For Better or Worse?

I want you to be 100% honest. Do you think that man as an individual is better than man was, say 3500 years ago in Egypt. Don't make your decision based on US standards. Look at the world in its entirety. Compare the Egyptians driving their slaves to build the pyramids ... the constant wars with their neighbors to invade or repel invaders. Are we really any different than they were? Are we different inside? Are our motives any different, any more noble than theirs? We have made technological strides. They had horse carts and charriots; we have trucks and automobiles. They had bows and arrows and spears; we have rifles and rocket propelled grenades. They had war; we have war. They had taxes; we have taxes. Their rulers thought they were gods; our rulers act like they are gods.

Have we changed at all in 3500 years? Is there one ray of hope that we will change in the next 3500 years? Can mankind go through 7000 years of existance and not gain one iota of insight about himself?

So far, the one thing that we have looked to that it might enlighten us, science, has brought us advances in medicine, chemistry, and biology to keep our bodies alive, cosmology to tell us that there may be other worlds like ours, and physics to give us the weapons to destroy ourselves and any other civilizations we might encounter should we visit other planets.

Where is our hope? To what or to whom can we look to change man ... not just mankind in general, but each individual person ... you and me? Is it possible? Can it be done before we are glowing bits of dust?

If it is possible, is it something we will do? Will we do it out of desire or desparation, or not do it at all? Are we too comfortable with where we are? A person once told me that until the pain of staying the same is worse than the pain of changing, we will not change. What if the pain of staying the same comes too late for us to change? Is it already too late?

If it isn't too late:
- What needs to happen to convince us we need to change?
- How must we change ourselves?
- What are we willing to do to change?

Buz