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Rolla Peace News July 7, 2020 |
Dear Friends:Editor's note: Please send in your work. I think readers would love to see more variety in this newsletter.In this newsletter is: 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2020 2. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) From Our Readers: It's All Connected 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2020 We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office, THIS THURSDAY, JULY 9, FROM NOON TO 1:00 PM (and most subsequent Thursdays until Peace is established). Please join us again this Thursday in saying NO WAR AGAINST IRAN or any other country. The temperature is predicted to be around 90. 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. Note: Since there are so few of us, generally 2 or 3, no need to cancel; but let's maintain social distancing. 2. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) From Our Readers: It's All Connected I received some very nice responses to last weeks column on how everything is connected. One reader writes, “I agree with you wholeheartedly.” Another writes, “Good Stuff Tom! What came first Man or Nature? If we think we can disrespect nature without consequences, we had better think again! We only have to just be still, pay attention and open our eyes.” My response: Thanks so much to both of you. Here's a verse from the Qur'an: The Book of Genesis places the creation of man as the final act of God on the sixth day of the Creation. Amerindians also describe the creation of man as the final act of creation, as in stories such as And Me, Coyote. According to Science, modern man evolved around 250 thousand years ago. Life on the planet Earth began around 4 billion years ago. In other words, Nature got along just fine for 3,999,750,000 years without us. I suspect she will get along just fine after we are all gone. So let's show a little respect.“Assuredly the creation of the heavens and the earth is a greater (matter) than the creation of men: Yet most men understand not.” A third reader sends in a similar post from Nicaragua, The Rona and Trees, that seems to be inspired by the same article that inspired my column last week. And yesterday, I found this wonderful article by Robert Shetterly that looks at connections between White Men in Suits, Original Sin, and Rumplestiltskin. I think it is in the aether that all is connected, and many are picking up the vibes. A fourth reader writes in, “I'm glad to see that you've decided that COVID-19 is zoonotic and not from a lab.” My response: I've decided nothing of the kind. Assuming the original viral material for the COVID-19 virus came from a bat, it could have been transformed into the COVID-19 virus through natural selection, through genetic manipulation in a laboratory, or perhaps by other means as well. I stand by my statement that: I have seen no satisfactory explanation as to why it is “impossible” that the COVID-19 virus was created in a laboratory. When you brush aside the cobwebs it turns out to be, “We're the experts. We'll spare you all the details that you wouldn't understand anyway. Just take our word for it.” And then the mantra is repeated endlessly through the media.“In my opinion it is quite likely that the COVID-19 virus was genetically engineered and released in China in an act of economic or political sabotage.” So let's assume for now that the COVID-19 virus was created in a laboratory. And let's assume the secret gets out. So far, 540 thousand have died of COVID-19. People all over the world have lost family and friends to this virus. Folks have had their whole lives disrupted. How are they going to respond to the knowledge that this scourge was visited upon them by a handful of scientists? Might they not torch a few ivory towers? Might they not liberate a few laboratories? Might they not scourge a few scientists? Indeed, scientists have a very strong interest in keeping the public from believing that they hold any responsibility for the COVID-19 pandemic. We should also keep in mind that in the past, scientists have visited other destructive technologies on humanity. The most obvious example is nuclear weapons. Another is the technology to mine and burn fossil fuels, without which it is unlikely that we would now be plagued by a warming climate. A third example is computer technology, which makes possible unmanned vehicles that can deliver bombs precisely anywhere in the world. So would folks that have made weapons capable of wiping humanity from the face of the Earth stop at creating a disease which is likely to kill one to five percent of humanity? I'll let you, Dear Reader, answer that one. Scientists, such as the renowned Dr. Anthony Fauci, decry that so many have “an anti-science bias” for “inconceivable reasons.” As a fellow scientist, let me explain, Dr. Fauci. Given the discussion above, is it not truly bizarre that so many look upon Science as the Savior of Humanity? Some may not articulate their objection to Science in manner I have; but I suspect subconsciously they understand. This age is not unique. There have been ages in the past when people have turned against Science. Consider the early 19th Century English Luddites who smashed machines and turned against industrial automation which was destroying their livelihood. My favorite example, however, is the Chinese Cultural Revolution (roughly 1967 to 1977) during which universities were shuttered and scientists were sent to the countryside to work on collective farms and learn the value of hard labor. Maybe, if scientists did more for ordinary people, and less for the elite classes of billionaires, corporate executives, politicians and generals — maybe then, there would not be so many people with “an anti-science bias.” 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: at 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, Tom yushasager (at) yahoo.com |