Civility

my kind of town,

is a town with nothing at all.

-----

when I drive downtown,

and see the glorious skycrapers

(made from precious metals scraped from the economies of other countries)

the crystal clear water

(with neither an adequate amount of algae nor sustainable plankton due to the infection of asian carp)

the hustle and bustle and life

(and pollution and lack of consequence)

we see modern.

we see idealistic.

I see ugly.

I see impractical.

I see the human form in what come call civility. capitalists running around trying to exploit and not help others. the homeless on the streets. the smog filled air. the hideous cultureless modern architecture. the failed and reattempted efforts and reform. the death violence and brutality. the warping of time and constant rush hour.

I see the once beautiful prairie wetlands built upon and conquered due to small minded frontierist policy.

but I am not a god. I am a human. and I fall into the love of city life too.

the music.

the theater.

the fine-dining.

the atmosphere.

the tight areas of flourishing beauty.

however I also see the big picture.

and how living in such a way could drastically alter our natural environment.

in order for everyone on earth to live the same way as an average chicagoan,

we would need approximately 7 earths.

I'm not suggesting anarchy.

I don't want to watch a steel city burn.

but I do want changes to be made.

I want people to realize the consequences of their actions.

I want them to know that living sustainably is possible.

in the end it's not a want, it's a need.

I don't think people understand the severity of their actions.

and that whether we like it or not, the earth will be around for another 4.5 billion years.

and we can't change that.

by changing the environment we're not killing earth.

we're killing ourselves.

-----

the metropolitan menace.

chicago, IL.

come visit sometime.

--Mark