Humanity has to live by consensus if it has any hope of surviving
By Lethbridge Herald on December 8, 2022.
Editor:
When a honey bee colony becomes too crowded the colony has to split. Crowded conditions promote diseases. The original queen and her followers leave their home in a swarm. The followers are mainly older worker bees. Scout bees from the swarm are busy looking for a suitable replacement location for their home. This search has to be successful within two or three days and is a case of life or death. This departing colony is taking the risks of finding a new location and building a new home near an adequate food supply.
The scout with the longest information-dance gets the most support for her discovery. The final decision as to which scout to follow is reached by consensus. Members of the swarm accept this struggle in order to restore the health of the original colony.
There are many examples of destruction of human colonies (cities) by disease. Knowledge acquired over the years has identified many microbes and their diseases which have killed millions. Control measures against microbes include hygiene measures, pest controls, water management, and individual immune enhancement with vaccines. The latter was first applied in 1798 by Jenner against smallpox.
Smallpox has been eradicated and the above control measures against other microbes have produced human growth, up to eight billion. Unfortunately, the increasing human and food animal populations will continue to be threatened by emerging diseases. Some will no doubt be more severe than COVID-19. They will challenge our cooperation to apply our knowledge.
What have we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic? The majority of us comply with recommended disease control measures, such as vaccines, masks and isolation. A minority does not. What would have been the impact on human colonies had we all declined helpful control measures? As it is our health care facilities and dedicated care workers are stressed to their limits to minimize mortality. Verified knowledge is ignored. Some even blocked social functioning at borders and in our capital. Consensus is impossible to reach.
Colony defence against microbes better not be a democratic process.
Microbes are oblivious of our individual opinions. Will we have enough intensive care units to defend ourselves against the next pandemic?
Honey bees have been around for millions of years but human colonies only for a few thousand years.
Klaus Jericho
Lethbridge
12-11
hmmm, and yet, ironically, perhaps, it is humans that are causing quite the calamity for honey bees, what with the generous use of the likes of pesticides. moreover, we should acknowledge that the planet needs bees far more than it needs humans, especially humans that see themselves as so above and beyond all else that we routinely decimate the natural systems and order of the planet, mostly for wants, while further disrespecting and abusing the flora and fauna of the planet. moreover, in order to derive the likes of modern “medicines” and vaxes, we routinely torture sentient creatures, by the millions worldwide. very nice way to live, folks.
the author notes there 8 billion humans – a sustainable number, particularly when we are so caught up in our “superiority” and our unlimited wants-based approach to life? that is a fine example of consensus. conscience – that comes down to consensus, does it? one’s right to their body – consensus? the better way is that we each have a choice to take what it is we wish to take, or not. get your vaxes as you choose, and be protected. not everyone took a smallpox vax, but those that did were pretty well protected. then again, not everyone that did not take that vax succumbed.