Helen & Harry Highwater's cranky weblog of news and opinion.
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"News that's not known, or not known enough." Helen & Harry Highwater's cranky weblog of news and opinion. Available in weekly or daily dosage. |
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A rough millennium for the mentally lazy by Herb Ruhs, MD Monday, August 11, 2008 PERMANENT LINK Re Back along the trail by Herb Ruhs, MD I remain convinced that the fundamental political issue is what people BELIEVE human nature to be. Simplistic visions melt in the face of the mass of complex and often contradictory evidence provided by archeology and evolutionary biology and hopefully are replaced by a more mature,
It has been a rough millennium for the mentally lazy. Forced to accept that Earth wasn't even the center of the Universe, much less the center of the solar system; Forced to accept that internal mental processes condition what we experience as "objective reality"; Forced to abandon ideas of racial superiority (big rearguard action there): And now thinking people are forced to give up the idea of that special covenant with God that we believed placed us in the position to dominate and endlessly exploit the Earth and all its life. Of course, the non-thinking majority seems hell-bent on ignoring this new truth and proceeding with its self destructive orgy of mass consumption of resources and destruction of the very life support system of the planet. If we do make it through the current mess it will be because a sufficient number of people came to accept the diminished and more objectively understood role of man in the dance of life, just as a sufficient number of people came to accept that Earth was not the center of the Universe. The good news and the bad news is that we, or at least our children, are likely to be around to witness the outcome. We may yet achieve universal salvation from ourselves. Herb Ruhs, MD My own time is dwindling, and with a little good luck I won't be around to see the outcome of this unfolding choice. Which is really just as well. I try hard to share your optimism, Doc, to believe that we the people will make the right choice, maybe learn to do the dance of life with our feet and bodies instead of with weapons of mass destruction... but even if humanity surprises me and makes the intelligent decision to survive, the transition period will be a lot of hard work, and I'm tuckered already, aren't you? Helen & Harry In body yes, in soul no. Maybe part of the difference is that I learned to laugh at the odds at an early age. After all, the odds said I would be in prison, dead or maybe worse. I have so much experience "beating the odds" that I don't take them seriously. To me what can be is much more important that what is likely to be. But I don't consider myself an optimist, by the way. Optimists miss out on all the pleasant surprises. Readers interested in the Ivins drama should be directed to blog of Meryl Nass at http://anthraxvaccine.blogspot.com/2008/08/beyond-reasonable-doubt.html. I also recommend Glen Greenwald's work on Salon.com. Herb Ruhs, MD  |
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