Over the past 300 or so millennia, there has been significant progress. The shift from cave to computer is astounding.
Technology is one thing. Society quite another.
I don’t believe humans have changed that much. We need, I think, to discard the notion of our ancient ancestors as dull-witted brutes. They were smart enough to figure out fire and agriculture and weaving and art and one thing led to another and now we have smart phones.
What has not evolved, in my opinion, has been our societies (local, national and global). In fact, we may have regressed.
We’ve gone from circles of people with an acknowledged consciousness of their relationships with the rest of existence (stars, plants, seasons, animals) to a hierarchical pyramid schemes that discount three fourths of our species. Under the latter, we have serfs, slavery, and homelessness.
Progress has been lopsided – like our society.
This is not what Pangloss told Candide – "all is for the best" in the "best of all possible worlds". Nor is it true that ‘every day in every way, things are getting better and better’.
We need to stop being smug about the progress of our species and start working toward re-forming our circles.
Then we can be smug.
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Well said, Mim. Something to think about and reread. I believe we've lost community, lost the recognition of how much we need each other. I wonder if our technology hasn't encouraged that, and we need somehow to connect with each other even if it's only phone calls, notes, meeting now and then. Thank you, Mim. Your writing is always thoughtful.
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