¶ 1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 From the safety and comfort of my home in Tucson, Arizona, America – to imagine myself living in a nightmarish theatre of the absurd  seems absurd, compared to those who lived through the fire storms in Dresden or Hiroshima  of WWII (when America went untouched and gained power and riches). Or the plight of today’s refugees fleeing all variations of terror, all over the globe. Do the monsters of today compare with those of humankind’s long, bloody history (while the rich get richer)? Is Stephen Pinker  correct claiming significantly diminished violence thru human history (it hinges on Pinker’s definition of “violence”; a different story would be told about the increase of “human suffering”)?

¶ 2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 0 Immediate violence and suffering cannot be ignored, but there is much more to “reality”.  For example, compare the immediate experiences of persons “killed” (by any means), and the extended pain, suffering, and longer-term consequences of those “left behind”.

¶ 3 Leave a comment on paragraph 3 0 The “killing of potential”, whether of a person “passing too soon” or of the loss of a glorious future for Humanity/Gaia following the “extinction of humankind”  is difficult to compare with immediate loss and accompanying violence. Schell writes, “We have always been able to send people to their death, but only now has it become possible to prevent all birth and so doom all future human beings to uncreation.”

¶ 4 Leave a comment on paragraph 4 0 How does “descent into madness” compare with “death” (for persons or populations)?
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¶ 5 Leave a comment on paragraph 5 0 “nuet”, Larry’s inner wrld, is compelled to share this contrast – as a platform from which to launch an uplifting, highly positive proposal. REALITY IS THE WHOLE. Good and Bad. Crisis: Opportunity/Danger; Challenge!!

¶ 6 Leave a comment on paragraph 6 0 No one knows all that is happening, trending, or hiding as potential – in the vast, fractal complexity of 21st Century humankind. Larry/nuet “groks”  our Here&Now as unique in human history, and possibly unique in the “Life of COSMOS”. Whether accurate or not, might we attend to the challenge of this, potentially unique, Crisis-of-Crises.
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¶ 7 Leave a comment on paragraph 7 0 What is happening within GAIA on Planet Earth, in our Solar System (which we haven’t named), in our Galaxy (which we haven’t named), in our Galactic Cluster (which we haven’t named)? With astonishing arrogance “we claim” to be competent (with this query) from our teeny-tiny-point position, as a node in this vast/complex sysnet.

¶ 8 Leave a comment on paragraph 8 0 WE (emergent humankind) may be a unique phenomenon; more – a yet embryonic process, than a “finished product, approaching the perfection-of-maturity”.

¶ 9 Leave a comment on paragraph 9 0 Try imagining the experiences of a caterpillar/butterfly in process of metamorphosis. The effects of “birth trauma” on the “baby” remains a topic of controversy.

¶ 10 Leave a comment on paragraph 10 0 Personally, I (Larry/nuet) am more intrigued by the antics of my contemporary humans, than disturbed. Here I include EVERYONE, from Trump/GOP to radical/progressive pundits. We are witness to the TOP STORY of human history – much being recorded, for later study. There is no fictional narrative more exciting. Simplistic futures are very disturbing. Indeed, they are nightmares.

¶ 11 Leave a comment on paragraph 11 0 to be continued.  01/11/18