 home
archives
last week
feedback
Rolla Peace News February 13, 2018 |
|
Dear Friends: http://tomsager.org/Peaceletters/peaceletter021318.html In this newsletter is: 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THIS WEEK, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018 2. TRANSHUMANISM VS. THE NATURAL HUMAN 3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) Slouching Toward World War III 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018 We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office THIS THURSDAY, February 13, 2018, (and all subsequent Thursdays until peace is established) from Noon to 1:00 PM. Please try to join us. The temperature is predicted to be around 70. If you do not feel comfortable standing with us in front of the Post Office, please consider driving by and showing your support for our message by honking your horn and flashing a peace sign. 2. TRANSHUMANISM VS. THE NATURAL HUMAN Technology, in the last hundred years or so, has made our world radically different from the one our grandparents grew up in. If the transhumanists have their way, what it is to be human is up for radical change as well. Many of us already live in a largely virtual world, where we live and work according to an arbitrary time schedule that has nothing to do with the natural cycles of day and night. We go to jobs where we sit at a computer and manipulate figures and words that do not connect us to the material objects, people, or imaginary dollars we are manipulating. We come home and sit in front of screens that depict imaginary realities that come to be more real to us than our own lives. When I was a child, I was outside pretty much all day, every day, except for school and meals. Get-togethers with friends and family usually involved picnicking, fishing, swimming, and other outdoor pursuits, finishing up at someone's house only when it got dark. Many children today hardly ever go outside; they are glued to some screen device, and they are addicted to its stimulation. Their minds and personalities are being influenced by what they see on the screen, and we have to wonder, who is doing the influencing? Because it isn't random. Nozomi Hayase, in this important article, describes in detail how technology has changed how we live, work, play and think, and what's behind the scenes. Instead of being a tool for the common good, technology has become the master of most of us, while behind the curtain, the master manipulators are pushing us in whatever direction will benefit them — not us. Video games are desensitizing our children to violence, so that they will be more willing to fight endless wars. Nature is presented as something to be conquered and controlled, rather than what sustains life, so that we will allow our planet to be exploited and ruined. Television, with its constant subliminal urgings and depictions of what we are supposed to want, has made “consumers” out of us, and mindless “entertainment” hypnotizes us into believing that our virtual lives have meaning, and consoles us for the impossibility of achieving all that we are made to want. As Ms. Hayase says, “Humanity is now at a crossroads. With the exponential growth of technology, we have the capability to bring a great turning or destroy the world.” It's up to us to take back our sovereignty and our connection to nature. If we don't, we may not have a world to live in much longer. 3. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) SLOUCHING TOWARD WORLD WAR III “And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,Syria downs an Israeli fighter. NATO ally, Turkey, attacks US supported troops in Syria; Kurds down Turkish helicopter. US airstrikes in Syria kill 200 Russians. US War Against Afghanistan to continue, silently. Korean peace overtures rebuffed by US. US military gets humongous budget increase. Chances of Nuclear War increase. 2018 slated to be a very profitable year for arms merchants. The Doomsday Clock stands at two minutes to midnight. Would you know yet more? Rolla Peace News is distributed by email once a week on Tuesday evenings (except on rare occasions) and is posted on the web at http://tomsager.org (click on Grassroots Rolla: near the top of rightmost column). If you don't wish to get notices of peace events in the Rolla area, let me know and I'll take you off this list. If you want to be added to this list, let me know. Wage peace, Helen helenm (at) fidnet.com |