No matter where you look, there seems to be an uprising in progress. Poverty, social injustices, crime, ignorance, prejudice…it’s all developing into a stark picture that society is breaking down because it’s stopped evolving. Much like a child spoilt rotten, some people are inflicting injustices simply because they can. While others are fighting back because they have to establish equilibrium. Thank goodness there is still much beauty evident in the creative world, a world that’s actively created by human hopes and dreams. Maybe this world will finally wake us up to the human part of the equation.
Which brings up the question: Who made the decision that humans are superfluous? Man’s accomplishments are evident in both concept and reality. We have great structures that were made by man, but these structures only have meaning because they were built for higher purposes. And these purposes come from the intangible. The tangible only has power because someone in the distant past said that it was to be so. Who was that very first person who started this whole fascination with tangible wealth? Who was this person who chose to denigrate humanity and lead us down this path towards self destruction? Of course, it’s quite simple to use economics to dictate the importance of a commodity. But to assume that people can be relegated to the commodity column is to ignore the substantial intangible contributions that might not reflect in the here and now, but are relevant in the growth of man as a species over time. Just look at the world of antiquity – those outside and uncared have disappeared into the sands of time, while those revered survive in the annals of history. Time has a way of making us see that which is truly important.
Perhaps man’s crowning achievement is that we’re getting to know the space around us. Whether it’s outer or inner space, our explorations have brought us knowledge we would never have if we’d listened to the economists. With economics, we’re only seeing a narrow view of the world around us. Tangible profits are finite in terms of time. Corporations come, and corporations go. But with humanity, we open our eyes to the intangible world that brings about pure knowledge. Knowledge is infinite, and helps bring about many things including profit. That’s the strength of humanity: our never-ending quest for knowledge. It can be used for both good and bad, and our evolution will show whether we’ve learned how to use knowledge properly as observed through the testaments of time.
Fritz Lang’s Metropolis is probably one of the best movies ever made that captures the dilemma of today’s society. There will be those who choose not see these types of creations as something worthwhile to our evolution. They will only see the fantastical story without understanding the underlying cautionary tale. But this tale has been told over and over through the rise and fall of many civilizations: Egypt, Rome, Incas, Aztecs, Mayans, and so many more. All of these civilizations lost touch with the importance of the human equation, and paid the ultimate price. Will we be next, or will we wake up in time?
The true civilization is where every man gives to every other every right that he claims for himself.
– Robert Ingersoll.
