Last night, during "the conjunction" of Jupiter and Saturn, I pulled the telescope out and was thrilled to see both planets in my scope.
It reminded me of the above picture. The Cassini space probe took the picture. That little, barely blue dot? It's us. Earth.
All of our accomplishments, all of our problems...our hopes and dreams...all contained on that little blue dot.
It's humbling. Empires have risen and fallen, people whose names you'll never know have struggled and toiled...their stories long forgotten...all on this speck in the vastness of space.
2020 has been a rough year. But it's been made even more difficult by so much pettiness. So much in-fighting over such miniscule issues. Look at any news post on social media about politics or Covid...and you can see the ugliness of humanity. Name calling. The illusion of moral superiority. Finger pointing. And the same old tired comments. Over and over again.
For what? A "win?" To go tell your friends that you "owned them snowflakes?"
What a joke.
Whether you leave this earth young or live into your 90s...life is painfully short. And in the cosmic timeline? We are not even a blip on the radar. Your endless rants on social media gain you nothing. You change no one. When you pass, no one will say "gosh, remember how Sally owned them libs?" Or "Sam really took it to those repubs..."
Yet so many people spend so much effort and energy on meaningless debates. And it is meaningless. Posting on social media, arguing, ranting...name calling...is not holding back the evil forces of Socialism nor crushing the dastardly plans of conservatives. On social media people will continue to dig in their heels...no matter how "right" you think you are nor the number of facts you present them. People don't change based on social media arguing.
Our job here on this little blue speck...is to make life a little bit better for the next generation. Tell me: how does calling someone a "demonrat" improve tomorrow? Does it make people want to be more like you? Does it become a beacon for them to want to improve themselves?
Does someone sit back and reflect on their ideology because Sally called them a socialist-communist-snowflake-lib-sheeple? Sally, in all caps, told me to DO MY RESEARCH! "Gosh, Sally, that was really well thought out name calling, and since you said I should do my research in all caps, I totally will and change my philosophy!"
Sounds idiotic. Yet welcome to 2020.
On a personal note: I can't tell you how disappointed I am in the so-called Christian right. I identify as Christian. And I recognize I have a long way to go. We are called to be shining examples of what humanity should aspire to be. And I fail. Constantly. Ask my wife and kid. When Colin says he wants to be like me, I tell him to be better than me.
Yet watching this past election cycle...I saw many "Christians" posting about "Joe and the Hoe." I'm relatively sure that's not Christ-like. And it's just one example of the nastiness I read...only to jump onto those folks Twitter pages or Facebook pages and see "Christian" as a part of their intro or a Bible verse posted.
Then there's the excuse: "But they do it!" Ah, yes...following in the footsteps of that wonderful Bible verse: "Do unto others as they do to you."
Wait. That doesn't seem quite right. I'm sure I'm missing something.
We have to be better. I've always heard it said "don't wrestle with a pig. The pig likes it and you both end up muddy." We can't be dragged into the senseless insults. The mind-numbing name calling. The reason we retaliate is ego.
The arrogance and hubris so many of us have...especially on social media...is appalling. We think our opinion is right and therefore anyone who thinks differently than me is wrong. Stupid. A sheep. Or worse...evil. It's all ego driven. If we walk away from mud-slinging, what's the worst outcome? The other person might mock us and think they are right. So. What?!?
We get one life. One go-around on this little blue speck in the infinite ocean of space. One blip on the cosmic timeline. How do you want to spend that time? Being an idiot and debating online with other idiots? Thinking you're going to change minds because "you've done your research" and everyone else...but you...is a sheep?
By the by...if I'm parroting words like "sheep" and "socialist" and "lib" and "sheeple..." doesn't that make me a sheep? I'm just following what everyone who thinks like me is saying. Or is it totally different? Do y'all have monthly meetings and agree on what words to use...but that totally doesn't make you a sheep...you're just comparing notes, yes?
Sorry, I digress.
I'm so disappointed in so many of you. We can do better. We have to do better. Because our job is to make this blue speck just a little bit better for the next generation. And 2020 has been a step backwards. At least for those of us here in the States.
Step away from the meaningless arguments and have real conversations with those around you. Build each other up. Find common ground. Get involved in your local community. Don't like the way things are going in politics? Get involved! Volunteer. Run for office. Anything but posting moronic memes.
Going into 2021...make a new commitment to live true to your virtues. Be a beacon. Be an inspiration. Whether those are Christian ideals, ideals based on other faiths or just because you want to be a good person. Strive to be better than we were this year. Have compassion for people. Embrace differences and love people because they are human...just like you, even if their political ideology is different.
That little blue speck is all of us. Essentially one tiny blue ship in a black infinite ocean. And so far as we can tell...we're all we have.
Let's do better in 2021.
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