The Arc of the Moral Universe: What Can We Expect?
Here’s a question posed by a certain Steve Charleston:
I have a simple question for people of faith around the world: must it always be so? Must human history always be written as the aftermath of competition between the few who have power and want more, or will there come a time when the common sense of the common person prevails and peace based on sharing emerges?
We stand on the threshold of a return to nationalism, the old patterns resurrected yet again, leading us as they always do to sorrow. Before the drums start, may the voices of a clear alternative be heard in every land. We have a choice. We are better than that. Our children deserve better than that. What is to come can be changed if only we have the will to change it.
Well, Steve. I happen to have a crystal ball here, which will enable me to help you out; I’m never too busy to dabble in the occult, if it’s for a good cause. I’ve just pulled it out of the closet and placed it on my desk, and while it’s not giving me a direct answer to your question, it seems to be offering a couple of different ways to examine it.
First, it says “It really hasn’t been a bad 800 years,” I suppose meaning that, starting with the Magna Carta, human civilization has become increasingly rational and less brutal. Think of the Renaissance, the Age of Reason, the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, the U.S. Constitution, the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, the Geneva Convention, the U.N., civil rights, the end of Apartheid, the rise of environmental stewardship, the Arab Spring, new technology that has the potential to enable a transition to clean energy, social media that facilitates massive events like the 2017 Women’s March, and so many other demonstrable elements of progress. These are all pieces of evidence that suggest that MLK was correct: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”
But the ball is also pointing out things like the Third Reich, ISIS, ongoing genocides, and the ascendancy of Donald Trump. Are these simply regrettable blips in the trend discussed above, or are they evidence that a true brotherhood of humankind is a pipe dream?
It’s not really clear; the crystal ball only says that, in either case, we’ll know fairly soon–certainly by the end of this century. Climate change, ocean acidification, loss of biodiversity, the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and the prospect of world fascism are all phenomena that we’ll either overcome–or we won’t.
Rats! Now the darn thing has gone completely dark. How embarrassing.
Actually, maybe there is a take-away we can garner from this exercise. Perhaps the outcome will be derived from events that are yet to happen, or, as you put it: What is to come can be changed if only we have the will to change it. Maybe that’s what makes this such an important and interesting time to be alive: it’s up to every person of decency and compassion, whether they are people of faith or not, to make a daily effort to bend the arc of the moral universe in the right direction.
I’m going with that.
Brilliant post!
Thanks!
The sad truth is that history repeats itself.
Not occult – simple arithmetic – There are more people who would move the world toward justice given the chance. Now is the time for all of us to stand together. Sadly, most people cannot break the bonds that stop them from taking constructive peaceful action. Hopefully that will change.
Indeed.
And thanks for your loving support over the years, Robert. It’s been 3 1/2 years since I wrote this on your piece “No Love, No Fish.” http://www.2greenenergy.com/2014/07/15/message-passion-sustainability/
Craig,
I hate to be the contrarian at this love fest, and the only one who can’t remember all the words to Kumbaya. ( I just wandered in from the AC/DC concert down the road by mistake).
The human race, all seven billion of us, owe our success and our very existence, to our diversity and quarrelsome nature.
The minute one human develops a concept like “justice”, ten, a hundred, ten thousand, ten million alternate concepts are developed, all competing to be recognized as the definition of justice.
That aggressive, assertive desire to be an individual, while also striving to dominate a group is deep within the nature of the human spirit.
The human species is capable of organizing peaceful, stable societies flexible enough to contain all but the most extreme expressions of disharmony.
The societies are always fragile and the dynamics must allow for wide difference of opinion to co-exist.
The idea of “true brotherhood of humankind” is not only an illusion, but probably destructive. We co-operate in organized societies, from self-interest. The most successful of those societies allow for the greatest diversity of opinion.
Comparing Donald Trump to ISIS or Adolf Hitler, is a great example of a flexible tolerant society. If your analogy was correct, you would either have lost your head by now, or find yourself in a concentration camp.
It’s hard to admit, but all the tragedies, conflicts, fanaticism, and sheer madness displayed by human species, are just as much an essential part of our nature as compassion, love, and altruism.
I don’t believe our species is marching to Utopia, we’ed hate it it if we found it. We are what we are, a glorious mixture, a wild kaleidoscope of conflicting passions and contradictions.
Perfection is unattainable, and probably undesirable !
Sorry to intrude and then leave, but I think they’re about to play “Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap ” , an oldie, but a goodie! I gotta go, ‘cos I’m meeting this weird chick who loves the Rolling Stones’ Sympathy for the Devil’, even though it was written thirty years before she was born !
Hey, come to think of it Craig, she’s in to all that sort of occult stuff, maybe she could fix your crystal ball ? Why don’t you come along ?
No ? Oh well, Peace and love, or Rock on, which ever suits your mood ! 🙂
@ Craig
Very Thoughtful Post – it gets to the Root of the Matter – Individual Transformation leads to Social Transformation which results in natural Transformation and Collective Good.
Perhaps the rising challenges and their harsh consequences will result in better Transformation or
we will remain like the Spider that bites the Frog that saves the Spider crossing the river …. facing up to that choice which way we go is so uncertain….given the Flawed human condition.
Semper Fidelis we Choose or Act positively
I hope we can.
I think it will take more to stop the few rich, corrupt, and criminals that own the US, and some other countries politicians(ex Russia, Congo…..).:
Have to get nearly equal money and media coverage for all political candidates.
A change to proportional representation, like in Germany.
A global effort for human rights (The UN Declaration of Human Rights) and representative governments everywhere, livable wages, employment, rules against pollution, joint science and space exploration, joint defense of the planet from asteroids, non proliferation and mutually verifiable dismantlement of nuclear weapons, create an international united security system so that national militaries and their expenses can be scaled back.
Without global cooperation and treating people right we are doomed. It can be done but we need the will and we need to act now in an extremely honest, kind, persistent, distributed, sustained action. We must gain political power. Talking to ourselves has not fixed it. A few bad politicians can hurt a lot of people.
Interesting thoughts, Craig, thank you!
I think the following quotes from Bertolt Brecht and Martin Luther King describe why we are in the current position:
“The worst illiterate is the political illiterate, he doesn’t hear, doesn’t speak, nor participates in the political events. He doesn’t know the cost of life, the price of the bean, of the fish, of the flour, of the rent, of the shoes and of the medicine, all depends on political decisions. The political illiterate is so stupid that he is proud and swells his chest saying that he hates politics. The imbecile doesn’t know that, from his political ignorance is born the prostitute, the abandoned child, and the worst thieves of all, the bad politician, corrupted and flunky of the national and multinational companies.”
― Bertolt Brecht
Where were all the current protesters on November 8?
The following quote is the perfect answer:
“History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr
Nice article Craig.
Marcopolo stated:
“That aggressive, assertive desire to be an individual, while also striving to dominate a group is deep within the nature of the human spirit.”
Ummm… Here’s an alternative.
The desire to express our fundamental feelings and aspirations without external attempts to control us by either individuals or collectives is sacrosanct to the core of the human spirit.
This sensibility is so profound, that violations thereof often create a disproportionate response of such magnitude as to shock us within and without. Simply stated – Don’t hurt me, don’t help me, let me live my short time in peace.
Editorially speaking, I don’t want to comment on or control the actions of others when they are seeking the same. Virtually everyone I have met in my life feels similarly and it appears to me as an aberration when individuals believe they know what is best for others.
We sometimes debate the apathy within our culture. I see it as a conundrum, given that most of us come from the perspective of simply wanting to express ourselves to ourselves and be left alone in that pursuit. The solution to apathy is to go beyond the personal self-expression of our inner angel and find oneself on the slippery slope of speaking for others – an almost inevitable abandonment of that angel.
I cannot speak to how prevalent the desire for power is within the population at large, but can say that these individuals, representing a couple or more sigmas out, are those that tend to damage the world rather than help it. That said, it is what it is, and I don’t feel anywhere near omniscient enough to suggest changes. Whenever a person in power or the acquisition thereof proposes that their solution for the travails of others is the only true path, be very afraid. Nothing is easy, so be suspicious. There are no clear, concise solutions. That doesn’t mean we stop polite, intelligent discourse in the analysis of an indefinitely large spectrum of sub-optimal possibilities.
Hi Arlene,
Thanks for sharing your observations, which I found insightful.
The subject Craig addressed concerned human behavior in a generalized context.
Obviously, individuals humans are a mass of contradicting emotions and depend very much on the experiences and circumstances of the individual.
However, I believe it’s fair to conclude that the most unique aspect of our species is our ability to cooperate as a pack, while remaining individuals. That’s part of our survival instinct, we are both incredibly aggressive and altruistic.
Evolution didn’t just allow an omnivorous diet, we’re omnivorous in our behavior.
“The desire to express our fundamental feelings and aspirations without external attempts to control us by either individuals or collectives is sacrosanct to the core of the human spirit”.
While that sounds wonderful, and may apply to you, I very much doubt it’s shared by many others. Large parts of our population only feel secure when their lives are controlled by strong structures and more dominant humans. Other humans have a very strong need to dominate and direct society.
I’m not sure many (outside California) are really eager to “express fundamental feelings” !
Like I say, for the purpose of answering Craig’s generalized proposition, I’m making generalizations.
Craig your thinking is clear and refreshing. I have no doubt that the majority of people in the US and elsewhere want a progressive and peaceful future. Now with a regressive and destructive administration, we find ourselves groping for institutions or ways to organize to end the Trump administration as quickly as possible. Street protests have limited value, lawsuits are good until the courts are stacked with right wing judges. Voting is good but in places like the south it is difficult for minorities and increasingly so.
The right is very organized and well funded. They have a national long term strategy for their ends. By contrast, the left is scattered and disorganized. Until progressives understand what the Koch brothers and others have done to organize against us we will continue to fight brush fires. We must develop our own strategy to use our majority status to defeat the right. Much of this work has been done but it needs to be brought together. The Trump crisis demands that we do this.
Tom well said you Frame the issue for America quite clearly –
The Right and Oligarchs have been working their ” progrom ” since the launching of the 10,000 word or so L Powell Memorandum commonly referred to the “Powell Memo” which was their call to Arms moment….since then it is easy to trace back their plan and lines of attack.
tom as you say and I have heard this before in other groups the Progressive groups suffer because they cling to to much individuality and they do real good fighting Brush fires .
They need the capacity to create and execute large scale more Forceful and Impacting Forces that disrupt the ARC of the negative Forces that have taken over but they been working on it since 1972.
We are in year 47 and we don’t have the Centralized focused Effort to disrupt and correct and replace.
Lots of Rhetoric nice speeches strong marches and proclamations but NO forceful Policy that captures the public so they pull back from being lame minions and Pawns in a slide into Animal Farm or something!
How do progressive or people who seek a better collective outcome get it together and win over the numbers needed to undermine the Right wing and Oligarchs and put them in their rightful places –
Do you have any ideas or thoughts !
A fine expression of humor and reason, Craig. I congratulate you.
I would change only one word, and make it two. With regard to new technology enabling a transition to clean energy, I would use “proven ability” rather than “potential.”
Would you agree, or does that seem too bold? 🙂
@ Cameron @ Craig
Along with what you were saying
Lets just claim that the ARC of Energy is in the process of Ascending – lifting Humanity to a Cleaner more Sustainable future with the potential in some applications to being more bottom up and people democratic in structure and more choices.
While the ARC of fossil Fuels has peaked and is in decline patterns