What Is Not

“Earth is off the shelf of and planetary geology.” - JB

This represents the same basic argument that prevailed during Galileo’s time. Galileo essentially discovered that the earth orbits the sun. This got him into trouble with the elites of that time - philosophers and clerics - who subscribed to the view that the sun orbits the earth, thus making the earth the center of the universe. He was denounced to the Roman Inquisition. Although cleared a year later of any offence, the Catholic Church nevertheless condemned heliocentrism as heresy and Galileo was told to abandon his support for it. When he later defended his views in his most famous work, ‘Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems’, he was tried again and forced to spent the remainder of his life under house arrest. Isn’t this the same as what is going on today re ‘global warming’?

Eventually we would come to accept that our solar system itself is merely some insignificant adjunct to some insignificant galaxy on the fringes of the universe. What does that do to our considerable egos? Some say it lead to existentialism; nihilism and beyond. Let me suggest that the next (and possibly final) knot along this thread may yet emerge, namely that the true center of the universe is the human mind. This would certainly go a long way toward uprooting whole herds of sacred cows - ego for one. Alan Watts and Carlos Castaneda came tantalizingly close to articulating this concept. The scriptures of all the world’s religions allude to it.

As we strive to understand all ‘being‘, we remain largely ignorant of ‘non-being’ which cannot be measured or quantified by our senses or by the extensions thereof. The scope and significance of ‘non-being‘, some say, can only be grasped by what Zen refers to as ‘no mind’ (or ‘no thought‘).

It is ‘non-being’ within which what some call ‘God’ resides. So, even if we - who look to telescopes, rulers and scales as the ultimate test of reality - should succeed in figuring out everything there is to know about all there is, we would still fall infinitely short of figuring out what is not.

Think Again

If you’re looking to the future when all things will be possible, look again. At the moment, it appears we exist in daily peril. Nuclear war is still not entirely out of the question. Al Gore and his ilk pose quite a different argument. And then there are Iran’s mullahs whose theories extend well beyond temporal life itself. It all involves our stepping back from the brink of modernity; self-expression, exploration and innovation. The fabled “greater good” does not allow for thinking “outside the box” as Galileo found. Whichever faction triumphs, we can expect either a retreat to the dark ages in which “nose to the grindstone” defines the limit of human potential or the outright extinction of our race.

Such circumstance is clearly not conducive to technological advance. While we may wonder what lies beyond the stars, while we may continue to fantasize about space travel, our day-to-day survival in a virtual blizzard of threat and onerous regulation (liable to change at a moment’s notice) will be our first concern. It is the beauty of a meritocracy that produces flamboyant results like the Shuttle program or Hubble. It also can provide a space within which to simply sit back and marvel at the miracle of creation and our unique partnership with it.

Leftists hate this space in which freedom and liberty commonly take root. They are the Puritans re-born to squelch and condemn every human impulse that seeks to rise above the dead ash of enforced dogma. Why do the Islamists hate us so much? It is because, after a promising start, they have been left far behind. If hatred stems from fear, their fear is justified. Their superstitions stand no chance when pitted against modernity. Rather than change, they aim to drag us down to their level – or kill us.

Capitalism itself is a star under which a free and vital people advance and prosper. For it to succeed it must be given space to breathe. It is not a wildfire that threatens to consume us. It is self-regulating and offers us unlimited opportunities for redemption. No single person can be said to be responsible for the successes or failures of capitalism. It is a group effort. That is why the political class hates it. Capitalism fares best when politicians keep their grubby hands away from it.