I recently read Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. I really liked it. Most of her ideas are really cool; some maybe not so much. I can see where narrow-minded, short-sighted people would take those ideas and run in stupid directions.
Anyway, I got the sense that she felt (or maybe she actually came right out and said) that human nature is to always be progressing, always moving forward. Maybe this is true. And this drive may or may not lead to our destruction. If you’re like me and don’t believe we’re created by a white-bearded dude in the sky, but that we’re actually at the mercy of our own decisions and actions, the thought that we’re wired for endless “progress” is scary. Because as inspiring as some of our creations and ideas are, we’ve mostly proven to be good at progressing at the expense of the planet. It served us well for a very long time and got us where we are, but we’ve hit a point where it’s proving to be counter productive.
So maybe it’s in human nature to progress, whatever the cost, even if that cost is our extinction. Maybe we’re born in a time in history close to that destruction. I don’t know whose idea it was, but I heard the idea that the reason we aren’t constantly visited by advanced alien societies is that every civilization eventually hits a technological stage where it has the ability to destroy itself, and that very, very few make it past that stage. They end up destroying themselves.
We’ve entered that stage.
If we’re hardwired to progress at all costs and we’re nearing the end, then as much as I’m going to keep doing what I can to live a responsible life, I should probably also learn to enjoy the ride. We’re seeing the end of solitude in nature. The end of privacy. The end of climate and weather as we know it. The end of truth. It can be a real downer. With some portion of the population making responsible choices we can delay the inevitable, but it may very well be inevitable all the same. So maybe I should stop being offended, exasperated, frustrated by how little we learn from the past and how short-sighted and money hungry we are. I should just do what I can, and relax.