It suddenly occurred to me that I have been overlooking my primary purpose in joining Gather, which was to share what I have learned in almost a century living to the hilt. So, rather than spend this time on my whorepoint job, I thought I'd post this for your edification and, hopefully, entertainment.
I used to write an advice column on another site and recently thought it would be interesting to revisit it, to see if I have learned anything new in the year or so since it was written. The following is a slightly embellished response to one of the brighter teenagers who asked how humanity looks through my ''aged eyes'' (a phrase that knocked a few points off his score in my booklet) surmising that I'm probably ''effing pissed off''.
The fact is, I'm not. I see the human species simply as a faltering step in the evolutionary process, and not a very successful one, at that. We're born with the seeds of our own destruction, and have been sowing these seeds since we learned to walk upright; the more evolved we become, the closer we are to extinction. Actually, humans are the real weapons of mass destruction, and get closer to pushing the button every day. We'll either blow up the planet, poison ourselves with a mass ingestion of chemicals, drown in the melted icecaps, die of mass heatstroke, or choke to death due to lack of oxygen. Or find some other delightful way to self-destruct.
I sometimes think it would be interesting if we all went at the same time in one big bang, the way we probably started. I muse about how we would re-conform, what such a sizeable mass of matter and energy would do in and to the universe. I wonder if it would remain cohesive, a big ball of everything on the planet mixed up together, eventually becoming....what?
So, no...humanity doesn't piss me off. More than anything, it intrigues and amuses me, as it runs in ever-decreasing concentric circles, trying to catch its own tail. And when it does, it will devour itself, like a giant Itchy and Scratchy cartoon, as the Cosmic Comic looks on, doubled over in self-induced laughter.
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Comments: 24
I'm sooooo glad that you decided to share this!
Ever the optimist....I feel that some will always evolve and survive....somehow. All I can say is.....Share more please........
Olga.. Your post was the reason I dug this out today. A confluence of inspiration from the cosmic mind.. ain't it great?
Kelly: Absolutely. I live to give advice. Having been everywhere and done everything, all that is left is to share what almost a century of living has taught me. Ask away.
Krista: If you really want more, read LIFE, DEATH AND OTHER TRIVIA, Outrageous Observations of a Wicked Old Broad. www. lulu.com/RuthDickson
Cat and Donna: Thank you and back atcha.
I really want to be the optimist that I am by nature, but somehow reality keeps creeping in.
1) The LAST thing I am is pessimistic. I am, more than anything, amused by the bumbling cavorting of the human race in its vain effort to stay afloat.
2) You speak of "hope", but you don't say what you hope for. A reversal of the evolutionary process, perhaps? Not gonna happen, unless you, like Superman, find a way to reverse the time-space continuum. A spontaneous shift in the human genome that erases the snake-brain structure in the human embryo? A highly doubtful occurence.
"If there is a higher being that would sit idly by and watch and laugh at our self-destruction, then such a being would be nothing more than a sadistic monster that would deserve nothing more than our greatest contempt." This statement might have merit if there were, indeed, a 'higher being', separate and distinct from the universe at large. There isn't. The Universe, of which humans are an infinitesimally tiny part, IS the higher being... we are all part of the Whole, products of the Cosmic Mind, just another in an infinite number of energy/matter conformations. All of which, by the way, come and go, live and die, ignite and extinguish, arise, evolve and become extinct. Why in the world do you think the human animal is exempt from this totally normal, natural process? The myopic arrogance that causes humans to believe they are special creations of some imaginary, anthropomorphic Other is the real cosmic joke. Believe me, once you take a step back and look at the big picture, you'll see how fruitless it is to 'hope' for change; in fact, you might realize that all is precisely as it should be and you can relax and accept the fact that mankind is on the downhill slide to extinction, whether you like it or not. It's neither sad nor evil, good nor bad. It just is, so rather than stew and fret about the human condition, why not just sit back and enjoy the ride?
It shows this concept. Prior to that realization I was an atheist. I had not always been an atheist, but had been for about five years. That realization took me back to a belief in God, but from a rather different angle than religionists. Like you, I could not believe in the myopic view of an anthropomorphic God, before that realization, and still do not, which is why I say that if such a being as described by many religionists did exist, and actually found pleasure in our struggles, then such a being would be a sadistic monster. I can not believe in such a monster, therefore I don't. But I also can not believe in a purposeless existence that will only lead to self-destruction. Humanity has a greater potential than that. Yes, in time we will come to an end, as all things must. But why do you think that evolution will bring about that end? It is evolution that may well save us from self-destruction, and lead us down a better path into the future. It may well be that things will get much worse before they even can get better. We may be more like lemmings than we know. These small creatures take their population to great heights, then crash, only to rise again, and do it all over. Scientists say that the Human brain has been in it's current level of development for about 100,000 years, yet recorded civilization is maybe about a tenth of that time. What were we doing with all this brain potential all those thousands of years, sitting around in caves and making plans to do something more than fire, someday? Rather, could it be that civilization has tried before, elevated to great heights, then crashed, then did it all again, and again, just like the little lemmings? Legends like the story of Atlantis could be just one example of past civilizations that achieved technological levels even greater than we have today. Some say, oh that couldn't be, if it were true, then we'd find archeological evidence of these past civilizations, but we don't. Problem is the majority of archeologists are not playing the game fairly. Whenever they find something that doesn't fit with their preconceived notions of the time lines, then they throw it out, and call it an anomaly. The Book "Forbidden Archeology" by Michael A. Cremo and Richard L. Thompson is filled with such anomalies. And when you start giving an honest look at these so-called anomalies, a pattern begins to emerge. There may well have been high tech civilizations on this planet many times in the past, and not all of them created by Humans. Some of these civilizations may have met their demise by self-destruction, but perhaps not all. Some of them came to their end, as the result of what might be called "natural" catastrophic events. It is precisely because we are vulnerable to such natural catastrophic events, that if we are to survive beyond the next such event, we must achieve interstellar space travel, and spread to the stars. By doing so, we can extend the life span of humanity far into the future. That is the hope and the dream we must reach for.
I think our basic debate lies in the importance you attribute to mankind. Our species is just one of an infinite number of conformations of matter and energy that make up the universe, no more nor no less important than any of the other dust motes spinning through the cosmos. Whether or not other "civilizations" have come and gone on this little speck of real estate is academic. The basic stuff of which we are made has always existed and will continue to exist into infinity, but whether it will maintain its present form is problematical. I believe that mankind as we know it is programmed to self-destruct and that the process is reaching its conclusion as we speak. As for interstellar space travel, I think we've already done that... where do you think the stuff of which we are made came from?
Now there is one thing I will agree about, our current culture is in the process of self-destructing, but when it does fall, as did the Roman Empire, Humanity must survive and rise up from the ashes. We will continue, and we will seed the stars, not because we are set apart, or in any way special, but because of our tenacity and determination; because of our indomitable spirit, and our never say die attitude. As I said before, we will have a season, and then end, but that end is a long way from now. Our current culture may soon end, but that will not spell the end of humankind, not by a long shot. Armageddon is a wrong fantasy, and is not worthy of our fear or our desire. It is counter productive to anticipate our self-destruction. Rather we must focus on our great potential, and always strive to reach forward and meet that potential, with all our being.
My catch phrases are "optimist who doesn't believe in progress" and "God doesn't care but it's all right."
"We are the local embodiment of a Cosmos grown to self- awareness. We have begun to contemplate our Origins: starstuff pondering the stars; organized assemblages of ten billion billions billion atoms considering the evolution of atoms; tracing the long journey by which, here at least, consciousness arouse.
Our loyalties are to the species and the planet. We speak for Earth. Our obligation to survive is owed not just to ourselves but also to that Cosmos, ancient & vast , from which we spring . . ."
- Carl Sagan in Cosmos
Carl said it best. While I may not have agreed with all his thoughts, I do find myself resonating with most, and certainly these richly thought provoking words. Our continued survival is in deed an obligation to the Cosmos, which gave us birth. If you think that a naïve perspective, then so be it, I'll gladly be naïve.