Earthseed

In my darkest moments I believe we as a species cannot pull ourselves out of our tightly closed circles of pettiness and egoism and lack of forethought. What little bit of conscious thought and reason and sensitivity we have managed to amass are weighed down by mountains of other evolutionary baggage, and so the circles will just go on, repeating each other in tighter or looser versions of themselves, until finally some circumstance or other will put an end to our species, be it by extinction or, in the best case scenario, by turning us into something else.

There is always this last ray of light to hope for, which is only such if we somehow could manage to direct the direction of our change. Perhaps if our strengths alone are not enough to carry us where we want to go in the long run, maybe we can use our weaknesses, too.

One such weakness is our vulnerability to doctrine, be it religious or political. I think our tendency to fall under its spell is indeed biologically dictated, hearkening back to either the blind obedience due to alpha males when we used to run around in packs on the savanna, or to the time when mind was born, alone and frightened and without any explanation in the face of an incredibly complex and immense universe.

Throughout history we have certainly demonstrated over and over again that we are capable of believing our doctrines to ridiculous extremes, even in the face of the most contradictory evidence. We lack flexibility. We prefer to follow recipes rather than think on our own.

Mind is not very strong in us, yet.

Anyway. All these preoccupations are kind of an eco of what Octavia Butler expressed through her novels "Parable of the Sower". If we could somehow secure incorruptible leaders, who were at the same time flexible enough to seize opportunity, and they promoted a doctrine of kindness and security for all, guided by adaptability and respect for nature... If we could get people to believe in these philosophies with religious fervor, then maybe we'd have a chance, I think in these dark times of mine.

BUT NO. I know the solution does not lay there. More and more of us are learning to reason and think. We have to work for that, to make sure we can work and cooperate with each other not out of unquestionable dogma, but because we try to figure what is best for us and for each other at each different time, and because we care, because we can see ourselves in one another.

kindness, security, adaptability