Recommit to Virtue: Part 6 of 10 - Cleanliness or Lust

Science without humanity is the fifth of Gandhi’s blunders.  We must ask ourselves if all science, and the attending technological advancements, is positive?  Technology without clean, pure purpose leads to inhumanity.  Is the promised utopia helpful, or is production for the masses superior?  Hitler’s scientist performed with great efficiency, but was what they did truly beneficial?  American scientists indirectly killed thousands in Asia in the name of freedom.  Stem-cell research is driving “infant harvesting.”  In these and countless other examples, we wonder, who is considering the influence on humanity?  Who is monitoring the impact on our bodies, our environments, and our minds?  It is not the technology that is negative, but rather it is the lustful use of it that determines its morality.  As life gets faster, bigger, and increasingly more threatening, we must slow down and think about the personal and environmental impact of our scientific and technological breakthroughs.  We must demand order and purpose to ensure that science does not overshadow humanity.



Birth: From a Life of Peace and Predictability to a Life of Challenge and Change

There is a debate about when life begins.  I believe that at some point in the womb, the growing fetus becomes conscious of its surroundings: the warmth, the safety, the peace, the predictability.  At the moment of birth, however, the infant enters an environment that is hostile; it is cold, loud, intense, and bright.  The excruciating journey from the security of the mother’s womb is full of struggle and pain.  Arriving naked and confused, this new setting is harsh and demanding in comparison.  The pain of birth instantly creates dissonance between one’s current environment and past peace.  The arrival begins with the need for food and reassuring touch.  Pain leads to tears, and crying leads to relief.  To exist, strong instinctive survival behaviors take over to ensure safety and security.  Initial peace at this level is equated to the attainment of food and touch, as well as the avoidance of pain.  It is soon learned that tears and noise influence the surroundings.  Control of the hostile environment has begun.