Humanity could have had it all

Even though this rant is about something which is only true because of faith or something unproven there is one thing which is true. Instead of using the resources of this planet to build spaceships and stations and thus ensuring the survival of our species or at least humanity on this planet we use it to have sex and kill eachother.

This fact is part of a bigger rant but since it's hypothetical I can't really vent it. But bottomline is I believe there is a hereafter but if nobody alive remembers Earth history out of free will (aliens who might have seen us not included) there is no hereafter. It would be like a digital universe which is only there because there are physical computers generating it but if humanity doesn't get off this planet they will eventually cease to exist because either the sun dowses or implodes or whatever science says about becoming dwarfs or if pollution becomes too great or there's some accident, whatever the cause humanity is likely not going to make it from the perspective of a universe community whose civilization has made it.

But that aside, if we are not there in the future not alive not in the afterlife we won't know so it's not bad. But still I wish it were all different and people understood we need more resources to sustain our way of life and our existence and we need to build spaceships first so we can get resources from other places with which some countries might build weapons to war with eachother if they would still want to since spacetravel would mean more space and less chance of people fighting over the same resources because any country could take any planet and just move in seperate ways theoretically forever, or until another civilization is met.

Such a shame. And for those few who get this, no aliens are going to remember an entire civilization, there's no ticket from me to any alien heaven. If life on a planet doesn't make it, that's nature for you. No one is going to take care of us forever, since we can't take care of ourselves and never will if there's someone else doing that forever.

reply to post by Dragonfly79


Two words man: "Science Monastery". That's what we need in this world. I want to give up all earthly possessions and live in a monastery where I just dedicate my life to scientific contemplation, reading journals and sending viable theoretical ideas to people with the money to test them, for the good of the world, and ignore everything else.

Did you see this ATS thread?

Quantum vacuum plasma thruster and Warp Drive.....
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Probably a few experts, who were able to find the time to read and read and read figured this out and are working on it, an idea that could get life out of our solar system. But the noise and insanity of the world could yank them away at any time, and an idea that might be the ONE might be abandoned for 100 years before someone returns to it.

Point is, in order to advance, we NEED to find a way for people to pull themselves away from the noise and insanity of the world, and just focus on the ideas we need to make this stuff possible. We can't do it now.

tridentblue
reply to post by Dragonfly79

 

Two words man: "Science Monastery". That's what we need in this world. I want to give up all earthly possessions and live in a monastery where I just dedicate my life to scientific contemplation, reading journals and sending viable theoretical ideas to people with the money to test them, for the good of the world, and ignore everything else.

Did you see this ATS thread?

Quantum vacuum plasma thruster and Warp Drive.....
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Probably a few experts, who were able to find the time to read and read and read figured this out and are working on it, an idea that could get life out of our solar system. But the noise and insanity of the world could yank them away at any time, and an idea that might be the ONE might be abandoned for 100 years before someone returns to it.

Point is, in order to advance, we NEED to find a way for people to pull themselves away from the noise and insanity of the world, and just focus on the ideas we need to make this stuff possible. We can't do it now.

I have had similar thoughts though, from a different perspective.

My main concern is the integration of religion with government, theocracy. We have had a tradition in the western world to separate the church and the state. Contrary to popular belief, it isn't just an American idea, in fact, many of our states were religious states in the beginning and eventually came around to the 'modern' view preferring separation.

Going back centuries, it has proven to be better for religions to not have the responsibilities of state management. We now have a religious state and it is proving to be difficult and problematic for many of the same reasons that the church encountered and ultimately decided (or was forced) to distance itself from administration of law.

The religion of the state is currently the church of human secularism and it has comparable articles of faith, holy representatives and an acute intolerance of opposing views. The parallels are surprising and disturbing in their implications.

This is just the beginnings of this idea, I have been mulling it over for some time but, this thread and your specific comment have prompted me to mention it. Having been excised from the role of government, the church of human secularism could focus on the big questions which, admittedly have little real world application in the short term (much like theologians) and appear to be incompatible with a healthy, functional and independent society.

That is a cool thread by the way.

This is a great discussion that touches on this issue:

After Words: Benjamin Wiker, "Worshipping the State: How Liberalism Became Our State Religion," hosted by Krissah Thompson, Washington Post

reply to post by greencmp


Yeah, theocracy is bad. You see that in the middle east. One thing you do see is America is secularism is massively on the rise:
Poll shows atheism on the rise in the U.S.
articles.washingtonpost.com...

Which is fine with me, but we have to realize religion is a fairly good reflection of who we are, and if we get rid of coming together in the name of higher ideals or retreating to seek truth along with religion, we're losing touch with ourselves. So my scientific monastary idea is along those lines. Retreat, and seek truth.

As far as your link, yeah you saw the themes of the state as the focus of religion in communism, but I think its just that people are innately sort of religious, and the state filled the void. The communist leadership wanted to ban quantum mechanics at one point, but their nuclear scientists talked them out of it (wouldn't have a program without it) but that shows how much dogma was actually there. Real science is total war with dogma, total seeking of truth no matter who looks bad because of it. Its very rare in politics, and dogma is a problem in conservative as well as liberal circles in DC, you can bet.

No matter what humanity will always try to sustain itself and it will always fail.
Maybe it's because were hardwired to fight each other over trivial matters and things that may seem important. Just look back through history there are examples of this.

Regardless humanity is adaptable and we will always find new solutions. No matter how horrible the solution is we will enforce it if need be.