Random Facebook Thoughts
Is science true? No. Science is a tool, like a hammer. A hammer is a brilliant tool for driving a nail. Science is a brilliant tool for solving particular types of problems. Having said that, scientists get it wrong all the damn time. For instance, up until very recently, most scientists refused to say that dogs and other animals actually think and react emotionally in a way that is similar to humans. This is something that every other member of the human species has understood, probably as long as there have been humans. Science may eventually prove empirically why this is true, but, if humans had to wait for scientists to empirically prove a thing, our species would have died off a long time ago. So much for science as the great arbiter of truth.
Bill Nye is to science, what Captain Kangaroo was to the military. I remember when Nye was an actor on a skit comedy show from Seattle, back in the nineties. Today he's a mascot for the liberal establishment when they need a symbol of intellectual rigor, regarding the horrors of climate change. Nye became especially popular among the liberal elite following a debate with a young earth creationist, which he apparently won in a narrow victory. Not unlike the time I beat my dog in a best out of three game of chess. It was close going at first. But, I eventually had my victory over Fido after a slow start. So much for the "March for Science," which was really a march to politicize science. In that sense, it was really march against science. In other words, if you can't win fair and square, lie, use the courts to punish your enemies, and slander, all are fine substitutes as a means of silencing dissent.
Bigotry runs deep. We are all bigots by nature. If something is sufficiently different, a spider, for instance, my first instinct is to kill it. Even though it might be in my best interest as a Floridian not to. Florida is mecca for roaches. The hot, humid air and moist damp places are a breeding ground for their kind. So a tiny spider might really be my friend, even as I recoil in revulsion at this miniscule creature.
I just killed such a spider, and almost immediately regretted my murderous act. “What had this spider ever done to me?” I wondered. “Nothing.” Was my answer. At first, it looked like a tiny dirt particle, as it clung closely to the wall. Once it became clear it was an arachnid, I simply reacted, took the broom in my hand and crushed it, while it tried to run in an effort to preserve its life.
I assume that even roaches have their place of importance in the eco-system. Just not in my house. I also assume that my reaction to the spider is endemic of all human bigotry, which is nothing more than looking at something that appears to be very different—and then acting in my own self-interest to preserve my life first—just in case this thing, whatever it is, should be a threat.
So, does this mean that bigotry is - Fear + Different = Bigotry?
Does it mean that Knowledge + Acceptance = Peace?
Maybe it means that humans, like all other living things, will always act or react to preserve their own lives first. If we didn’t, there would be no learning curve allowing us to reach a place of enlightenment and peace. Meaning, that violence is sometimes justified, often times not.
Anyway. Sorry Mister or Ms. Spider. I guess I’m just a bigot. I’ll try harder next time. Really, I will.
Mark Magula
I just killed such a spider, and almost immediately regretted my murderous act. “What had this spider ever done to me?” I wondered. “Nothing.” Was my answer. At first, it looked like a tiny dirt particle, as it clung closely to the wall. Once it became clear it was an arachnid, I simply reacted, took the broom in my hand and crushed it, while it tried to run in an effort to preserve its life.
I assume that even roaches have their place of importance in the eco-system. Just not in my house. I also assume that my reaction to the spider is endemic of all human bigotry, which is nothing more than looking at something that appears to be very different—and then acting in my own self-interest to preserve my life first—just in case this thing, whatever it is, should be a threat.
So, does this mean that bigotry is - Fear + Different = Bigotry?
Does it mean that Knowledge + Acceptance = Peace?
Maybe it means that humans, like all other living things, will always act or react to preserve their own lives first. If we didn’t, there would be no learning curve allowing us to reach a place of enlightenment and peace. Meaning, that violence is sometimes justified, often times not.
Anyway. Sorry Mister or Ms. Spider. I guess I’m just a bigot. I’ll try harder next time. Really, I will.
Mark Magula