“The potential to make
yourself a better man…that is what it is to be Human…to make yourself more than
you are.” – Jean-Luc Picard, 2379 (Star Trek Nemesis)
Gene Rodenberry, the creator of Star Trek had an idyllic
vision of the future. Currency, as we know it today, doesn’t exist. But neither
does poverty, or war… amongst humanity anyway. The human race has achieved
higher sensibilities and is using their technological advances to gain more
knowledge and make more of themselves.
The real world kind of sucks, though. Those that listen to
the news are privy to the raging fire that is the modern world. Those that don’t
listen to the news…I don’t blame you. The war in Syria, the impact of the NSA
leaks, the bi-partisan debacle in D.C., the unfortunate radicalism in terrorist
cells and how they affect the public image of an otherwise beautiful religion,
and a whole lot more. It’s a mess.
But you know what? We should take issue with claims about
the world being worse off today than it ever was before. Or those that blame
the modern generations for being worse than previous generations. I understand
why people could draw that conclusion with all the muck and mire being broadcast.
But it’s just not accurate.
We tend to place more importance on negative things we hear
in the NEWS. That’s because the human brain is wired to place emphasis on
negative things over positive. It makes sense when you think about it. It’s the
negative stuff that can get us killed in nature. It takes serious discipline to
consider the positive in life.
I’m not advocating that everyone smiles all the time and
becomes overly optimistic to the point of denial. But it is important that we
pay attention to the things that happen in the world that bring us a step
closer to the Gene Rodenberry’s vision of the future. We should embrace
progressive people and the ideas and technologies they innovate. In turn, we
should consider what our contribution will be.
Most importantly, we should all introspect and think of ways
to make ourselves better people as individuals. Peaceful globalization is the
responsibility of every human who lives in the global community. As the weeks,
months and years go on, we will converse in more detail about this sort of
thing.
Now for a little transparency about Rita and me: I’ve been
kind of bummed for the last couple of weeks because I have these feelings of
activism but I haven’t been acting on them (ironically). After some
consideration, we decided it would be good for us, and other people if we
volunteered at the Peace Corps.
It will be a while before that pans out, but
our hope is that it will give us a chance to help a slice of humanity hands on,
while helping ourselves to experience and gain knowledge about different
cultures. During our time in the Peace Corps we intend to keep
blogging, making coffee and changing the world (with your help).
Thank you,
Daniel
