What Would a Superpower Make Of What We Are Doing On Earth?

We don’t know if we are the only body in the solar system with inhabitants possessing the intelligence and imagination which we as humans have. Maybe not. But we are certainly the only ones we know of. This is our planet to keep or lose. I find myself imagining a Supreme Power looking down on us, recognizing that we have this treasured place to live with increasing opportunities and, yes, challenges too. What might this Supreme Power ask? Do these men and women recognize the incredible privilege of being alive? Do they recognize that they may be the only sentient being in the universe that can do what they do? Do they recognize that the future of their planet is not guaranteed; that its future is in their hands? Yes, the planet will almost certainly outlast anything human beings can do. But life on earth as we know it may not. Do they recognize that it won’t survive if we annihilate each other through atomic warfare. Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer understood this; they worried about it even as they created nuclear energy. Do they recognize that biological warfare could wipe out all, or a substantial part, of the human race? Do they recognize how climate change can decimate life as we know it for ourselves and wildlife? I feel sure this superpower, no matter how we conceive it would lament that we can’t get along. They would lament that we don’t recognize that we have been privileged to live in this amazing world, with capabilities of imagination and innovation like no generation ever had before. And yet, we are our own worst enemies in so many ways. Do we treat each other and other countries as existential enemies rather than simply different people(s) with different views and different histories with whom we should get along by listening and understanding each other, and never--ever-- denying the right of other people(s) to exist? Wouldn’t this all seem so sensible to an outside power looking in on us, looking at our situation, on our challenges, and on our opportunities? I think so. We need leaders able to see this and act accordingly. Why is it that the Israelis, Palestinians and Arab leaders find it so hard to come together to resolve how to live together on the small piece of land that constitutes Israel and Palestine? Why can’t Russia and Ukraine come together to resolve how they will live together, have commerce together, share history together, and provide governance that meets the rights of people in different parts of their nations? The reason why reverts, of course, to the weaknesses that we have as human beings: the tendency to want to lift ourselves and our group up relative to someone else--or some other group. There was a time, not too long ago,when there was a passion and the perceived need for more land as populations grew. But isn’t it true that that need has largely gone? Don’t most countries now have enough land not just to survive on but to thrive on? I don’t pose this as a rhetorical question. Others may have a different point of view. But I think there is enough land, and we can create enough abundance to meet the needs of all people if we are imaginative and above all care about them. We are all children of God. We fought over oil in the past. We wanted to possess it because it was precious. And that remains a motivator. But is that any reason to have wars today? Can't we trade for oil, recognizing the rights of the countries that have it? For me, this perspective on how our planet looks to a Supreme Power carries a powerful motivation and obligation for us--the human beings present here--to preserve this planet which amazingly has been made ours. In doing so, we will not only be preserving the life of each of us who are a part of it now, but above all the billions who will follow us for generations to come. That is our opportunity. That is our obligation. J. E. Pepper