Moving Forward?
Yes, we are all passengers on the same vessel, moving forward in time and space moving at 67,000 miles per hour.
The Circumference of Earth was calculated over 3000 Years Ago.
The Ancient Egyptians calculated the earth’s circumference between 3750-1500 BC: They determined this by the comparison of the shadow cast from an object on the summer solstice noon and compared the different shadows of two distant locations.
There is evidence that at the time of Columbus, in 1492 Spain, some less educated people actually believed the world was flat and that a boat sailing west would eventually fall off the face of the Earth. Is it possible civilization does not necessarily always advance “forward”? Cultures have progressed and declined throughout history.
Today, as a society, we have reached a paramount point in history. The technology – information – abundance – convenience we have today is beyond description, at least for this essay. The poorest in this country today live infinitely better than the wealthiest of 200 years ago.
The question arises; where do we go from here? When we step back and look at the big picture things become clearer. Yes the earth is spinning and moving forward, and somehow we are here living on it. In that light, we could focus on going forward together with a common goal. Conversely, we could be like the doubters of late 15th century Spain or adversaries of Nicolaus Copernicus, afraid to acknowledge that the Earth actually is not the center of the Universe. Bickering, contentious, and in a hurry to go nowhere.
The power of words
When I look around at our culture I see division and anger, fear and depression. Demonstrations and the peddling of hatred from leaders and the media are becoming commonplace. Adolf Hitler never used a gun, yet the consequences of his words, all told, caused sixty million deaths. While free speech is tantamount to breathing. Common sense should prevail. It is the listener who needs to walk away or change the channel. The public has the power to vote each and every day by our decisions. The things we buy, what we hear or who we choose as friends are a ballot. Those who spew animosity have no power without an audience.
Cultural diversity
We are the actually in the best place and time in all of human history. In proportion to the population, which is approaching 8 billion, at the time of this writing, there is less conflict than at anytime in history. Never before has this many people from this many different cultures lived in more congested urban areas together, and for the most part quite peacefully. The New York City subway system is actually a marvel of cultural harmony.
Gratitude
We have more of everything, particularly things that make life easier and better. Things that could never have been imagined 100 year ago. Many fail to realize the quality of their lives on so many levels. Do we garner the amount of bloodshed our ancestors spilled for our freedoms, for our privileged and comfortable lives enjoyed at at this time?
The rock band Jethro Tull had a song called “Living in the past”. There was one verse in the lyrics that stands out distinctly: “Now there’s revolution, but they don’t know what their fighting”.
Forward wing is only as strong as the participants. In this light, I offer 3 questions to ponder;
Do you believe at this point in time our society is going forward, building on past accomplishments or are we at this point digressing, engrossed in petty self serving nonsense?
How would you define going forward?
Where do we go from here?
