[Cross-posted at The Left Coaster.]
Rarely do I regret publishing political essays as first draft spit-outs (all of my political work is), but yesterday was definitely one of those days, there were big holes in the work worthy of notation, which will now commence, along with a few other observations.
*/ Death provides each new generation a chance at learning and mental evolution, yes, but (duh) death of course provides the chance for genetic mutation, the main vehicle for successful life evolution, not the ability to record and learn in evolving environments.
Very true, yes, and I’m sorry for disrespecting Darwin like that, but it’s a useless and creepy social/political tactic. What are we supposed to do, wait around for however many generations it takes for the mutants to solve our problems? What would be the mutant’s big advantage, humongous heads or two thumbs or something? Ugh. Again, technically climate change is an easy human challenge, we don’t need super-brains to stop burning fossil fuels.
*/ Relative to the mutation of genes, if one is so foolish to judge life success on one variable a possible way to look at it is that--as far as the human race genes are concerned--all you have to do is pass on your genes and nurture them to the point where they can be passed on again. That’s it, as a human you’re a total success.
That’s a grossly diminished perspective of the human mind and experience, right, we’re so much more than that, but there’s a lot of uneasy validity to it.
*/ In 10,000 years the new ice sheet will cover Canada and half of Manhattan, yes, that’s more than enough human time to socially and intellectually adjust—no mutants required—for humans to still thrive and be happy on earth. The monstrous problem with climate change, of course, is that we’re introducing environment change on that scale in 200-300 years, only warming this time. Not even super-mutants with brains like Cray computers could solve or fix that so quickly.
*/ Unfortunately (perhaps), we know that extinction and a crashing earth environment to support life is not an uncommon planetary event. Some would suggest the next ice age is a crashing event, but whatever, the point is that it’s a delicate fine balance in our ecosystems for us to thrive, we’re idiots to so callously and clumsily mess with atmospheric chemistry, just asking for drastic climate trouble.
*/ Introducing television journalism into the subject of human evolution, one can only throw up hands in horror at the putrid disgrace it’s become, hell I’d even call in some mutants to try and fix this. Are you seriously telling me a bunch of poor passengers on a stranded cruise ship became a national story with news anchors at the scene? A decent pun but oh my God, what’s happened to us?
I vividly remember like it was last night watching Walter Cronkite and John Brinkley read the news on black and white screens with those narrow 60’s ties, dignified professionals who simply read the journalism. It worked, you know? [sigh] If one looks at the potential of solving climate change based upon the human evolution of television journalism we’re definitely fucked, I’m sorry to say.
*/ Relative to reading the news and human regression with television, what on earth has happened to the History Channel? It’s not bad or distorted or incorrect history, it’s not history at all! That pawn shop show, wtf! It’s as if the cooking channel aired shows on how to repair cars, nothing about it works.
Why can’t they televise professors and their lectures? There used to be this terrific UCLA world history lecturer on our public television, it was just like Cronkite and Brinkley, he read his lecture from the podium, that was it, ‘n Jesus was he good. Why can’t the History Channel televise lectures from all these super-Universities we’ve got?
Seriously, we as a country need our history, one can’t be any kind of economist, sociologist or political scientist without it, you know. Hundreds of millions of plain citizens hold elements of our history very close, it’s like Sam Kinison in Back to School, right, so many of us hold history sacred, like a farmer and his land or folks with their marriage, sacred, that’s how we feel about it.
What has human evolution presented us? Pawn Stars. Arrrrrrrrghhh! Arrrrrrrrghhh!
Well, I just felt it was necessary to get this off my chest this morning, we all need to vent some stuff now and then. Right? I do so hope that this Saturday holds meaning for you, that your people and our earth hold you well, content to be human in a good time and space.