{"id":3778,"date":"2011-03-10T07:41:07","date_gmt":"2011-03-10T07:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/monochromist.com\/2011\/03\/10\/the-choice-is-with-us-still-but-the-civilization\/"},"modified":"2011-03-10T07:41:07","modified_gmt":"2011-03-10T07:41:07","slug":"the-choice-is-with-us-still-but-the-civilization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2011\/03\/10\/the-choice-is-with-us-still-but-the-civilization\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

The choice is with us still, but the civilization now in jeopardy is all humanity. As the ancient myth makers knew, we are children equally of the earth and the sky. In our tenure on this planet we\u2019ve accumulated dangerous evolutionary baggage \u2014 propensities for aggression and ritual, submission to leaders, hostility to outsiders \u2014 all of which puts our survival in some doubt. But we\u2019ve also acquired compassion for others, love for our children and desire to learn from history and experience, and a great soaring passionate intelligence \u2014 the clear tools for our continued survival and prosperity. Which aspects of our nature will prevail is uncertain, particularly when our visions and prospects are bound to one small part of the small planet Earth. But up there in the immensity of the Cosmos, an inescapable perspective awaits us. There are not yet any obvious signs of extraterrestrial intelligence and this makes us wonder whether civilizations like ours always rush implacably, headlong, toward self-destruction. National boundaries are not evident when we view the Earth from space. Fanatical ethnic or religious or national chauvinisms are a little difficult to maintain when we see our planet as a fragile blue crescent fading to become an inconspicuous point of light against the bastion and citadel of the stars. Travel is broadening.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Carl Sagan<\/strong> (via illuminatedbeing<\/a>)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The choice is with us still, but the civilization now in jeopardy is all humanity. As the ancient myth makers knew, we are children equally of the earth and the sky. In our tenure on this planet we\u2019ve accumulated dangerous evolutionary baggage \u2014 propensities for aggression and ritual, submission to leaders, hostility to outsiders \u2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"quote","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-quote","hentry","category-video_graphics","post_format-post-format-quote"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5sGHy-YW","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3905,"url":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2011\/03\/04\/the-suggestion-is-that-the-function-of-the-brain\/","url_meta":{"origin":3778,"position":0},"title":"The suggestion is that the\u2026","author":"monochromist","date":"March 4, 2011","format":"quote","excerpt":"The suggestion is that the function of the brain and nervous system and sense organs is in the main eliminative and not productive. Each person is at each moment capable of remembering all that has ever happened to him and of perceiving everything that is happening everywhere in the universe.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "motion"","block_context":{"text":"motion","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/category\/video_graphics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":643,"url":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2013\/08\/20\/an-extraterrestrial-visitor-examining-the\/","url_meta":{"origin":3778,"position":1},"title":"An extraterrestrial visitor examining the\u2026","author":"monochromist","date":"August 20, 2013","format":"quote","excerpt":"An extraterrestrial visitor examining the differences among human societies would find those differences trivial compared to the similarities. Our lives, our past and our future are tied to the sun, the moon and the stars. We humans have seen the atoms which constitute all of nature and the forces that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "motion"","block_context":{"text":"motion","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/category\/video_graphics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1898,"url":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2013\/06\/14\/sagansense-the-mind-is-a-vehicle-it-takes-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":3778,"position":2},"title":"sagansense: the mind is a\u2026","author":"monochromist","date":"June 14, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"sagansense: the mind is a vehicle. it takes you from one destination to another. it provides you with windows for you to see different perspectives. it allows you the possibility to travel at various speeds & frequencies. it protects you from exterior forces, yet is fragile enough to be damaged\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "motion"","block_context":{"text":"motion","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/category\/video_graphics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/tumblr_modhy08MPz1r01w8mo1_1280.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3832,"url":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2011\/03\/10\/dont-think-intelligence-think-replicators\/","url_meta":{"origin":3778,"position":3},"title":"Don’t think intelligence – think replicators!","author":"monochromist","date":"March 10, 2011","format":"link","excerpt":"Don't think intelligence - think replicators!I\u2019ve just got back from TED 2008, where I presented some ideas on \u201cMemes in the Cosmos\u201d. Getting a new replicator is always dangerous for any planet because it means a new evolutionary process is let loose. We humans are earth\u2019s \u201cPandoran species\u201d who let\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "motion"","block_context":{"text":"motion","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/category\/video_graphics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.susanblackmore.co.uk\/images\/TED_Equation.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1173,"url":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2013\/07\/26\/sagansense-truly-surprised-that-the-video-post\/","url_meta":{"origin":3778,"position":4},"title":"sagansense: Truly surprised that the\u2026","author":"monochromist","date":"July 26, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"sagansense: Truly surprised that the video post, \u201cWhy The Future Is Better Than You Think\" hasn\u2019t been boosted for #science yet or even accumulated notes. I have never once posted something like this, promoting one my own posts, but I suggest everyone go through the Peter Diamandis posts and absorb\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "motion"","block_context":{"text":"motion","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/category\/video_graphics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/tumblr_mqisyoc19B1r01w8mo1_1280.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4611,"url":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/2011\/01\/10\/things-to-do-in-male-lonely-planet\/","url_meta":{"origin":3778,"position":5},"title":"Things to do in Male\u2019 – Lonely Planet","author":"monochromist","date":"January 10, 2011","format":"link","excerpt":"Things to do in Male\u2019 - Lonely Planet","rel":"","context":"In "motion"","block_context":{"text":"motion","link":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/category\/video_graphics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3778\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monochromist.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}