{"id":708,"date":"2017-11-14T09:40:12","date_gmt":"2017-11-14T09:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/honr392a\/?p=708"},"modified":"2017-11-21T08:03:12","modified_gmt":"2017-11-21T08:03:12","slug":"contemplations-on-our-pale-blue-dot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/honr392a\/2017\/11\/14\/contemplations-on-our-pale-blue-dot\/","title":{"rendered":"Contemplations on Our Pale Blue Dot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s relive our most recent contemplative practice.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Imagine:
\n<\/i>
\nThe state of the wor<\/i>ld is worsening.<\/i> Feverish Eart<\/span>h<\/span>\u00a0and its\u00a0<\/span>subjects are drowning in corruption, injustice, and inequity. <\/span>Children are hungry<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>Rich men govern from palace-sized homes<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>Industry of war is prospering<\/a>.\u00a0The future is dark, smoldering hot, and underwater<\/a>. Run through the litany of traumas endur<\/span>ed by Ear<\/span>th and its people. This reality is familiar. I know it to be true, so I sit relaxed, but with brow furrowed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Things are <\/i>improving<\/i>.<\/i> What an irritating delusion. Earth is drowning, and the human condition is a prophylactic against\u00a0cooperative survival. Catastrophe cannot be overcome when progressive efforts are assaulted by division. But, indulge this narrative. The world is a bright, hopeful little ball of improbability. How curious. Head tilted, foot twirling, engage with this idea. Delegations from 194 countries<\/a> are gathering in Bonn to make a pact to preserve our dear little Earth.<\/span>\u00a0It\u2019s almost a<\/span>s though I\u2019m a witness to something sweet. I almost smile. But, I don\u2019t. The US, the second largest emitter of greenhouse gasses<\/a>, is <\/span>absent<\/a> from the endearing Bonn engagement.<\/span>\u00a0More disheartened imagining this little ball of dystopia than drowning Earth<\/span>, I am stressed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Things are what they are. <\/i>Deep breath.\u00a0What is ha<\/span>ppening now will happen and has already happened; time is not linear. I am not in control. Relief. Life marches on regardless of me, my perception, or my actions. Deeper breathing. Life simply is. Recognizing truth, whether good or bad, is pleasant and intriguing. How complex and dynamic is this world? How fortunate am I to identify how affecting different perspectives can be? I am pleased.<\/span><\/p>\n

This last worldview is the truest, most pure, and most relieving because it removes values and assessments. It simply recognizes existence \u2013 if not of us, then of something. Unfortunately, this perspective also requires its adherents to see the same objective truth in order to close divides, and what qualifies as objective truth is a point of contention. Two people can look at the same numbers, and while one sees fact, the other\u00a0sees propaganda. Perhaps then, this scheme doesn\u2019t solve for <\/span>American political polarization<\/a>,<\/span>\u00a0but it promotes unity to some degr<\/span>ee: there is no disagreement as to whether or not our world is ending or blossoming. There is\u00a0<\/span>o<\/span>nl<\/span>y our <\/span>pale blue<\/a>\u00a0dot<\/a>, floating in spa<\/span>ce.<\/span>\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/p>\n

YoutTube. \u201cCarl Sagan\u2019s Pale Blue Dot OFFICIAL.\u201d Online video clip. <\/span><\/span>YouTube, <\/i><\/span><\/span>9 September 2015.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Dennis, Brady. \u201cAs Syria Embraces Paris Climate Deal, It\u2019s the United States against the World.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span>The Washington Post<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span>, WP Company, 7 Nov. 2017,\u00a0www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/energy- environment\/wp\/2017\/11\/07\/as-syria-embraces-paris-climate-deal-its-the-united-states-against- the-world\/?utm_term=.55099f3acc26<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ge, Friedrich, Damassa. \u201c6 Graphs Explain the World\u2019s Top 10 Emitters.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span>World Resources Institute, <\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span>World Resources Institute, 25 Nov. 2014. https:\/\/wri.org\/blog\/2014\/11\/6-graphs-explain-world<\/a> %E2%80%99s-top-10-emitters<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Haner, Coral Davenport And Josh. \u201cThe Marshall Islands Are Disappearing.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>The New York Times<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span>, The New York Times, 1 Dec. 2015, www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2015\/12\/02\/world\/The-Marshall-Islands-Are-Disappearing.html<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Hunger Notes. \u201cWorld Child Hunger Facts.\u201d<\/span>World Hunger News<\/i><\/span>, World Hunger Education Service, 2016, www.worldhunger.org\/world-child-hunger-facts\/<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Kenyon, Peter. \u201cTurkey’s President And His 1,100-Room ‘White Palace’.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>NPR<\/i><\/span>, NPR, 24 Dec. 2014, www.npr.org\/sections\/parallels\/2014\/12\/24\/370931835\/turkeys-president-and-his-1-100-room-<\/a> white-palace<\/a>.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

NPR. \u201cIke’s Warning Of Military Expansion, 50 Years Later.\u201d<\/span>NPR<\/i><\/span>, NPR, 17 Jan. 2011, www.npr.org\/2011\/01\/17\/132942244\/ikes-warning-of-military-expansion-50-years-later<\/a>.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Roberts, David. \u201cAmerica Is Facing an Epistemic Crisis.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span>Vox<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span>, Vox, 2 Nov. 2017, www.vox.com\/policy-<\/a> and-politics\/2017\/11\/2\/16588964\/america-epistemic-crisis.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s relive our most recent contemplative practice. Imagine: The state of the world is worsening. Feverish Earth\u00a0and its\u00a0subjects are drowning in corruption, injustice, and inequity. Children are hungry.\u00a0Rich men govern from palace-sized homes.\u00a0Industry of war is prospering.\u00a0The future is dark, smoldering hot, and underwater. Run through the litany of traumas endured by Earth and its people. This reality is familiar…. Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58,61],"tags":[143],"class_list":["post-708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-contemplative-practices","category-week-7-contemplative-practices","tag-contemplativepractice-thingsarewhattheyare-perspective-polarization-vonnegut"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/honr392a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/honr392a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/honr392a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/honr392a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/honr392a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/honr392a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":746,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/honr392a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708\/revisions\/746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/honr392a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/honr392a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/honr392a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}