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The New Century nears the close of its first decades. Though technology offers unprecedented opportunity, all to come is obscured by the clouds of the past. We are tied to the debts and scars of the past, burdened by the doubts of our forefathers. A charismatic leaders speaks of optimism, the oldest nation rises in new majesty, and the promise of the future lingers brightly in our collective conscious. A momentous decision faces the species we call Humanity.
We can climb upon the flawed shoulders of History's titans and peer into the dim light of a brave new world. Or we can look back, and hide forever in their shadows. There are those who warn that science and technology represent the downfall of mankind. Either knowledge will erode the moral foundations, or it will lead to the ruin of Mother Nature. Yet technology comes closer and closer to fulfilling its promise of freeing all of Mankind from the drudgery of the past. To turn our back on it in the hour of its transcendence would be unfortunate and unwise. While it may be possible to scale back civilization and live simply in harmony with nature, to simply exist on this globe is to sell short the potential of the human spirit.
The stars beckon to us - they speak of virgin worlds and unspoiled wonders. That they are difficult to reach is only a boon. Mankind must refine itself if it ever hopes to traverse the void between the stars. It is a challenge the Nature herself makes us.
This is not the challenge of our generation, of a life time, or even centuries. It is the challenge that transcends even nations and civilizations. It is the challenge our very species exists to meet. It is the culmination of a billion year old journey.
I don't know what lies beyond the stars. I don't know if there are answers out there, or if there are other civilizations waiting to greet us. But I do know that Humans are endlessly curious. The enigmatic reaches of space are too tempting for us to ignore. At the dawn of this century, the time is ripe to reconsider where our civilization is headed, and what our goals truly are. The stars are waiting . . .
 
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tl;dr version?
User was temp-banned for this post
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On December 12 2009 06:05 David Mudkips wrote:
tl;dr version?
God, it's not that much - do you hate reading that much or have the attention span of a fruit fly?
Interesting post. The idealist in me would like to believe that humanity can make it to the stars someday but the realist in me thinks we'll probably screw ourselves over long before that happens.
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On December 12 2009 06:05 David Mudkips wrote:
tl;dr version?
read faster?
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1/10th of the century is over, i don't think that qualifies as the dawn anymore
but other than that, this sounds like some kind of inspirational speech that morgan freeman—playing the president, naturally—would give at the conclusion of a movie
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My palate has a dislike for poem-like threads. When the author is constantly eluding the direct approach, it becomes bothersome. Humanity will never reach pass our vast solar system much less be able to stay confined for 20 years. Yes, the motivation is desirable but not feasible.
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We're gonna have to get into a bit of warpdrive to make this happen.. That's gonna take a bit more than optimism ... Not to mention the blackhole danger ^^
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Sometimes I wish I could live long enough to observe the progress of science and eventually perhaps the conquest of the universe. But humanity`s greed is probably enough to destroy itself.
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Though a warp drive is certainly preferable to explore the stars, it is not a requirement. The initial data of where we can expect to find habitable planets is rolling in. There are several concepts (solar sails, nuclear ramjet, antimatter) which may feasibly drive a starship within the coming century. A starship would have to be designed as livable space, with agricultural facilities, perhaps even large enough to use centrifugal force to emulate gravity.
Such a journey would take several lifetimes, and be almost unable to communicate with Earth. It brings to mind journeys undertaken by ancient Polynesians. They too embarked upon the journey of a life time, and never communicated with those they left behind.
It proves that there is enough daring in some to leave behind everything that they have ever known to push a new horizon.
To barth, I think greed is a dangerous human trait, but the lust for material wealth can be a driver to push us into space, since it is likely that there is wealth to find.
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Humanity absolutely must make other planets their home. Resources will eventually run out in order to survive as a species, we must propagate to the stars. Earth is like a cradle and mankind will have to leave it someday.
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EPT
