I was talking with one of my closest friends recently (read: today) and appreciating so much about who we are. We are SO different and yet so similar.
OK, that’s really cheating, because that is exactly what I would and could say about everyone close to me… and then the rest of us jamokes on this planet (read: We’re all monkeys on this rock.) Hell, I even bear some resemblances to dogs and cats I’ve known.
Another tip. I’m an Eneagram “Nine.” That means nothing to most of us monkeys on THIS rock – so I’ll say one thing about what this has to do with me. It simply means I’m somewhat “empathic.” I like to think of this as being a fast learner, but “actually” I know better. It’s very specific. I pick up states of being from those around me and particularly those I’m close to. I have to pay attention, often, to whose thought I’m thinking…sounds arcane; you get used to it over time. That means making fewer mistakes (“Hey! that doesn’t sound like MY imagination…that’s not MY idea…etc”) while gaining more of the benefits.
What benefits?
Well, to begin with, those mentioned at the front of this piece. A real sense of how we really are so much alike and how we really are different and how much of that can exist in the same place at the same time. I have come to revel in the disparity. When we disagree, I don’t mind. AND I don’t believe (98% of the time) that you REALLY ought to see it my way. How come, you should? I say: “If we agree on everything, there’s one too many of us in this world.” Whereas I believe that there are just the right number of us right here, right now. I know exactly how this flies in the face of ZPG – Zero Population Growth, for those of you too young or too old to get that reference. I understand the popular point of view that holds the proliferation of humanity to be the root of the destruction of the planet. I get the argument that we are a destructive species that overpopulates, pollutes and then eats everything in its path, thereby consuming the greater part or yea the entirety of Mom Earth’s bounty.
But if you REALLY believe that you’ve got to back abortion, you’ve got to affirm the death penalty (yes, Les Mis, that’s right, for stealing bread), you’ve got to back genocide and warfare at almost every level. Some will argue that this will only exacerbate the problem by leaving fallout and dead bodies around everywhere…thereby burgeoning pollution (and of course the ever popular Zombie Apocalypse)… but to that I’d just say – ‘Ya gotta break some eggs…’ If you believe we are the pariah, you just have to back a reasonable solution, and I don’t mean more “Democracy (read: “Hunger”) Games to determine how clever marketing can finger some race or class or other ‘minority’ for the fall guy and who should be voted off the island (now I’m really in trouble.) You really just gotta go all “Soylent Green” about it. And yeah, that means YOUR mothers, father, sons, daughter, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and BFFs (I still DO NOT know what those initials stand for.) Just pick a number outa the hat and take the recommended dose. But see, no one wants to do that…especially not the ZPG folk. Criticize the Chinese and Indians (east) if you want, but decimating the female population WILL truly drop the expansion of the species. (Fewer child-bearers and the remaining men, it has been shown, will fight to the death for the remaining women…you know we will).
So sorry, you’ve been voted off the island.
Wait, wait, before you forget…I’m the guy who, from the beginning, said that I believe that there are JUST ENOUGH of us here now. The balance, though in motion, is still in place. Yes, species are dying. It has always been so. Always! We just haven’t been around long enough to get that. Because we are still baby monkeys on this rock. Masters of the Universe? If you say so, but nonetheless, babies monkey’s on this rock (and I mean no insult to either one of my creationist readers) and as such we are as yet developing a realistic, or even decently optimistic point of view regarding ourselves.
Which brings me to the real point of this missive (I’ve taken to liking the movies and TV shows that place the credits, blithely, in the middle or end of the show) which is to address –
Why, In a Technological Age of (seeming) Enlightenment There Remains Such a Widespread Rational Materialist Skepticism Regarding the Existence and Occasional Presence of “Extra Terrestrial” Intelligence?
Pithy title, yes? Ok, not so much…nonetheless…in a single gesture I would reiterate that D’ Nile is not just a river in Egypt. Yes… we will eventually take a trip back to the land of the Gypsy, but before we do… let’s make a stop right here in the Americas so we can take a quick look at the success of just one of the movements in the concerto of the Great Ongoing Human Holocaust.
As of late, I have been reading about the American Holocaust; the extermination of 90 some percent of the indigenous population of the Americas between the 16th and 21st centuries.
Here are a few Cliff Notes on my investigations to date.
Cristobal Columbo (Christopher Columbus), the entrepreneur and loan mark credited with the initial occupation of the land later to be called the Americas, wrote this about the native peoples he found here, to his benefactors, the Spanish Sovereigns:
” They are so artless and free with all they possess, that no one would believe it without seeing it. Of anything they have, if you ask them for it, they never say no; rather they invite the person to share it, and show as much love as if they were giving their hearts; and whether the thing be of value or of small price, at once they are content with whatever little thing of whatever kind be given to them.”
Columbus thought that these people were a living expression of God, and the word Indian actually comes from the Spanish in Deos, or in God… Michele de Cuneo, a compatriot of Columbus on the Admiral’s second voyage, wrote in a letter that when the ship anchored, the native people came out “to greet the ships with gifts of fish and fruit, as if we had been brothers.” In Columbus’s logs from his first voyage, he is continually astounded by the kind and thoughtful ways of the people he meets. Here are a few excerpts: “And the people are all so gentle” (October 13, 1492). And a week later we find, “… these are the friendliest people.”
Apparently this was true wherever he went, for two months later on December 21, 1492, he entered the following:
“There cannot be better or more gentle people than these anywhere in the world… . The chiefs are men of few words and fine manners, it is a marvel.” In other entries, he comments on the cleanliness and comeliness of the people, of the beauty of their villages and their housing. In October 1492 he writes, “The houses of these Indians are the most beautiful I have ever seen… . They are well swept and quite clean inside, and the furnishings are arranged in good order.” So, even by the best of European standards, the natives were clean, mannerly, hospitable, and generous to a fault…
Now, the experience of being greeted with kindness and generosity was substantially the same for all the Europeans arriving on these shores, whether it be in the Caribbean or on the continents. In 1584, the Englishman Arthur Barlowe, after arriving in what is now called Virginia and taking possession of the land for the Queen—of course, the Powhatans and other tribes living there were not consulted on the matter—wrote about his first encounter with the Indians:
“We were entertained with all love and kindness and with as much bounty, after their manner, as they could possibly devise. We found the people most gentle, loving and faithful, void of all guile and treason, and such as lived after the manner of the Golden Age … a more kind and loving people there can not be found in the world, as far as we have hitherto had trial.”
Kaltreider, Kurt (1998-09-01). American Indian Prophecies (Kindle Locations various 970-1002). Hay House. Kindle Edition.
Meanwhile, back in Europe, another genocidal storm was brewing –
… just as Columbus was sailing to the New World, the same King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella who commissioned his voyage issued an edict expelling all the Jews from Spain, upon pain of death, unless they converted to Catholicism.
And in the “New World” everything suddenly changed –
“… a few decades after Columbus arrived, the indigenous cultures he found had all but vanished.
The real destruction began after his second voyage, which left for the Americas in 1493. This time there were 17 ships and about 1,200 men. The arriving Spaniards were shown the same kindness and humanity as on the previous voyage, but this decency was not reciprocated, and in a generation’s time, millions of native peoples were dead, and nearly every Caribbean island thoroughly devoid of its original inhabitants.
When Columbus returned from the Caribbean, the news of gold and a paradise spread like wildfire across Europe. The Spanish Crown was under severe financial stress, and the thought of untold fields of gold and wealth from commerce fired the Crown’s imagination, not to mention the people’s. Columbus was swamped with volunteers for the second voyage, unlike the first. And in short order, the imagination of Rome was also fired, and the thought of converts and more wealth for the Church brought His Holiness, the Pope, and with him, of course, God onto the scene. On May 3, 1493, Pope Alexander VI issued the infamous Bull Inter Caetera, which granted the monarchs of Spain the right to possess, own, and exploit any part of the Earth not already under the control of a Christian nation. Being “infallible,” the Pope could do this with “certain knowledge and out of the fullness of our apostolic power, by the authority of Almighty God.” The unsuspecting inhabitants of these unknown lands were to be brought into the Catholic fold and “trained in good morals.” Naturally, this kind of thinking and greed soon spread throughout all of Europe.
… King Henry VII, himself a devout Catholic, was not to be left out, so he granted a commission to John Cabot “to conquer, occupy and possess the lands of the ‘heathens and infidels.’” Henry’s expressed motive was simply to acquire “dominion, title and jurisdiction of the same.” Here is where the genocide of the native peoples began in earnest, and over 500 years later it is still going on.
… Armed with the blessings of the Church, Columbus traveled to many Caribbean islands. In each place, he would read a fearsome document giving the Church and the Monarchy of Spain the right to seize the lands, and if necessary, kill the occupants… This is a document called the Requerimiento. As you can read, it states that the people must accept the truth of Christianity and unquestionably acknowledge the authority of both the Pope and the Monarchy of Spain. That the people did not understand the Spanish tongue did not matter a whit to either Columbus or the subsequent conquistadors. Their “ignorance” of the language was apparently viewed as more evidence of their inferior nature. Acknowledgment and acceptance of the statements read to them was expected to be both complete and without hesitation or reservation. Were it not, which one can scarcely imagine it could be, since no one understood the meaning of the words, the following was then read:
“I certify to you that, with the help of God, we shall powerfully enter into your country and shall make war against you in all ways and manners that we can, and shall subject you to the yoke and obedience of the Church and Their Highnesses.
“We shall take you and your wives and your children, and shall make slaves of them, and as such shall sell and dispose of them as Their Highnesses may command. And we shall take your goods, and shall do you all the mischief and damage that we can, as to vassals who do not obey and refuse to receive their lord and resist and contradict him.
Truly, some priests objected –
In Santo Domingo, in a little makeshift church with a thatched roof, Father Antonio de Montesinos spoke the following words to his congregation of Spaniards in 1511:
“Tell me by what right, by what law do you keep these Indians in such cruel, such horrible bondage? By what authority have you waged such detestable wars against these peoples, who lived quietly and peacefully on land that was their own? Wars in which you destroyed incalculable numbers of them by homicide and slaughters surpassing anything in history? Why do you keep them so oppressed and exhausted, not giving them enough to eat, not curing the illnesses they develop from the excessive labor you force upon them, so that they pass away—no you murder them!—in order to extract and obtain gold every single day? … Are you not bound to love them as yourselves? Why can’t you comprehend this? Why are you lost in this deep lethargic sleep? Rest assured, in this state you can no more be saved than the Moors or Turks, who do not have faith in Jesus Christ and do not desire it.”
Kaltreider, Kurt (1998-09-01). American Indian Prophecies (Kindle Locations 1013-1058). Hay House. Kindle Edition.
The American Holocaust continues to this day, the conclusion to this tale is not yet written.
Throughout human history, the story varies little. This has been the tale of the European expansion into and decimation of the Americas. Yet, from the Incursion in Australia, New Zealand, the Steppes of Finland and the inordinate spread of Genghis Khan’s gene pool (“His military conquests were frequently characterized by the wholesale slaughter of the vanquished.” – Hillary Mayell, National Geographic, 02/14/2003) the way in which we, humans, meet new peoples and make friends tends to bear a striking similarity.
So I Say, Little Wonder…
…that we cleave to our irrational idea, using every logic at our disposal, that we are alone, as sentient, intelligent, technological, soul bearing beings in this galaxy, let alone this perceivable universe, much less any universe.
Given infinity, what are the odds?
Don’t think too hard on this.
If we consider the possibility of a society of alien life form showing up on our doorstep, with superior technology (a given, since they showed up on our doorstep; something completely out of our reach) what must the outcome NECESSARILY be? If in the back of our collective mind (read: Collective Unconscious) we see what we MUST see, based on our collective experience (whether from the perpetrator or victim end of the continuum), how else can it represent anything other than the complete annihilation of anything and everything we hold dear?
That’s the way we’ve done it time and again. That’s how it’s done, right? So if they ARE out there, we are lunch.
What options do we really have?
Denial, of course. What else?
A Truly Modest Proposal
Perhaps a complete change of heart…regarding ourselves, here and now. Perhaps we can review the various operations manuals for the survival of the beings of The Great Blue-Green space vehicle. I posit that most religious text, every spiritual treatise is actually an attempt at documenting a given sect’s perceptions re what it takes to safely traverse a vastly indeterminate expanse in a finite (in our case spherical) space faring vessel. Currently I am not concerned with matters of destination. Nor am I concerned with the credentials of the author(s) (gasp.) I think we would do well to get over whether or not a fellow by the name of God or a gal by the name of Goddess, etc , etc, etc, wrote it in whatever language we find it. Just get over that piece…it’s so not necessary.
But then, how do we evaluate it…how can we bring “good judgment” to bear?
Instead of arguing over which of the operations manuals is the right one, I have a modest proposal. Let’s use, to begin with, what I like to call “The Punch Card Method.”
In the old days (aka – back in the day) computers were programmed using punch cards. These were uniformly shaped cards with holes in them, each card signifying some idea. If we consider each seed idea, from each spiritual system to be one punch card and we put them all together in a neat stack, and then shine a light on that stack of cards… you will see that some light, IE some of the holes, go all the way through.
The holes that go all the way through are those concepts that are absolutely necessary for the survival of “the monkeys on this rock.” This technique for deciphering the Ops Manual Overview is greatly aided by getting over trying to nail down the name of the author(s) that supposedly dictated each card. Just look to see what holds true for all or the greatest number of the manuals.
Once we begin to understand the manuals we will know what to look for in OUR behavior towards anyone we meet out here. And we can stop believing that “I” is the only thing out here. Then we can learn to play well with others.
Then we will build it AND
When They come… we won’t have to fear that “They” is “Us.”
OK… now, shake it off.
Today’s trivia: The first two paragraphs are a “tip of the Hatlo Hat” to the Great Beast, the Cauldron Keeper, who is my beloved Frater. It’s a useful (in this case)joke about the very real interplay between that which is vague and that which is true. I step lightly here… as much to preserve the honor of accurate imprecision as, the numina of a (long won) relationship. In other words, “Be excellent with each other.”
Todays closing number: 910
Today’s recommended podcast: Radiolab – Are You Sure
Today’s Factoid:
Q: Aren’t the great ancient pyramids found in both Egypt and in South America?
A: That’s only partially correct. In fact, given what we currently know, within a latitudinal band around the earth (as far north as southern France and as far south as central Bolivia) we find several thousand pyramids that range from taller, more slender “masculine” forms to the shorter more stable “feminine” forms yet all similar in design, geometry and measurements. A cursory head count locates 250 pyramids in Shansi, China, dozens in the middle Indian Ocean (Mauritius), some in the Canary Islands, in Northern Sudan, 155 in Egypt, 350 in Peru and Bolivia with 10 thousand found in Central America, thus far; and of course many more. Even Vikings had mysterious pyramid centers, that differed in design and layout from “normal” Viking complexes.
Additional factors to take into pyramid explorations: Other than this concentration near the equator, many, many more pyramids are to be found in other seats of human culture. Patterns of design can be traced across cultural and geographical divides that raise far more questions than current science can comfortably answer. The techniques for building these are astoundingly and puzzlingly precise for the ages in which they were built. Look here for an interesting pyramid map.
Project Etheldore 