A Vote Against Humanity

Humans are a disease.

A slow one at first. Then hungry and progressing. Then proud of our hunger, and proud of the way we finish up the environment and everything else around us.

The word consumption once meant illness. A sickness that eats the body from the inside. People wasted away and finally disappeared. People were consumed by Tuberculosis, Leprosy, or even by Alcohol. Today the word has changed its meaning, but not its nature. Now we call ourselves consumers. We wear the word like a badge of honour. In truth, we are doing the same thing. We are consuming the planet. And like any disease, we are doing it without care for the host.

Some months back, I was reading a book on nature and a thought stayed with me. What if there was one council for all living beings. Not countries and borders, but species. A United Organisation of Organisms (UOO). In their first general body meeting, a simple vote is called. One species must be removes from the planet so the rest can survive. There is no debate. No anger. Just facts. Forests speak through what is left of them. Rivers show their poisoned waters. Birds arrive in fewer numbers. Insects barely show up at all. Still a vote is cast and the vote is crystal clear. Unanimous! Do I have to spell it out ? Yes, we are that bad a disease.

Look around for the signs. Air in Delhi NCR burns the lungs. Many Indian cities live under a grey sky. Children grow up knowing smog more than blue. Guests come to my homestay from pollution-choked cities, looking for a breath of fresh air, and then want to sit around a bonfire in summer clothes just for the sake of ambience. Does the smoke in the hills magically disappear?

Rivers carry foam and waste, instead of life. We burn coal and oil that took millions of years to form and finish it in decades. The climate shifts, seasons lose their rhythm, and we act surprised. We wonder that we are quite environment-conscious and have even a balcony full of plants growing in planters, how can we be the cause?

Oceans are filled with plastic. Fish eat it. Birds choke on it. Whales die with stomachs full of our rubbish. Forests are cut to build houses no one needs. Mountains are broken for minerals we throw away after a few years. We replace phones, clothes, cars, and other consumer electronics, while the land that feeds us grows tired and empty.

We are afraid of darkness, so we flood the night with light. Birds lose their way. Insects vanish. Silence disappears. We kill predators and then complain about imbalance. We poison soil and then ask why crops lack strength. We take and take, and when something breaks, we ask for more.

Maybe we are waiting for a big ending. A large meteor from the sky? Something that forces a pause. Something strong enough to stop us or wipe us out. The earth does not need saving. It will heal in time. The real question is simpler and harder. Can we stop behaving like a disease? Or will we keep consuming until there is nothing left but ourselves?

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