Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Here's a question, an honest question. What's worthwhile out of all the stuff being thrown at us, what's worthwhile? All the controversies, all the essential viewing, all the outrage, what's worthwhile? Worth our time and attention, our careful consideration, our action. I care and I want to do the right thing, make the world a better place. Love my neighbor in addition to my family. But there are so many conflicting messages, so many threats to society or democracy, so many leaders to consider following, so many narratives to consider believing they can't all be true. How can we prove one and disprove the others? I'm at a place where I want to make sense of things and make some decisions. At least this year, in 2024, we get to make some choices. Choose who to vote for, who to spend time with, conversing or listening or watching, when to speak and what to say, where to go, what to eat, how to exercise, what to do with our bodies and what to put into them, either through our mouths or injected into our veins. Things feel different to me now. Seems like maybe we didn't have as much ability to make choices the last couple of years. It didn't seem as safe to speak or to gather or to even go outside. We were told to mask up and stand 6ft apart, to get our injections and not to complain. Was all that worthwhile? Was it the right thing to do? Are we better off now as a result of it? I want to make some progress, make things better again, be a part of the solution as we move forward, whether it's getting back to normal, or finding a new normal, or building back better or making anything great again, what's it going to look like? Will it be a great reset or a great awakening? What are we even talking about? I want to live in peace and harmony and understanding with people around me, even those who are not like me. What factors define us, bind us, bring us together or keep us apart? Our nationality, our tribe, our sex, our gender, our race, our religion or political affiliation? Are we not all human, all flesh and blood and spirit? Do we not have shared history and shared destiny? Perhaps the injustices and grievances and inconsiderations have taken us too far apart to work and live and play together. Or maybe we can build bridges and reach across aisles and cross streets to find that we still have more in common than we have indifference. At a societal level, we've got common desires but competing interests. We all want affordable transportation. But does that mean cheap gas, or more charging stations to keep the lights on and charge our devices? Do we need more renewables and batteries on the grid, or more natural gas and clean coal? We all want a healthy and beautiful natural world with clean air and clean water. But we also want to be comfortable and go where we want as fast and as often as we want. Is it worthwhile to enjoy a lifestyle based on such a great consumption of fossil fuels and natural resources like we do? Shouldn't we all make a few lifestyle changes to be more sustainable and for the sake of future generations? But is it worthwhile to choke economies to tax and limit or cap and trade carbon emissions? Does mother nature really care how many tons of co2 we emit? Should we build giant co2 scrubbers? Can't we just plant more trees? And what of higher things? I have a deep christian faith. I know others do not. Is there a God, a creator of the universe? What is his name? What does he want from us, for us? How do we speak to him? And how does he speak to us? Is he even a he or a she or a they? What is his will? Does he have our fate in his hands? Or do we have free will to make our own decisions, find our own way? On the other hand, are we here by chance, by evolution, by cosmic happenstance, and by humanity pulling itself up from the void by our own ethereal bootstraps? If so, are we not approaching something grand, something worthwhile, a singularity where the artificial intelligence humanity has created can become God, run all the numbers and tell us not only where to eat lunch and how to write a term paper, but also how best to live our lives. The questions keep coming. There are too many of them. The information keeps coming, too, and there's too much of it. Too much information, but not enough wisdom. So what's worthwhile? I'm asking that of myself. And I encourage you to ask that of yourself, too. I don't ever want to tell you what to think. I'm just telling you to think. Think for yourself. Consider, wrestle, look for, and find some answers. I want to head off on a journey of discovery. I invite you to come along with me. Let's ask and discuss and consider and find some answers to these questions. It's okay if we all come up different answers, because we will have pondered and explored and learned together, and therefore grown closer together. And for today, that is enough.
