By Mark Antony Rossi
You need strength to be human in this day of machines. In this epoch of ecclesiastical excess. Discarding faith beyond believing in ourselves is not an ignoble act but rather a sensible reminder of the finite nature of flesh and the natural instinct to live within its parameters.
For two millennia, humanity has found itself caught between righteousness of religion and the seduction of science. The extreme ends of these polar opposites are hostile to natural human development. The human living apart from the science or religion’s influence is considered less than whole like we were born incomplete and unacceptable.
For reasons of control and ideology Science and Religion seek to intervene in human life with the expressed purpose of altering self perception. Under their disturbing wing you are not allowed to exist without being viewed spiritually or scientifically as damaged goods.
Being human is not a curse. We are informed through the ages “to err is human.” This misleading statement has been used as a maxim to reinforce the fragility of man and his overwhelming need to be rescued by religion. But anyone with eyes should notice to err is animal, to err is mechanical and to err is digital. Mistakes are being made daily by more creatures, natural and artificial, than human beings.
And how can other imperfect humans set a course for human perfection? On the governmental level this manner of arrogance permitted mass murder. With religion it often restricts the potential of the people by saddling them with rituals of guilt and sacrifice. Science sidesteps the existential by conveniently claiming there’s no inner life. Thus allowing them to plow headfirst into external modification for extra performance and greater life spans.
Science and Religion have a seat at the table of humanity but it is individual rights and free will that must restrain their dangerous impulses. When Science is unrestricted, humans are a bag of meat meant to have their molecules manipulated until a more evolved life form emerges. When Religion is not adequately challenged, humans are spiritual interns making ready for a cosmic existence providing they pass earthly marathons of empty ritual and meaningless mantra.
Being human is not a curse if you regulate your relationship with science and religion. Your relationship with God and spirituality need not be a component of organized religion. Your connection with science need not buy into every effort to turn people into pill-popping puppets. Happiness is not found by following fads and false messiahs but rather by finding that place in your heart that guards freedom today and into the future.
About the Author: Mark Antony Rossi is a poet, playwright and author of the bioethics volume “Dark Tech” now available from Amazon. His most recent plays have been produced in Liverpool and New York.
http://ethical-stranger.webnode.com/
Indian Periodical
Indian Periodical