yet, if a company is not growing it is, by definition, going out of business

the seas need not strive to merge to achieve some so-called economies of scale
but we believe formulaic merge and slash somehow creates economic growth

the sunrise faces no pressure to either last longer or to perish
however, free economies must at least increase on average by 3% year after year, forever

sunsets cannot grow more and more beautiful each and every day
nonetheless, for safe long-term growth you can bet all your retirement money on the stock market

each generation is not handsomer, taller and more intelligent than the last
but the military can indefinitely continue its non-discretionary annual budget increases

no species numbers can exceed its environmental carrying capacities over time
but, extinction does not apply to man, created in god’s image, given dominion and a soul

when populations grow too large, biology teaches that they abruptly crash
the infallible and blind marketplace can sustain eternal compound growth

the catch of fish per year did not increase forever despite market demand
yet we can act like non-renewables can always be consumed at faster rates

even fast-food-fattened americans cannot perpetually grow more and more obese
faux luxury and inefficient noisy power can be combined with fuel economy and clean air

family income will not grow larger each and every quarter
yet consumer spending is the driving force behind our wondrously-booming economy

our student’s reading scores must eventually find some pathetic minimum
however, we will always put our people first, even as we continue offshoring efforts

it will not always be cheaper to destroy open land than to bulldoze shoddy junk
our faith in god will see us through the manifest development of our entire great land

evolution does not constantly produce an increasing number of new species
hurry, the biggest sales event ever is going on right now but ends tomorrow

ever larger conglomerates will not finally congeal to form a single global entity
nevertheless, let’s merge and cut staff by 20%, get our bonuses then retire, guilt-free

the future must hold less prosperity for each of us given our increasing numbers
but I’ve almost got enough held back to sign up for another new big-screen TV

plague deaths will grow in total but not as a percentage of population
population planning is a genocidal contradiction to the laws of god and the liberty of man

guess what, our children will not always have a brighter future than their parents
anyway, high-tech innovation and our military will always be there to see us through

unconstrained oil consumption will grow steadily and then must fall off quite sharply
this is no mass extinction and climate change is just as wack as any New Age nonsense

garbage per person will actually decrease with our increasing numbers
capitalism lets the entire world get rich and consume blindly like good Westerners

government cannot plan on permanent growth to hide ever higher outlays
still, now that I’m 55, I think I’ll start putting aside a bit for retirement

listen, in point of fact, the heat and drought will not last forever
our sales look good, possibly even beyond the end of the next quarterly reporting period

even our people can only swallow so many stupid lies and foolish fantasies
this new nighttime fat-burning pill really makes me feel like a million bucks

all our complex, unplanned actions yield unexpected emergent side effects
but you really cannot worry much about the future since it is beyond your control

every mass excess leads to some tipping point of no return
home mortgage funds are an obvious and absolutely safe, high-yield investment

air and water pollution will decrease at some point, in step with our decline
we will keep on praying just like we drink our beer, in both good times and bad

someday there will be no earthbound human souls striving to earn their way to heaven
my personal savior and I discuss matters of great concern to me each and every day

greenhouse gases will subside quite shortly in geologic time
efficiency and recycling are small, personal virtues of dubious social value

our ongoing progress cannot ever approach the destruction of all life on earth
combining topheavy, uncooperative bureaus into super agencies will solve many problems

the human stain will begin to fade even before its spread has ended
we envision better days stretching on forever into the happily-ever-after

we can continue piling all kinds of obvious as well as hidden public debt on the future -
though we continue to destroy their ability to pay through our thoughtless daily consumption

systems requiring compound growth are simply Ponzi perpetual motion machines
let it be known that it shall remain, fellow citizens, as always, Morning In America!

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