Editor,

This old Earth has seen a full share of travesty. Almost every species lives at the expense of other life forms. To live, we compete.

Genocide is nothing new. There were attempts by the Ottoman Empire to eliminate Armenians shortly before my time.

Then Nazi Germany tried to get rid of Jews.

More recently were atrocities in Bosnia and Rwanda. We ignored it. We hear of similar horrors just south of our national border. We ignore them. We have no cause for self righteousness because among us are those with similar goals based on ethnicity.

The earth’s population has nearly doubled during my time. The rate of increase is accelerating. When I was young, much of the Earth was unexplored and unmapped.

Population density increases strife that leads to hasty measures like bombing the hell out of them…”them” being those of different origins, lifestyle or creed.

Are we as eternally exempt as we think?

Historically, population control has been by FPW…Famine, Pestilence and War. The challenge for quality-of-life-minded generations will be to find more thoughtful, peaceful and voluntary means. Can cooperation replace competition? I’ll bet solutions are more difficult than you think. It’s not too soon to contemplate.

Got any suggestions?

Al Williams

Oak Harbor