The New Humanity

"Once a photograph of the Earth, taken from the outside,
is available - a new idea as powerful as any in history
will be let loose."
Fred Hoyle, British astrophysicist, 1948

The unique capacity of humans to reflect upon themselves is often cited as the key differentiator between humans and animals. Presumably that capacity is why we are said to have souls, while animals are supposed not to. Then it is that power of self-reflection that Adam and Eve obtained from the Tree of Knowledge. We have recently entered a new human age defined by the simple fact that now the whole human community can look back upon itself - in it's entirety - and the little blue ball that we occupy. Looking out into space we are inspired by the Infinite. But when we look down upon ourselves from space, we are confronted with the Finite. And it is to the Finite that the New Humanity must now devote it's attention.

BIGGER than “Big Government”

We’re talkin’ BIG

Big Oil

Big Lie

Big War

Big Debt

Big Ego

Big Brother

…size matters.

A dozen mysteries - suddenly SOLVED

To those of us in the “democratic wing of the Democratic Party” many of the actions of our party leaders have been incomprehensible. They have emboldened the would-be-fascists of the Administration, immunized war criminals from punishment, and set the world on an inexorable course toward a nuclear Armageddon in the Middle East.

But why?

• Why rubber-stamp the funding for a failed war that Americans want ended?
• Why revise the FISA laws to permit more spying on our citizens?
• Why give “get-out-of-jail” cards to the Tel Com companies who spied on us?
• Why install an Attorney General who doesn’t know what torture is?
• Why censure MoveOn for exercising free speech?
• Why revoke the fundamental human right of habeas corpus?
• And why take impeachment “off the table”?

Some among our rank and file have proclaimed the strategic “brilliance” of such anti-democratic and immoral political maneuvering. Others have speculated about our leadership being subjected to bribery and blackmail.

The answer, as it turns out, is simple: As the Washington Post reported 4 days ago, our Democratic leadership is directly complicit in Bush Administration war crimes. As such, they have no desire, nor standing, nor safety to object.

“Hill Briefed on Waterboarding in 2002
Sunday, December 9, 2007

In September 2002 … the bipartisan group, which included current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was given a virtual tour of the CIA's overseas detention sites and the harsh techniques interrogators had devised to try to make their prisoners talk. … (including) waterboarding… no objections were raised. Instead, at least two lawmakers in the room asked the CIA to push harder…

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/08/AR2007120801664.html?hpid=topnews

That, my friends, is our “opposition party”.

Which begs the question, if Nancy knew about the torture, and the secret prisons, what did she know about “Gitmo-izing” Abu Ghraib? about breaking the FISA laws? about data-mining into our private lives?

What is your favorite candidate saying about this?

And most important: what, as patriotic Americans, are we going to do about it?