Fleshing out these laws has not been easy, but ironically, they are right in front of our faces. It took a writer in a gorilla suit to make me refocus my own eyes, but if you just sit and look around, you are bound to have come up with similar thoughts.
The basic tenants for the Law of Life in a Community are as follows:
When there is more food for a species, that species will always increase in population.
Or, just to be sure it is understood,
When there is not enough food for a species, that species will always decrease in population.To get this through our heads, we must ultimately accept that WE are part of this Community; ie, WE are ANIMALS which adhear to this law. If you do not believe or accept this basic premise yet, I recommend you visit the "Population Issues" segment of this site, as it will try to focus attention on the success of following this very law to a "T" by our own species: Homo Sapiens Sapiens.
There is no one right way to live.
This basic law not only promotes biological stability through the diversification of species (enabling life systems to withstand a great variety of change), but also immediately does away with any need and wasted effort to make people follow one particular system (good for the controlers and the controled who can go about their own damn business!).
Within the bounds of interspecies competition, you may compete to the fullest extent of your ability, but you may not wage war with any species.
This is actually in relation with the above law, since if you follow that one, this one falls into place. The reason you may not wage war is because in a war, total annihilation or capitulation is the ultimate goal, where either entire species competing with you are destroyed or their food is systematically destroyed (which is the same thing, really). And since a life system which supports very few species (lack of diversity) is ecologically unstable, warring to kill off competitors actually harms the warring group in the end.
Within the bounds of intraspecies competition, give as good as you get, but don't be too predictable
Quinn calls this the "Erratic Retaliator," based as a peacekeeping strategy. Again, with reference to the above law of not having one right way to live, this law provides a stable framework in which diversity among the same species may evolve over time. With the community in a constant state of low level warfare, each group knows and respects boundries according to heirarchal status of individuals, need for food and mating rights, and basic size of each species. However, evolution and diversity are enhanced within the species when individuals seemingly disobey respected boundries and rights, thus making sure the other groups know they "have not gotten soft."
Ok, that is basically it. There are numerous other "Amendments" that I will add to round out the idea of living within this Community of Life, but if we can understand, accept, and work with these present laws, then we could really have something to talk about. These came from the Main Ishmael Site (and I assume were written by Quinn):
The Main Ish Visions:
Please Imagine...
A world where all humans realize that the life of the world doesn't belong to any one species.A world where all humans realize that Earth needs neither masters nor stewards.
A world where humans will realize that when they decide what species shall be allowed to live and what species shall not, they're not performing holy work, they're usurping the role of the gods.
A world where all humans acknowledge that humanity is a member of the community of life--not its ruler.
A world where all humans recognize that as a species, we're subject to exactly the same laws as all other species; what fails for them will fail for us and what succeeds for them will succeed for us.
A world where we return to the code that says taking what you need makes you members of the community; preventing others from taking what they need makes you outlaws.
A world where all humans listen to their neighbors in the community of life. They're trying to tell us something.
A world where no one species makes the life of the world its own.
A world where humans realize that the Earth does not need us to bring order to it.
A world where subduing the life of the Earth is no longer considered holy work.
A world where the it is understood that the world was not made for humans, but rather humans belong to the world.
A world where humans see themselves as a single member of a vast biological community.
A world where the death of a species (extinction) is left in the hands of the gods.
A world where, like other members of the biological community, we take what we need but do not prohibit other members of the biological community from taking what they need.
A world where humans do not consider themselves exempt from the laws that govern all life.
A world where humans finally are considered Human Beings, instead of Human Doings.
A world where humans no longer think that humanity (all men and women) are the scourges of the Earth. Only Takers are.
A world where our communitites are redesigned and reshaped to fit a future model of living in accordance with the Laws of the Community.
A world where you are vitally important for the catalyst for this change to occur.
A world where we accept our own evolution to take place.
And finally,
A world where it is obvious to all that with humans gone there is no hope for gorilla, and with gorilla gone there is no hope for humans.
Email: angelj@inside.com.tw
