The Sky is NOT falling
The sky is NOT falling
I know things are bad. I know things look to be getting worse. We have a quagmire of a pre-emptive illegal war, we have politicians playing "Let's Make a Deal" with the corporate powers-that-be, deliberately and consciously screwing the average American. We have global warming. We have Diebold. We have a complicit press and a complacent public. We've got a looming depression most of the country can't even see coming. We've got a ballooning deficit and rampant corruption in congress.
It's bad. It's getting worse.
How bad will it get? I'm not sure. But I do know that hopelessness and despair are going to get us precisely nowhere. The end of the world is not upon us. I won't even bet that the end of civilization is upon us. Maybe the end of American ascendency is, but hell, I'm not so sure that's a bad thing. One of the Earth's oldest empires is about to step into our place, and, if one sets aside their horrendous human rights record, they might actually be a bit wiser with regards to how they handle things. At least China isn't tied down by Bronze Age ideology. A significant number of China's population isn't just phoning it in waiting for the End Times.I grow weary of the hopelessness. I really do. Damn near everything we're seeing has been foretold at one point or another. Maybe nothing really shocks me because I'm a sci-fi fan. I've seen it all, or near enough that the difference is pretty meaningless. The controversy over cloning came as no surprise. Now it's animal hybrids.
Been there, done that.
The most ridiculous thing is that we probably stand on the brink (within twenty years or so) of some pretty incredible scientific breakthroughs...things that could well make the past hundred years or so look remarkably like the dark ages. The survival of the human race, and of many of the Earth's creatures, can be assured if we simply take the steps to make it so. It would require the end of bombing the crap out of one another, more than likely. We can't afford to waste so many of our resources engaging in petty squabbles when our whole existence is on the line.
One of our biggest problems in this country is the absurd level of influence the Rapturians have...people who believe the end of the world is just around the corner and therefore none of this matters. They are, in my opinion, not very different ideologically from the suicide bomber. It's all a matter of scale. A bomber kills X innocent bystanders. The Rapturites are trying to take ALL of us with them.The future is coming whether we like it or not. Hiding from it isn't an option. Denying it even less of one. The future might not be what we'd like it to be, but it could well be a place of wonder anyway. But maybe we should make certain our children and grandchildren learn Mandarin. It will probably be very useful in the future.
I refuse to believe the sky is falling. Sure, it's a little shaky, but it's held up this long...why not a little longer?What more can I say?
When hope's all you got left, it's the one thing worth having.
I know things are bad. I know things look to be getting worse. We have a quagmire of a pre-emptive illegal war, we have politicians playing "Let's Make a Deal" with the corporate powers-that-be, deliberately and consciously screwing the average American. We have global warming. We have Diebold. We have a complicit press and a complacent public. We've got a looming depression most of the country can't even see coming. We've got a ballooning deficit and rampant corruption in congress.
It's bad. It's getting worse.
How bad will it get? I'm not sure. But I do know that hopelessness and despair are going to get us precisely nowhere. The end of the world is not upon us. I won't even bet that the end of civilization is upon us. Maybe the end of American ascendency is, but hell, I'm not so sure that's a bad thing. One of the Earth's oldest empires is about to step into our place, and, if one sets aside their horrendous human rights record, they might actually be a bit wiser with regards to how they handle things. At least China isn't tied down by Bronze Age ideology. A significant number of China's population isn't just phoning it in waiting for the End Times.I grow weary of the hopelessness. I really do. Damn near everything we're seeing has been foretold at one point or another. Maybe nothing really shocks me because I'm a sci-fi fan. I've seen it all, or near enough that the difference is pretty meaningless. The controversy over cloning came as no surprise. Now it's animal hybrids.
Been there, done that.
The most ridiculous thing is that we probably stand on the brink (within twenty years or so) of some pretty incredible scientific breakthroughs...things that could well make the past hundred years or so look remarkably like the dark ages. The survival of the human race, and of many of the Earth's creatures, can be assured if we simply take the steps to make it so. It would require the end of bombing the crap out of one another, more than likely. We can't afford to waste so many of our resources engaging in petty squabbles when our whole existence is on the line.
One of our biggest problems in this country is the absurd level of influence the Rapturians have...people who believe the end of the world is just around the corner and therefore none of this matters. They are, in my opinion, not very different ideologically from the suicide bomber. It's all a matter of scale. A bomber kills X innocent bystanders. The Rapturites are trying to take ALL of us with them.The future is coming whether we like it or not. Hiding from it isn't an option. Denying it even less of one. The future might not be what we'd like it to be, but it could well be a place of wonder anyway. But maybe we should make certain our children and grandchildren learn Mandarin. It will probably be very useful in the future.
I refuse to believe the sky is falling. Sure, it's a little shaky, but it's held up this long...why not a little longer?What more can I say?
When hope's all you got left, it's the one thing worth having.
posted by Saje Williams at 10:42 AM
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