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The playing field is tilted—in our favor!
If we take a long view of human civilization and history, it is hard not to be impressed by how far we have come. Sure, we could always do more, and yes, I’m as impatient as you for the next steps forward. But it doesn’t hurt once in a while to pat ourselves on our collective backs for what we’ve accomplished over the last few thousand years.
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COMMENTS
Posted by Bryce on 05/19 at 08:31 AM
I liked that poem. I, too, have a comment on it, and am curious about your comment:
"The universe as a whole may or not be unfolding as it should (I rather think it is unfolding as it must)"
That was a thought-provoking comment. I'm curious what the difference is between 'should' and 'must' in this context.
"You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;"
That sounds a little unusual to me. It's like saying, "A Rolls Royce is a car no less than a Matchbox car."
Posted by Mike Treder on 05/19 at 08:46 AM
To me, the word 'should' implies a human moral judgment, as if there is a *right* and a *wrong* way for the universe to unfold. My assumption is that the laws of physics are the only constraints that apply, and since they are fundamental, the universe must follow them. Nothing resembling choice or design is involved.
Posted by Bryce on 05/19 at 11:15 AM
Oh, I see, thanks. I guess I was confused why the universe "must" yield stars and trees and people. I was connecting that line of the poem with the verse before it, but you were apparently treating it independently. OK, got it.
"We invented philosophy and used it to make logical sense of our place in the universe. "
Perhaps you mean to say we TRIED to use it.
It seems to me that the vast majority of the world's philosophies would make ILLogical sense of our (ie. humans') place in the universe. Very, very few people go with Carl Sagan's quote, "Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people. "
Posted by Frank on 05/20 at 08:00 AM
Maybe the playing field isn't level because a fair percentage of Conservatives are actually PRO- progressivism and human rights.
Posted by Frank on 05/20 at 09:34 AM
"For this we should be grateful, but never complacent."
You probably meant this statement to apply to Conservatives, who "must inevitably continue losing ground. " However, one could also apply it to the efforts of Conservatives "nearly all of whom are genuinely and understandably motivated to avoid sudden jolts that might cause more harm than help."
Posted by Jim Wilday on 08/07 at 12:09 PM
While I believe a lot of what you've said is accurate, and I too am amazed at how far we've come, working in a leading telecommunication organization namely AT&T as a fiber network planner, however given the vastness of the "known Universe" and the complexity of ballance in support of life as we know it here on planet Earth and the varity of life forms we see around us I see it as a finger being pointed to something far greater and far more creative than ourselves. I expect we'd be foolish and quite blind if we ignored that fact while merely patting our collective selves on the back, and wallowing in the greatness of our creativity, exciting as it is. Ever feel like you've been born into a play or movie that is half over, and want to know how the story began and how it will end? Intrested? Let's discuss it further.
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