SHARK
08-25-2007, 11:00 PM
Greetings!
This is a book review that I did for the book, "Staying Human in an Engineered Age" by Bill McKibben. Have you read the book? How did you like it? What do you think of:
(1) My review
(2) "Staying Human in an Engineered Age" By Bill McKibben
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
Book Review: Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age
Book Review Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age
By SHARK
Bill McKibben writes in his book, Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age, an analysis of the crisis humanity faces in a genetically-engineered, cyborg age. The spectre of genetically engineered humans poses a serious threat to what it means to be human. Science and technology is proceeding at a breakneck pace towards a “transhuman” age, essentially engineering super-humans, and creating a demarcation where natural humans, are at the end of the day, obsolete. If the foreseen shadows of these dynamics become reality, the entire human race will cross over a Rubicon of transformation, forever altering the human experience beyond all recognition, and beyond retrieval or recovery.
McKibben explains some of the essential terminology that is necessary to understand the argument, the processes developing, so that a foundation to understanding what is really going on can be properly framed and understood. Two salient concepts are that of “Somatic” gene therapy, and “Germline” genetic engineering. McKibben explains that “Somatic gene therapy is, in other words, much like medicine. You take an existing patient with an existing condition, and you in essence try to convince her cells to manufacture the medicine she needs. Such a therapy doesn’t attempt to change every cell in her body, just the specific type of cells that would be transplanted.”[1] The advantages gained through such somatic gene therapy is generally obvious. Such changes made are individualistic, and therefore isolated. Such elements are controllable, and ultimately limited in their scope, and effects. “Germline” genetic engineering, McKibben explains, is altogether very different. McKibben says that “’Germline’” genetic engineering (and that is the other technical term), on the other hand, is something very novel indeed. “Germ” here refers not to microbes, but to the egg and sperm cells, the “germ” cells of the human being, the basic cells from which we “germinate.”[2] The process involves taking apart cells, and adding artificial chromosomes from other sources, such as plants, animals, or other people, and reconstituting the cells, and implanting them inside the embryo, and then placing it within the woman to grow an entirely genetically-engineered human being. Once born, such a genetically-engineered human being could then reproduce, and pass on such genetically-engineered traits to all future offspring.
Genetic engineering offers some positive developments, however dangerous the implications may be. McKibben notes that “Genetic science may soon offer human beings, among many other things, the power to bless their offspring with a vastly improved engine. For instance, scientists may find ways to dramatically increase the amount of oxygen that blood can carry. When that happens, we will, though not quite as Isaiah envisioned, be able to run and not grow weary.”[3] Somatic gene therapy may allow dangerous genetic diseases to be mitigated against, and other tailored solutions to genetic problems may prove invaluable, and very useful.
McKibben discusses the looming threat in detail, and provides a glimpse of the genetic abyss that human society is moving towards. McKibben explains that “Eventually, says Mary Walker, of IBM’s home automation division, “smart ID” chips will be implanted inside you. Then, “your body temperature might give your stereo system cues as to your mood and it would select appropriate music”; the chip could also “compute how much of your body weight is fat, and offer suggestions for diet recipes to the refrigerator.”[4] Developments such as these would be genetically encoded, and a new transhuman would be developed. Such transhumans would serve as a new level of existence, and form a new “master race” that would be entirely genetically engineered with a host of new chromosomes and genetic additions that would change all humanity, and redefine what it means to be human. These developments would not only have social implications, but also pose profound religious and philosophical challenges to the human identity, and human consciousness.
The new race of transhumans would alter human society forever, not merely socially or politically, but at a sweeping genetic level that would distinguish the race of transhumans from natural, unmodified humans in dramatic ways. McKibben describes these developments in grim terms: “The first child whose genes come at least in part from some corporate lab, the first child who has been “enhanced” from what came before—that’s the first child who will glance back over his shoulder and see a gap between himself and human history.”[5] From such a precipice, there will be no recovery. All unmodified humans, all humans not born from a genetically enhanced pool, would be clearly inferior, and serve as a embarrassment and a hindrance to continued human progress, on a mass, racial scale. McKibben continues with a sobering commentary, explaining that “But here’s the really awful part: he won’t be able to look forward, either. He won’t be able to imagine himself connected with those who will come after him. Because, of course, by then there will be better upgrades. They’ll be Windows 2050 to his Atari. He’ll be marooned forever on his own small island, as will all who follow him.”[6] Paul Virilio discusses the dynamics of speed that technology impresses upon society in his book, Crepuscular Dawn, wherein the dizzying advancements and the momentum of technological change exerts upon society at a faster pace than human beings can fully grasp, or respond to. Virilio’s themes of technology, speed, and the effects of such changes upon human society flow into McKibben’s discussions, and highlight the diverse strands of change working at undreamed of velocity to transform society, and plunge humanity into an abyss.
Genetically-engineered transhumans pose a tantalizing technological frontier that has many patrons and supporters, from industry, to academia, to the military and scientific community. Chris Hables Gray details in his work, Peace, War and Computers--the rapid revolution taking place within the halls and laboratories of the military-industrial complex aimed at increasing the process of blending robotics, technology—and genetic engineering—to enhance the military, as well as keeping an eye on the ongoing research in developing a genetically-engineered, robotically-enhanced “super-soldier”, armed with revolutionary new weaponry, and equipped with stunning new equipment that will provide the United States, and other allied industrial nations, with an unassailable and permanent military dominance over any and all enemies, anywhere on the planet.
In the United States, political leadership—from both parties--Democrats and Republicans—is so mute and oblivious to the problems presented by the Long Emergency that the silence is deafening. McKibben discusses the vital need for clear leadership, open and aggressive discussions, and tough, united decisions by political, economic, and medical leadership, but laments that “But those decisions will only emerge if people understand this time for what it is: the moment when we stand precariously on the sharp ridge between human past and posthuman future, the moment when meaning might evaporate in a tangle of genes or chips. As we’ve seen, human meaning turns out to be fragile—we can either pile sandbags around it to keep it safe, or watch it wash away.”[7]
McKibben discusses the theories and world-views of various futurists, technocrats, and others that hold the view that humans are flawed and in need of being genetically engineered, and the sooner, the better, for such is humanity’s only salvation from total and pervasive disaster. McKibben explores such implications of these theorists’ ideology with “That humans still believe in something “mystical” is an anachronism, these prophets say, one that will fade as we turn these new discoveries into technologies. “Who will need an eternal life-giving God when eternal life is available by alternative and real means?” Eve and Prometheus and Pandora all shrank the domain of the gods—and now we shall do so again, finally, permanently. Whom would you worship as your creator if your genes came from Pfizer? If your daily bread came straight from a magic nanobox? If you had been programmed? Eventually, like all other meanings, religion would wither away. That’s a lot of human legacy to dispense with, but we might well do it.”[8]
McKibben discusses the problems with genetic-engineering, and the growing danger in stark, grim terms, though without sounding alarmist, or prone to conspiracy theories. Still, McKibben attempts at maintaining hope, and explains that “To put it bluntly, the fight to ward off a posthuman future begins with at least a muted celebration of the human present.”[9] This keystone element to philosophy is salient to countering the ideology of the technocrats, but McKibben maintains hopefully, though soberly, that “These new technologies are not yet inevitable. But if they blossom fully into being, freedom may irrevocably perish. This is a fight not only for the meaning of our individual lives, but for the meaning of our life together.”[10]
McKibben’s book, Enough: Staying Human In an Engineered Age, echoes the themes discussed by Chris Hables Gray, Paul Virilio, and others, in painting a vivid picture of the forces shaping human society in the twenty-first century, and beyond. McKibben insists that to start with, we must proclaim human life in the world as essentially good, and be content with our own natural being and capacities, in all of our diversity.[11] Even in our flaws, there is a wondrous strength, resiliency, and beauty. For us to seek to impose an artificial, genetically-engineered template is morally wrong, and potentially disastrous, from a variety of social and biological angles. Our current efforts and programs of genetically engineering animals and foods, from cows to corn, threatens a biological diversity, from which there may also be no recovery. Even now, we have rabbits that glow in the dark, and rainbow-coloured pigs, from pastel yellows and greens, to blues and purple.[12] Biologists and scientists are processing new forms of hormone-pumped corn, tomatoes that grow year-round, and Sunkist oranges with inherent vitamin injections, and genetically-engineered Sunkist logos imbedded within the orange peel itself.[13]
The velocity at which these various developments are moving, and gathering momentum, may in reality take on a life of their own, herding humanity forward, not toward a brighter, more healthy and happy future, but rather, plunge all of us into a genetic “Oubliette”. Humanity can only socially organize, and psychologically digest, processes of change in limited doses, and through the passage of time. Psychologists have already noted how the rise in neurosis and psychological disorders have increased throughout the population, as anomie increases amongst people unable to cope effectively with the hectic pace of change. The political and ideological trends favouring a genetically-engineered “Trans-Human” and the celebratory, even elitist, attitudes of many futurists and scientists, should be alarming and disturbing to everyone. Whence did we become so comfortable with such attitudes? Curiously, when Nazi Germany embraced such diabolical, mechanistic and utopian attitudes about “super-humans,” and an elite, “master race” destined to rule and reign over the sweating, unwashed masses of humanity that were essentially seen as a polyglot slave-race, fit only for servitude, labour and breeding stock, most of society, especially in the United States, was rightfully horrified, and disgusted. How far we have come since then! Now, increasingly, Americans and others eagerly await access to genetic procedures and technologies to tailor-make their children while still in the embryo, to alter them with various eye-colours, genetic tendencies, and mental attributes. The age of catalogue-children has arrived. Instead of outrage, or sober, reservation, we greet such developments with excitement and glee. The needs of the “National Security State”—increasingly embracing robotics, advanced technology, socio-psychological training, and genetic-engineering, all escalate through the demands for an ever-elusive superiority in the effort to maintain empire and global, full-spectrum dominance. New super-weapons, the increasing militarization of space, and continued research and development of awesome chemical and biological weapons threatens the global safety and preservation of the human race. Some scientists have discussed developing biological weaponry, of creating custom-designed plagues and viruses that would target and annihilate entire populations. The cyborg age is upon us.
The study of history may offer some illumination, as sobering as it may be. History is essentially the study of human nature, through cultures, places, and time. Over 5,000 years of recorded human history demonstrates many reliable and predictable trends and modes of behaviour, that, despite changing technology and other material advancements, resist change. From childhood, one may often remember the mother or father warning the child not to touch the hot stove, and yet, so often—the child insists on stretching forth their hand, fingers outstretched, to touch the glowing coil or the smooth surface, only to howl in pain as the burned skin blisters as a result. Such a lesson is seared into the child’s mind, and the lesson is learned, but at a cost. This simple childhood truth is so often played out on the world stage of supposed “adults” with other issues, often clear when seen with a bit of study and careful thought, and yet—so often, tens of thousands, or millions of people have to pay the price through death, poverty, or other miseries suffered by the foolishness of the people’s leaders. Individually, as well as collectively, humans as adults, often remain child-like in their foolishness and stubbornness, and suffer by the results. Psychologists and motivational speakers alike often maintain that it is failure, and not success, that is the best teacher. History, psychology, anthropology, and politics—all add up the sobering evidence that mankind must usually learn everything the hard way. With the new challenges and lessons to be learned confronting human society in the twenty-first century, the likelihood of us as a group somehow becoming instantly wise and enlightened, and rising to the occasion to change the trajectory of our global journey seems quite dim. No wonder that so much of humanity, especially in the United States, increasingly resembles the hedonistic mob of ancient Rome, clamouring for bread, wine, and games—hedonistic pursuits to gulp down what joy can be gained in the here and now, because there is no tomorrow. Like in ancient Rome, the common people had no control over their tomorrows, any more than common people have control over such today. In ancient Rome, the powerful generals, the emperor, and the wealthy merchants and elite members of the Senate controlled the wealth and power, and bent the focus and direction of Roman society to suit their goals, their aims, and their desires, with little thought for the common people, or even future generations. In today’s headlines and newspapers, we all know that the government, high society, the media, and the captains of industry, control the wealth, and wield the power—they control the destiny of the republic, and the same kinds of elites control the reigns of power in virtually all nations on earth in the same manner, even if the style or methods may differ, the result is the same. However, despite these sobering thoughts, like in the game of football, we can always hope that a select few, may be able to pull off a brilliant, inspiring, last-minute “Hail Mary” play that scores a winning touchdown, to win the game. Like the ancient king of the Spartans, King Leonidas, said to the overwhelming Persian soldiers surrounding him at the historic battle of Thermopolae, and demanding that he lay down his arms and surrender, King Leonidas scoffed heroically, and said “Molan Labe!”—“Come and get them!” It is with such strength and courage, and moral clarity, that we must face our future.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Bill McKibben, Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age, An Owl Book, New York. 2003. 9
[2] Ibid 10
[3] Ibid 3
[4] Ibid 121
[5] Ibid 64
[6] Ibid 65
[7] Ibid 198
[8] Ibid 205
[9] Ibid 113
[10] Ibid 199
[11] Ibid 109
[12] Dr. Edgar Kaskla, Professor of Political Science; Lecture, (paraphrased); Fall Semester 2006, California State University, Long Beach.
[13] Dr. Edgar Kaskla, Professor of Political Science; Lecture, (paraphrased); Fall Semester 2006, California State University, Long Beach
This is a book review that I did for the book, "Staying Human in an Engineered Age" by Bill McKibben. Have you read the book? How did you like it? What do you think of:
(1) My review
(2) "Staying Human in an Engineered Age" By Bill McKibben
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
Book Review: Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age
Book Review Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age
By SHARK
Bill McKibben writes in his book, Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age, an analysis of the crisis humanity faces in a genetically-engineered, cyborg age. The spectre of genetically engineered humans poses a serious threat to what it means to be human. Science and technology is proceeding at a breakneck pace towards a “transhuman” age, essentially engineering super-humans, and creating a demarcation where natural humans, are at the end of the day, obsolete. If the foreseen shadows of these dynamics become reality, the entire human race will cross over a Rubicon of transformation, forever altering the human experience beyond all recognition, and beyond retrieval or recovery.
McKibben explains some of the essential terminology that is necessary to understand the argument, the processes developing, so that a foundation to understanding what is really going on can be properly framed and understood. Two salient concepts are that of “Somatic” gene therapy, and “Germline” genetic engineering. McKibben explains that “Somatic gene therapy is, in other words, much like medicine. You take an existing patient with an existing condition, and you in essence try to convince her cells to manufacture the medicine she needs. Such a therapy doesn’t attempt to change every cell in her body, just the specific type of cells that would be transplanted.”[1] The advantages gained through such somatic gene therapy is generally obvious. Such changes made are individualistic, and therefore isolated. Such elements are controllable, and ultimately limited in their scope, and effects. “Germline” genetic engineering, McKibben explains, is altogether very different. McKibben says that “’Germline’” genetic engineering (and that is the other technical term), on the other hand, is something very novel indeed. “Germ” here refers not to microbes, but to the egg and sperm cells, the “germ” cells of the human being, the basic cells from which we “germinate.”[2] The process involves taking apart cells, and adding artificial chromosomes from other sources, such as plants, animals, or other people, and reconstituting the cells, and implanting them inside the embryo, and then placing it within the woman to grow an entirely genetically-engineered human being. Once born, such a genetically-engineered human being could then reproduce, and pass on such genetically-engineered traits to all future offspring.
Genetic engineering offers some positive developments, however dangerous the implications may be. McKibben notes that “Genetic science may soon offer human beings, among many other things, the power to bless their offspring with a vastly improved engine. For instance, scientists may find ways to dramatically increase the amount of oxygen that blood can carry. When that happens, we will, though not quite as Isaiah envisioned, be able to run and not grow weary.”[3] Somatic gene therapy may allow dangerous genetic diseases to be mitigated against, and other tailored solutions to genetic problems may prove invaluable, and very useful.
McKibben discusses the looming threat in detail, and provides a glimpse of the genetic abyss that human society is moving towards. McKibben explains that “Eventually, says Mary Walker, of IBM’s home automation division, “smart ID” chips will be implanted inside you. Then, “your body temperature might give your stereo system cues as to your mood and it would select appropriate music”; the chip could also “compute how much of your body weight is fat, and offer suggestions for diet recipes to the refrigerator.”[4] Developments such as these would be genetically encoded, and a new transhuman would be developed. Such transhumans would serve as a new level of existence, and form a new “master race” that would be entirely genetically engineered with a host of new chromosomes and genetic additions that would change all humanity, and redefine what it means to be human. These developments would not only have social implications, but also pose profound religious and philosophical challenges to the human identity, and human consciousness.
The new race of transhumans would alter human society forever, not merely socially or politically, but at a sweeping genetic level that would distinguish the race of transhumans from natural, unmodified humans in dramatic ways. McKibben describes these developments in grim terms: “The first child whose genes come at least in part from some corporate lab, the first child who has been “enhanced” from what came before—that’s the first child who will glance back over his shoulder and see a gap between himself and human history.”[5] From such a precipice, there will be no recovery. All unmodified humans, all humans not born from a genetically enhanced pool, would be clearly inferior, and serve as a embarrassment and a hindrance to continued human progress, on a mass, racial scale. McKibben continues with a sobering commentary, explaining that “But here’s the really awful part: he won’t be able to look forward, either. He won’t be able to imagine himself connected with those who will come after him. Because, of course, by then there will be better upgrades. They’ll be Windows 2050 to his Atari. He’ll be marooned forever on his own small island, as will all who follow him.”[6] Paul Virilio discusses the dynamics of speed that technology impresses upon society in his book, Crepuscular Dawn, wherein the dizzying advancements and the momentum of technological change exerts upon society at a faster pace than human beings can fully grasp, or respond to. Virilio’s themes of technology, speed, and the effects of such changes upon human society flow into McKibben’s discussions, and highlight the diverse strands of change working at undreamed of velocity to transform society, and plunge humanity into an abyss.
Genetically-engineered transhumans pose a tantalizing technological frontier that has many patrons and supporters, from industry, to academia, to the military and scientific community. Chris Hables Gray details in his work, Peace, War and Computers--the rapid revolution taking place within the halls and laboratories of the military-industrial complex aimed at increasing the process of blending robotics, technology—and genetic engineering—to enhance the military, as well as keeping an eye on the ongoing research in developing a genetically-engineered, robotically-enhanced “super-soldier”, armed with revolutionary new weaponry, and equipped with stunning new equipment that will provide the United States, and other allied industrial nations, with an unassailable and permanent military dominance over any and all enemies, anywhere on the planet.
In the United States, political leadership—from both parties--Democrats and Republicans—is so mute and oblivious to the problems presented by the Long Emergency that the silence is deafening. McKibben discusses the vital need for clear leadership, open and aggressive discussions, and tough, united decisions by political, economic, and medical leadership, but laments that “But those decisions will only emerge if people understand this time for what it is: the moment when we stand precariously on the sharp ridge between human past and posthuman future, the moment when meaning might evaporate in a tangle of genes or chips. As we’ve seen, human meaning turns out to be fragile—we can either pile sandbags around it to keep it safe, or watch it wash away.”[7]
McKibben discusses the theories and world-views of various futurists, technocrats, and others that hold the view that humans are flawed and in need of being genetically engineered, and the sooner, the better, for such is humanity’s only salvation from total and pervasive disaster. McKibben explores such implications of these theorists’ ideology with “That humans still believe in something “mystical” is an anachronism, these prophets say, one that will fade as we turn these new discoveries into technologies. “Who will need an eternal life-giving God when eternal life is available by alternative and real means?” Eve and Prometheus and Pandora all shrank the domain of the gods—and now we shall do so again, finally, permanently. Whom would you worship as your creator if your genes came from Pfizer? If your daily bread came straight from a magic nanobox? If you had been programmed? Eventually, like all other meanings, religion would wither away. That’s a lot of human legacy to dispense with, but we might well do it.”[8]
McKibben discusses the problems with genetic-engineering, and the growing danger in stark, grim terms, though without sounding alarmist, or prone to conspiracy theories. Still, McKibben attempts at maintaining hope, and explains that “To put it bluntly, the fight to ward off a posthuman future begins with at least a muted celebration of the human present.”[9] This keystone element to philosophy is salient to countering the ideology of the technocrats, but McKibben maintains hopefully, though soberly, that “These new technologies are not yet inevitable. But if they blossom fully into being, freedom may irrevocably perish. This is a fight not only for the meaning of our individual lives, but for the meaning of our life together.”[10]
McKibben’s book, Enough: Staying Human In an Engineered Age, echoes the themes discussed by Chris Hables Gray, Paul Virilio, and others, in painting a vivid picture of the forces shaping human society in the twenty-first century, and beyond. McKibben insists that to start with, we must proclaim human life in the world as essentially good, and be content with our own natural being and capacities, in all of our diversity.[11] Even in our flaws, there is a wondrous strength, resiliency, and beauty. For us to seek to impose an artificial, genetically-engineered template is morally wrong, and potentially disastrous, from a variety of social and biological angles. Our current efforts and programs of genetically engineering animals and foods, from cows to corn, threatens a biological diversity, from which there may also be no recovery. Even now, we have rabbits that glow in the dark, and rainbow-coloured pigs, from pastel yellows and greens, to blues and purple.[12] Biologists and scientists are processing new forms of hormone-pumped corn, tomatoes that grow year-round, and Sunkist oranges with inherent vitamin injections, and genetically-engineered Sunkist logos imbedded within the orange peel itself.[13]
The velocity at which these various developments are moving, and gathering momentum, may in reality take on a life of their own, herding humanity forward, not toward a brighter, more healthy and happy future, but rather, plunge all of us into a genetic “Oubliette”. Humanity can only socially organize, and psychologically digest, processes of change in limited doses, and through the passage of time. Psychologists have already noted how the rise in neurosis and psychological disorders have increased throughout the population, as anomie increases amongst people unable to cope effectively with the hectic pace of change. The political and ideological trends favouring a genetically-engineered “Trans-Human” and the celebratory, even elitist, attitudes of many futurists and scientists, should be alarming and disturbing to everyone. Whence did we become so comfortable with such attitudes? Curiously, when Nazi Germany embraced such diabolical, mechanistic and utopian attitudes about “super-humans,” and an elite, “master race” destined to rule and reign over the sweating, unwashed masses of humanity that were essentially seen as a polyglot slave-race, fit only for servitude, labour and breeding stock, most of society, especially in the United States, was rightfully horrified, and disgusted. How far we have come since then! Now, increasingly, Americans and others eagerly await access to genetic procedures and technologies to tailor-make their children while still in the embryo, to alter them with various eye-colours, genetic tendencies, and mental attributes. The age of catalogue-children has arrived. Instead of outrage, or sober, reservation, we greet such developments with excitement and glee. The needs of the “National Security State”—increasingly embracing robotics, advanced technology, socio-psychological training, and genetic-engineering, all escalate through the demands for an ever-elusive superiority in the effort to maintain empire and global, full-spectrum dominance. New super-weapons, the increasing militarization of space, and continued research and development of awesome chemical and biological weapons threatens the global safety and preservation of the human race. Some scientists have discussed developing biological weaponry, of creating custom-designed plagues and viruses that would target and annihilate entire populations. The cyborg age is upon us.
The study of history may offer some illumination, as sobering as it may be. History is essentially the study of human nature, through cultures, places, and time. Over 5,000 years of recorded human history demonstrates many reliable and predictable trends and modes of behaviour, that, despite changing technology and other material advancements, resist change. From childhood, one may often remember the mother or father warning the child not to touch the hot stove, and yet, so often—the child insists on stretching forth their hand, fingers outstretched, to touch the glowing coil or the smooth surface, only to howl in pain as the burned skin blisters as a result. Such a lesson is seared into the child’s mind, and the lesson is learned, but at a cost. This simple childhood truth is so often played out on the world stage of supposed “adults” with other issues, often clear when seen with a bit of study and careful thought, and yet—so often, tens of thousands, or millions of people have to pay the price through death, poverty, or other miseries suffered by the foolishness of the people’s leaders. Individually, as well as collectively, humans as adults, often remain child-like in their foolishness and stubbornness, and suffer by the results. Psychologists and motivational speakers alike often maintain that it is failure, and not success, that is the best teacher. History, psychology, anthropology, and politics—all add up the sobering evidence that mankind must usually learn everything the hard way. With the new challenges and lessons to be learned confronting human society in the twenty-first century, the likelihood of us as a group somehow becoming instantly wise and enlightened, and rising to the occasion to change the trajectory of our global journey seems quite dim. No wonder that so much of humanity, especially in the United States, increasingly resembles the hedonistic mob of ancient Rome, clamouring for bread, wine, and games—hedonistic pursuits to gulp down what joy can be gained in the here and now, because there is no tomorrow. Like in ancient Rome, the common people had no control over their tomorrows, any more than common people have control over such today. In ancient Rome, the powerful generals, the emperor, and the wealthy merchants and elite members of the Senate controlled the wealth and power, and bent the focus and direction of Roman society to suit their goals, their aims, and their desires, with little thought for the common people, or even future generations. In today’s headlines and newspapers, we all know that the government, high society, the media, and the captains of industry, control the wealth, and wield the power—they control the destiny of the republic, and the same kinds of elites control the reigns of power in virtually all nations on earth in the same manner, even if the style or methods may differ, the result is the same. However, despite these sobering thoughts, like in the game of football, we can always hope that a select few, may be able to pull off a brilliant, inspiring, last-minute “Hail Mary” play that scores a winning touchdown, to win the game. Like the ancient king of the Spartans, King Leonidas, said to the overwhelming Persian soldiers surrounding him at the historic battle of Thermopolae, and demanding that he lay down his arms and surrender, King Leonidas scoffed heroically, and said “Molan Labe!”—“Come and get them!” It is with such strength and courage, and moral clarity, that we must face our future.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Bill McKibben, Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age, An Owl Book, New York. 2003. 9
[2] Ibid 10
[3] Ibid 3
[4] Ibid 121
[5] Ibid 64
[6] Ibid 65
[7] Ibid 198
[8] Ibid 205
[9] Ibid 113
[10] Ibid 199
[11] Ibid 109
[12] Dr. Edgar Kaskla, Professor of Political Science; Lecture, (paraphrased); Fall Semester 2006, California State University, Long Beach.
[13] Dr. Edgar Kaskla, Professor of Political Science; Lecture, (paraphrased); Fall Semester 2006, California State University, Long Beach