Living up to our greatest potential

     Every plant and animal on the Earth, except one, is living up to its greatest potential.  A tree can not be a better tree, nor can any plant be a better plant. They always do their best to  meet their maximum potential; their greatest height, their finest bloom, their best fruit and assure the species survives.  Every animal is the best that they can possibly be.   

     Now you know which animal is the exception. Ofcourse. Humans.  

     Oh, I'm sure you want to argue because it is neither fun nor comfortable to admit that your own species is the only ne'er-do-well, slacker on the planet. But if you get mad and insist "we do live up to our greatest potential"  I am just going to ask "oh, is violence, war, greed, poverty, environmental destruction, etc., part of our great potential?"  

     We have the potential to live in peace and end war and violence.  We have the ability to eradicate all of the man-made conditions that plague the world;  poverty, hunger and starvation, slavery, homelessness.  We have the intelligence and skills to co-exist with non-human animals and protect the environment. Then, if we are living up to our greatest potential, why don't we?  

     You  can give me all sorts of complex theoretical argument, but it doesn't really  matter. All of them are either going to be excuses or the admission that we're either not meeting our potential or a very sad excuse for a living creature.  Are you going to argue that we are meant to be mean, violent and destructive? If not, then we're not meeting our potential.  If you argue that we do not have the ability to do those things I mentioned above, then we are not as great a species as we believe and therefore being a mean, violent and destructive species is the best that we can do.  That, to me, means that we are a very sad excuse for a living creature.  

     If that makes you angry, then we're back to not meeting our potential. Which is it?