There Are No Original Ideas
There are just good ideas that have not penetrated main stream thought, even if they are over 100 years old!
Darwin and Havel’s Unified Planet Theory - Dot Earth Blog - NYTimes.com
Not surprisingly, someone of Darwin's genius had already fleshed out the concept that I "attributed" to Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek. Not that I necessarily thought that Gene had originated the concept per se, but I just thought that he presented it in such a compelling way. Although the first time I saw it specifically talked about was in First Contact, at which point Gene had already died. Kudos to Chris Berman et al for carrying on that part (the most important one IMO) of Gene's legacy and being specific about how the "era of peace" was initiated.
I still think that inherent personality traits will prevent humans from coming together in such a way (barring an alien encounter!). I think the bellicosity inherent in much of the political right wing is driven by personality. And I expect that this is a genetic legacy of evolution. After all, the people who were always on the lookout for enemies and were willing to destroy them were likely the ones that were most successful in reproducing. That means for most of our evolution, the most bellicose people were selected for. That is a scary thought. It also occurred to me while watching the macho truck commercials on TV the other night that the US in particular seems to have such a macho culture. It is different than the macho culture of Latin America, which is often about saving face. And I thought, well, that also makes some sense when viewed through the lens of evolution (and given I have been watching a lot of Kung Fu lately). After all, if you think about the type of people who settled the US and especially the west, they are likely to have been macho, take-no-prisoners types. Before the rule of law, the tough ruled, and were therefore likely to also have been selected for. Women would have been more likely to choose a tough man to protect them, etc.
What all this comes around to, which is certainly also not an original thought, is that as long as violence is the bottom line for settling conflict, and there are people who are always expecting and looking for conflict, we won't be able to have a peaceful and prosperous world. As long as terrorists can prevent peace talks in Israel from moving forward by blowing up a building, it will be impossible to coexist peacefully. Which brings me to the bumper stickers I have been seeing lately that say COEXIST, with various symbols for religions incorporated into them. And that is it really - we have to find a way to coexist with other people without resorting to violence to settle disagreements, and the resulting desire for vengeance that keeps the cycle going. As Master Po so memorably says, "Vengeance is a water vessel with a hole. It carries nothing but the promise of emptiness." How did a couple of Jewish American white guys come up with all that Eastern wisdom on that show? Who knows - that is a topic for another time. So how do we do achieve the goal of non-violence? I think the compassion of Buddhism is a good start - if one is compassionate towards others, it becomes easier to understand them, and harder to hurt them. Something to think about and work towards on this election day.
Darwin and Havel’s Unified Planet Theory - Dot Earth Blog - NYTimes.com
Not surprisingly, someone of Darwin's genius had already fleshed out the concept that I "attributed" to Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek. Not that I necessarily thought that Gene had originated the concept per se, but I just thought that he presented it in such a compelling way. Although the first time I saw it specifically talked about was in First Contact, at which point Gene had already died. Kudos to Chris Berman et al for carrying on that part (the most important one IMO) of Gene's legacy and being specific about how the "era of peace" was initiated.
I still think that inherent personality traits will prevent humans from coming together in such a way (barring an alien encounter!). I think the bellicosity inherent in much of the political right wing is driven by personality. And I expect that this is a genetic legacy of evolution. After all, the people who were always on the lookout for enemies and were willing to destroy them were likely the ones that were most successful in reproducing. That means for most of our evolution, the most bellicose people were selected for. That is a scary thought. It also occurred to me while watching the macho truck commercials on TV the other night that the US in particular seems to have such a macho culture. It is different than the macho culture of Latin America, which is often about saving face. And I thought, well, that also makes some sense when viewed through the lens of evolution (and given I have been watching a lot of Kung Fu lately). After all, if you think about the type of people who settled the US and especially the west, they are likely to have been macho, take-no-prisoners types. Before the rule of law, the tough ruled, and were therefore likely to also have been selected for. Women would have been more likely to choose a tough man to protect them, etc.
What all this comes around to, which is certainly also not an original thought, is that as long as violence is the bottom line for settling conflict, and there are people who are always expecting and looking for conflict, we won't be able to have a peaceful and prosperous world. As long as terrorists can prevent peace talks in Israel from moving forward by blowing up a building, it will be impossible to coexist peacefully. Which brings me to the bumper stickers I have been seeing lately that say COEXIST, with various symbols for religions incorporated into them. And that is it really - we have to find a way to coexist with other people without resorting to violence to settle disagreements, and the resulting desire for vengeance that keeps the cycle going. As Master Po so memorably says, "Vengeance is a water vessel with a hole. It carries nothing but the promise of emptiness." How did a couple of Jewish American white guys come up with all that Eastern wisdom on that show? Who knows - that is a topic for another time. So how do we do achieve the goal of non-violence? I think the compassion of Buddhism is a good start - if one is compassionate towards others, it becomes easier to understand them, and harder to hurt them. Something to think about and work towards on this election day.
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