I was recently told by my father that I was brainwashed by the liberal left-wing agenda manifested at the University of Texas. He had no response when I told him that I only hear about math and physics all day every day. His argument crumbled when I told him that the only discussion of politics that I have ever heard from a professor was based on conservative ideologies. The only time I heard anything negative about the GOP wasnt in relation to conservatives as a whole, it was about the hijacking of the Tea Party by xenophobes and prejudice. Unfortunately, I couldnt tell him why my values changed, because he wouldnt have accepted it anyway. If I had to venture a guess, it would be that I finally took the words of Carl Sagan to heart. I finally understand what it means to be starstuff. I know what it means to be a product of millions of years of evolution, and I know what it means to be a passenger on the spaceship known as Earth. Its not that I have been persuaded by political agendas, its that I recognize things for what they are. I find it unreasonable to assume that we, as a species, are somehow superior to the plants and animals that surround us. Not only that, but I find it unreasonable to assume that we are the only life that exists in the universe. To believe so is to be arrogant, and I do not wish to know such a feeling. I wish to be humbled by experience and knowledge. I seek to grow in the light of Sol, much like the flower that turns its head to bask in the warm glow that was radiated towards us eight minutes ago. I want to stand on the shores of the Cosmic ocean and whisper We are all one. I know you, and you know I. Let us be free to touch the distant starlight together, as one species, and forget our differences. Our cultures may be unique, but at the molecular level we are no different. Why did my views change? It was not brainwashing. It was not the media. It was not political pundits or talk radio. It was science, and something akin to spiritual enlightenment. Of course, one could interpret all of this as a way of saying that I am somehow superior. I would hope that I am not, for my goal is to pass my feelings and/or knowledge on, in whatever way that I can, so that other people may see this world for what it could be, and not what it currently is. Its not about creating a utopia or fairy tale. This is about making the Earth, our massive rocky spaceship, a better place piece by peace*.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 18:04:24 +0000
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