The Only Home We've Ever Known

Shimmering Auro · Post by **Shimmering Auro** » 10-14-2007 01:27 PM

In his 1994 book, Pale Blue Dot, Carl Sagan knew what was to come. Here is an excerpt from the book.

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar", every "supreme leader", every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there — on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark.

In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. It is up to us. It's been said that astronomy is a humbling, and, I might add, a character-building experience. To my mind, there is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly and compassionately with one another and to preserve and cherish that pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

Shimmering Auro · Post by **Shimmering Auro** » 10-14-2007 01:28 PM

Post by **Linnea** » 10-14-2007 01:45 PM

Well said, Shimmering Auro. This is where our focus should be.

Shimmering Auro · Post by **Shimmering Auro** » 10-14-2007 02:51 PM

Thank you, Linnea.

Look at how beautiful Earth is. These images from space are immensely deceptive. All that beauty, so much heartache. Humanity must acknowledge and accept that we are here for the duration.

Beautiful, irreplaceable Earth, to destroy her is to destroy humanity. This is it, this is where we are. Will humanity allow itself to self destruct over religion, oil and perceived (momentary) power? The choices and decisions made today will effect all future generations. Is humanity so selfish to continue on this current path?
Humanity's arrant ignorance may very well bring an end to the only life we are aware of. There is no place for such contemptible arrogance.

Peace to all.

joequinn · Post by **joequinn** » 10-14-2007 04:54 PM

I have serious concerns that the human race will be alive at the end of the century. Hell, I worry that the Earth's orbit may turn into a second asteroid belt, which outcome finishes things off, not merely for us, but for every species as well which might succeed us on the planet.

I earnestly hope that I am wrong. Since I believe in reincarnation, I have a rather selfish personal interest in making sure that the planet --- and the human race --- continue in business...