"It is not easy to see how the more extreme forms of nationalism can long survive when men have seen the Earth in its true perspective as a single small globe against the stars."
176
Nationalism is stupid, old, and useless. Makes people compete for all the wrong reasons. Motivates separatism and a new kind of segregation.
"National boundaries are not evident when we view the Earth from space."
Carl Sagan
"It doesn’t matter what anyone says, it generally comes down to what is empirically just, or what is rational on a global scale. Because if you keep it within races and species and confine it to one train of thought [me/us], not only are you being pompous, but you’re also blocking your own mind off from possibly learning new concepts, ideas, quirks from other cultures to help yourself and others. In the end dropping racism could bring interconnectedness within humans and other species, which can then easily advance us in ways we’ve never seen before. Think of all the species who have evolved from the direct collaboration of one another to survive and adapt. To cling to the idea that your race is your nation and that we are not all the same, is to cling to a notion of a simpleton. I’ve always thought of racism and nationalism as outdated, only works for a certain amount of time and for certain types of people. Not everyone, not every species. Only us. How portentous of us."
Why I think racism and nationalism are degrading to an ‘intelligent’ species
Ted Turner Interviews Carl Sagan [pt.2]
Carl Sagan and Ted Turner discuss the issues that are vital to the survival of our species on earth. Sagan explains the benefits of our space program, the fascinating possibility of time travel, and our search for life on other worlds. 1989.
Part 1 Part 2: This. Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
Personal Note: I found this interview really interesting between the two because Ted raises some questions about business ethics and what can the average citizen do in order to aid our gloomy situation. I thought it applied more so today than it did when it was discussed and I agree wholeheartedly with Carl Sagan’s solutions. We need to understand the problem before we know how to fix it, and in our case we all, as citizens have the duty to understand what is going on around us and what Earth is and isn’t capable of if we’re planning on living in it. We can’t continue making decisions without National consultancy on the grounds that we’re in one corner. As mentioned in the video, what happens in one part of a nation affects another.
Ted Turner Interviews Carl Sagan [pt.2]
Carl Sagan and Ted Turner discuss the issues that are vital to the survival of our species on earth. Sagan explains the benefits of our space program, the fascinating possibility of time travel, and our search for life on other worlds. 1989.
Part 1 Part 2: This. Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
Personal Note: I found this interview really interesting between the two because Ted raises some questions about business ethics and what can the average citizen do in order to aid our gloomy situation. I thought it applied more so today than it did when it was discussed and I agree wholeheartedly with Carl Sagan’s solutions. We need to understand the problem before we know how to fix it, and in our case we all, as citizens have the duty to understand what is going on around us and what Earth is and isn’t capable of if we’re planning on living in it. We can’t continue making decisions without National consultancy on the grounds that we’re in one corner. As mentioned in the video, what happens in one part of a nation affects another.
"… figures compiled by Europol, the European police agency, suggest that the threat of Islamist terrorism is minimal compared with “ethno-nationalist” and “separatist” terrorism. According to Europol, in 2006, one out of 498 documented terrorist attacks across Europe could be classed as “Islamist”; in 2007, the figure rose to just four out of 583 - less than one per cent of the total. By contrast, 517 attacks across the continent were claimed by - or attributed to - nationalist or separatist terrorist groups, such as ETA in Spain…"
Nationalists pose bigger threat than al-Qaeda, aljazeera.net. (via verbalresistance) The irony makes me laugh, when will people realize that this country is overrun with terrorists and they’re certainly not Muslims. There’s a greater chance of those said terrorists being the same schmucks that run our country than it being a bunch of guys in a cave.
