Quote Originally Posted by Donnadogsoth View Post
Why do you want to crap on our potential? What cynicism.
I'm being honest. Potential means nothing unless realized, and what is realized is what we do. Not what we might do, could do, should do, or like to pretend we do - or in the case of our much vaunted potential think we could maybe do at some undetermined future date. The actual actions we take in physical reality every single day, that is what matters. And what we do is bulldoze, pave, plough, burn, poison, melt and otherwise destroy the lives and habitats of the vast majority of other species on the planet.

Which means it is quite honest to point out that when it comes to being red in tooth and claw, we're exactly zero steps above the rest of the natural world. And the only potential I'm crapping on by pointing this out is the delusion that a cheap hamburger at the food court makes us any better than a wolf killing an elk calf. The potential that actually matters - the potential to behave differently - depends on this honesty. One cannot do better until you know what you're doing wrong, and you'll never learn that by hiding in a comforting fable.