Page 90 - The Myth and the Moment

Evening

“‘That problem began with man’s differentiation from other
animals by his ability to override instinct by conscious reasoning in
the struggle to survive; ironically, that superior ability has become the
prime factor in his imminent extinction. While more primitive forms
of life react immediately to changes in their environment (within a
limited repertoire of unconscious responses), humans can block their
potentially greater flexibility with rigid conceptualizations and
meaningless symbols. The human mind has the power to change
reality, but may just as powerfully deny the reality of change.’”
“‘This flaw has produced a progression of dominant families,
tribes, city-states, nation-states, and empires, echoing organic
evolution in the replacement of stagnant maladaptive populations by
better-organized, appropriately-functioning groups. The former
remained bound to systems of thought obsolete at best—and fanciful
at worst—while the latter seized the opportunities which lay in plain
view before them. In recent history, the application of scientific
method to military technology has enabled certain political entities to
overcome deficiencies in ideology and rise to dominance in the global
hierarchy.’”
“‘The final advance to nuclear weaponry, therefore, has not been
matched by an abandonment of nationalism, a doctrine forcing
immediate preparation for the next international conflict. More than
forty years have passed in deadlock, with the two dominant imperial
powers building ever-larger stockpiles of bombs and ever-quicker
means of dropping them on each other. The reality of the moment is,
and has been for more than a generation, that nationalism and,
indeed, all divisive moral, political, and religious ideologies are
antithetical to the survival of humanity and the preservation of life on
Earth. The movement to prevent catastrophe is weak, and the
entrenched keepers of the counter-productive mythology are strong.
The weapons are so complex that the odds favor the accidental start
of a massive concatenation of nuclear explosions; again, the odds are
that such an event would extinguish most species of plant and animal
life.’”
Got to have more water. Did I leave anything out?
“Is that all, Nate?”
“No, no, no. Here’s the rest:”

89