Human Extinction is Inevitable

Bryan Cruz
Salt Lake Community College
English 2010

Bryan Cruz
English 2010

Mankind has proven to be efficient, intelligent, innovative, and driven;

however, the biggest threat to our survival is mankind itself. From the
beginning of time, we have progressed in unison, survived, colonized, and
competed against other species in order to survive. Our ingenuity has kept
us alive throughout the centuries, but our destructive nature has been the
cause of many of our struggles. From wars, to massive genocide, we have
caused unnecessary conflicts between one another, and managed to enslave
others without remorse. According to Bamber Gascoigne, Slavery in ancient
cultures was known to occur in civilizations as old as Sumer, and it was found
in every civilization, including Ancient Egypt, the Akkadian Empire, Assyria,
Ancient Greece, Rome and parts of its empire (Gascoigne). All of these early
civilizations enslaved the weaker, or prisoners of war in order for them to
gain free labor.
Sparta was one of the most militaristic, and effective war based
civilizations that ever existed; however, their ideas of natural selection and
only letting the strongest children survive lead them to their own downfall.
Similar to Spartan belief that only the strong, and genetically healthy should
be allowed to live, Adolf Hitler used this ideology to lead the Nazis to commit
mass genocide directed towards the Jewish population. In the Mein Kampf,

Hitler explained his reasoning behind all of the killings, and inspired a large
potion of the populace to help him (1971).
With the numerous technological advancements that we made over
time, our ways of causing harm to one another also increased. The Atomic
Bomb is a primary example of what humanity is capable of doing, not only to
one another, but to the environment as well.
According to the History Channel, On August 6, 1945, the American
bomber Enola Gay dropped a five-ton bomb over the Japanese city of
Hiroshima. A blast equivalent to the power of 15,000 tons of TNT reduced
four square miles of the city to ruins and immediately killed 80,000 people
(1945 Atomic Bomb Drop) The actions taken that day had devastating short
and long term effects on the city of Hiroshima & places nearby. The people
living around those places experienced the aftereffects of the radiation, and
their successors inherited numerous genetic disorders.
The day the atomic bomb was used was the day the human race
started its own annihilation. Following the drop of the atomic bomb, tensions
between the Soviet Union, and the United States grew even more since the
Soviet Union had developed an atomic bomb of their own. The Soviet Union,
and the U.S had fought together against Nazi Germany during World War II,
however, there was mistrust, and resentment between the two nations,
eventually leading to the threat of nuclear warfare (1945). The cold war was
the first point in the history of mankind, where mass destruction from
nuclear war was threatening our existence.

In the Fallout series, the threat of a post nuclear apocalypse becomes a

reality, and the people move to underground bunkers in order to survive; this
was heavily inspired by the post World War II nuclear paranoia of the 1950s
(Fallout). Although the Fallout series are fiction, they more or less accurately
predicted what couldve happened if the U.S. and the Soviet Union wouldve
engaged in nuclear warfare; except, in this scenario, the people would not
have had nuclear bunkers to protect them, and the majority of the world
wouldve been eradicated. Albert Einstein once said I know not with what
weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with
sticks and stones (Einstein). This was said by one of the greatest minds that
ever existed. Einstein considered himself to be a pacifist, however he helped
with the creation of the atomic bomb, which destroyed Hiroshima and
Nagasaki during WWII (1945 Atomic Bomb Drop). Japans Emperor Hirohito
announced Japans surrender in World War II in a radio address on August 15,
citing the devastating power of a new and most cruel bomb (1945 Atomic
Bomb Drop).
Time and time again, mankind has proven to be cruel, and destructive.
With every technological advancement, we approach to out imminent
destruction. We have destroyed the planet by exploiting its natural
resources, and burning fuels that destroy the ozone layer. Although there
have been numerous studies that show the weather naturally changes, we
have certainly contributed by accelerating the destruction of the atmosphere
which protects us form solar radiation. In the coming years, the technology

that we develop will improve; however, the conflicts within nations will also
increase, and this will eventually lead to the mass destruction, and possibly
extinction of our civilization.

Work Cited

"Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima." History.com. A&E Television

Networks, n.d. Web. 29

Nov. 2015.

Einstein, Albert. "Einstein Quotes." N.p., 1954. Web.

Gascoigne, Bamber. HistoryWorld. From 2001, ongoing.

Hitler, A., Manheim, R., & Rogers D. Spotswood Collection. (1971). Mein
Kampf. Boston:

Houghton Mifflin.

Howard, Todd. "Fallout Series." Fallout. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.