Heal The World: Exploring Palmers the Case For Human Beings :: essays research papers

     Human beings. We are an exclusive species. adult male are open to achieve abstract thought, while most of the creatures in the animal kingdon have an attention span of just minutes. We are able to extract the purest elements from the most barren lands. We are also able to prohibit the fragile biodiversity that has taken the earth millions of years to create. Should valetkind, however, be punished for push so many different species into extinction by becoming extinct itself?     In Thomas Palmers essay, "The Case For Human Beings", Palmer explores the topics of human accomplishment, the diversity of humankind, and the carnage that said diversity has caused on the environment. Using irony and sarcasm, with the occasional able analogy, he burdens the reader with his cynical outlook on humankind in regards to its brutish treatment of the earths delicate ecosystem. In one paragraph, Palmer states, "The only modal value t o...restore biodiversity to its greatest possible richness, would be to arrange for every human being on earth to drop dead tomorrow" (323-24). Palmers combative literary form, however, is not entirely lacking its own beauty and grace. When he uses human acheivements such as a Bach chorale, mans first journey to the moon, and three-masted schooners, he is bringing glory back to humankind. Although he explains the splendor of the Bach chorale, he still states, "Human consciousness...cannot, in this view, contribute to biodiversity, except by staying as far out of the picture as possible, so as to ward off tainting still-intact landscapes with unnatural influences" (324). No Bach chorale, no three-masted schooner, no Apollo landing, Palmer reveals, contributes to the ecosystem.     Palmer isnt a misanthrope. He isnt out for the destruction of the human species. His writing strategies, such as comparisons, deviance of the opposition, and smokescreening the obvious issue at hand, which is the destruction of the ecosystem, indeed tell the reader of his belief in his writing. Palmer writes this to Everyman--an average person of average intelligence with only an average curiosity about the destruction of the species.