Confusion

Human beings are a confusing lot. On National Public Radio this week, there were two stunningly contrasting segments in one afternoon. The first segment was an interview with a popular female blogger who writes about her extreme anxiety disorder and her quirky upbringing with a taxidermist father. She went into detail about being on drugs for anxiety and having extensive problems with socialization. 

The second segment was a presentation by a panel of futurists associated with space-travel research. They expressed consternation at the lack of public funding for research necessary, the their minds, for colonization of the whole Universe by the human species. One of their unstated assumptions was that the human species would eventually turn the Earth into an uninhabitable wasteland, unsuitable for occupancy by such brilliant minds as theirs.

The anxiety-ridden blogger apparently claims her greatest contribution to the human species was the reproduction of herself in the form of an infant girl after multiple miscarriages. Really? Well, the scientists who cannot wait to disembark this planet for outer space may well disagree. Or would they? This is the confusing part. 

Taking life as it is with an acceptance of our responsibility and understanding that our planet is what we make it starting right now seems to have escaped the blogger and the futurists. Making a career out of bemoaning my genetics and then consciously passing on those genetics seems to me to be a continuation of what makes this planet less enjoyable for all ... and especially for the child whose genetic burdens are predictable. Assuming that my own species is trashing my planet and then turning my brilliance to escapism also seems rather cowardly and irresponsible.

The Big-Daddy-ism of religion, which has deeply poisoned the human psyche for too long, lies at the root of a lot of this confusion, in my opinion. The responsible and painful ethical decisions are often shoved off by individuals as Big Daddy's (God's) problems. This is not an option for the secular humanist. But is does make being a secular humanist more difficult in the face of massive irresponsibility and narcissism all around. Staying clear about ethics and personal responsibility is hard. It requires practice. And, many times it requires shunning the confusion of popular culture.