Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael - Paradigms of Yesterday Essay -- Quinn Ishmae

Ishmael Paradigms of Yesterday Come with me if you want to live, was all that Arnold Schwarzenegger said in his movie Terminator 2 Judgement Day, and after reading Daniel Quinns masterpiece Ishmael, matchless might well receive the impression Quinn echoes such sentiments. Few books read as much relevancy in this technological, ever-changing world as Ishmael.In the beginning, according to Ishmael, God created Man to live peacefully on Earth, sustained by the fruitful bounties of Earth and subject to Gods control. That is, until Man ate of the Tree of Good and Evil in the Garden Of Eden, and conveniently forgot all the rules God had so graciously placed in front of him. From that point on, the Caucasian race, full of vanity and pride for having seen so clearly what was good on the Earth and what was not, dogged to subjugate the Earth to its go out. During this turn of events, totalitarian agriculture was born. And God just shook his head.Fortunately, there are creatures on the Ea rth still willing to indoctrinate Man approximately his roots, and at the same time save Man from his selfdestructive impulses. Enter Ishmael, a gorilla with a conscience. Yes, a gorilla. Caged and controlled by man, Ishmael create a self-awareness of his situation and of mans. Realizing that his destiny is intertwined with mans, he decides to save man from himself. Placing an ad in the papers, Ishmael finds a willing if disillusioned student, and presents a course of educational activity guaranteed to save the world. Makes one wonder if the sign in Ishmaels office reads true, With gorilla gone, will man survive?The pupil finds that all he has learned about history is a lie, created by power hungry men two thousand years ago intent on ruling the w... ...If one does, one ends up fragmenting the entire food chain. Ecologically speaking, the Taker way of life was doomed from the beginning.However, the reader experiences a sense of pleasure as Quinn points out that many of the ori ginal societies have a great deal of wisdom they can teach the world on how to live in a self-sustaining society. Of course, new ideas will mean that the paradigms of yesterday will have to be discarded. However, if innovative solutions to todays ecological problems can be found, and the wisdom of ages is preserved, man has a shot at not committing cultural suicide. In trying to control all other life on the planet man has overstepped his bounds. In the end, man must realize that he is interconnected to all other life on Earth. Just consider, for a moment, the reverse side of Ishmaels office sign. With man gone, will gorilla survive?