Setting the Record Straight
The patently human phenomenon known as an illusion is the exclusive domain of the hyper-ideological super mind…the advanced modern industrialized human is the only organism on the planet that suffers from such an affliction…and this affliction, especially in the recent stages of human evolution has become a virulent plague seeming to have originated in the general vicinity of Western Europe. The accepted definition of an illusion is when something appears to be real, but it isn’t, or in other words, is 180 degrees in the opposite direction to what we ‘think’ it is. An illusion is in fact a mental construct, an idea, a concept or a belief which is simply not grounded in reality.
Let’s for a moment examine the most insidious and destructive form of illusion which is herein identified as a ‘centrism’. Both western civilization and the western way of thinking have together spawned and propagated centrism-based ideas re their position and stature in relationship to the rest of humanity and to the cosmos in general. The two most destructive of these ideas were, and still are, Euro-centrism and religio-centrism. Since the invention of agriculture, which ushered in the progressive ideological age, western Europe has been on the forefront of innovation and technology especially in the areas of machines, weaponry, transportation and science. It is an undisputed fact that western Europe and especially Great Britain were the birthplace of the industrial revolution and both were equally responsible for the revolution’s rampant spread throughout both the eastern and western hemispheres.
To a progressive culture boasting these kinds of scientific, mechanical, technological and militaristic credentials, it would be almost impossible to not feel a measure of self-pride, self-satisfaction and for the most part, a definite sense of superiority over the other cultures inhabiting the planet. (To this mix we could rightly add a healthy measure of self-deification as well).
The specter of European colonization, which began to rear its ugly head around the fifteenth century was not about adventure, heroism and romance, as depicted in typical Hollywood movie fare. Global colonization was about ‘big money’, pure and simple, (i.e., land, gold, wealth, slaves and the control of natural resources). The centuries leading up to Columbus’ voyage to the Americas witnessed a virtual blood-bath among the European Crowns. War was an expensive business that depleting royal coffers and these conditions initiated the conquest and colonization of other foreign and sovereign territories as a means to replenish the depleted coffers. But the simple and temporary replenishment of the royal coffers was not the ultimate intent of European colonization…setting up permanent resource colonies was. With its advanced military might and with the official blessings of the Catholic Church, the European Crowns thus began their notorious campaign to conquer, colonize, Christianize and Europeanize the rest of the planet. Today, many historians view this campaign as the single most brutal, barbaric and senseless crime ever committed against humanity… a crime far, far eclipsing the Jewish Holocaust.
The far-reaching impact of European (and especially Great Britain’s) influence on the current state of the planet can only be understood if one stands way, way-back and takes in the ‘big picture’ view of the entire seven thousand-year history of western civilization. A narrow, parochial view of isolated historical events or the day-to-day comings, goings and ‘doings’ down here at the ground level cannot adequately provide the perspective required to understand the leading role Great Britain has played in the evolution of the social and environmental melt-down we are dealing with currently on Planet Earth. Its aggressive campaign to colonize the planet, to Europeanize and Christianize the indigenous peoples of the world (which led to both active and passive genocide), to propagate the English language (which effectively silenced the indigenous voice), to aggressively campaign to create a global mono-culture (the antithesis of biodiversity and multiculturalism) and the efforts to spread its Earth-destructive machinery and weaponry around the globe certainly qualifies Great Britain as the most destructive force the planet has ever known…so much so that the exploits of Adolph Hitler, Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great (combined) pale by comparison.
The much touted claim that Great Britain has been the paragon of civility, the epicenter of science and innovation, the birth place of the industrial revolution and the self-appointed and self-deified rulers of the planet must be juxtaposed with the harsh reality that our biosphere is currently in the throes of another great extinction and it is Great Britain, yes, the arrogant, aggressive and machine-driven Great Britain that is most responsible for bringing us to this point.
These facts only become self-evident when considered from a wide angle viewpoint of world history.