When rare animal species around the globe idle at the brink of extinction, it takes a great amount of international arm twisting to get something done about it. But change can happen, and things can turn out for the best.

But what happens when an entire society disappears before the world’s eyes?

I read today a recent Rolling Stone story titled “The End of Tibet.” Before you roll your eyes or reach for the mouse to click through to some other Web site, stop and think for a moment: how could the world let an entire culture go up in smoke? It’s happening right now in Tibet, a once independent nation that the Chinese Communists invaded in 1959 and then brutally dismantled. Hundreds of thousands of people died and a history spanning millennia was crushed under the iron fist of Mao Zedong.

The decimation of Tibet continues today, and what is happening there right now should break the heart of every single person who has any capacity for feeling. You don’t have to be Buddhist, or anti-Chinese, just a human being.

I’m sorry if I sound preachy, but I often feel utterly powerless about this situation. I don’t make many requests of my friends and the people who follow this blog, but today I’m making an exception. Take 15 minutes and read this story. And then think about what you’re feeling, and consider doing something – anything – about it.

Click here to read Joshua Kurlantzick’s “The End of Tibet.” Please.