We might think of our human experience as a road trip in which the destination is unknown and unknowable, as it is an ever-moving target. Blindly, we race ahead, constantly accelerating in speed, while simultaneously determining in which direction to travel. And all the while, as we navigate past evermore menacing obstacles, we are also continuously building and redesigning our vehicle.
A hopeless scenario?
Faced by any one person alone, it would indeed be impossible.
Our journey, however, is a group project and our vehicle the result of contributions from every human who has ever lived.
All together we are learning how to smooth our way over the bumps, deploying evermore effective systems for shock absorption and ultra-precision steering. To handle the hair pin curves we are installing systems for instant deceleration and braking. We are learning to how reduce the frequency of our near collisions, developing sophisticated methods of detecting and averting potential impact. And we are just about to hand over the controls to our artificially intelligent progeny.
Together we will turn what would otherwise be a hopeless nightmare into an adventure of boundless fulfillment.
We may not know our ultimate destination or how and if we will ever get there, but if we can adopt an experimental mindset, if we can stop blaming and judging and accept the key ideas of Naturalistic Humanism like metawareness and proanthropy, we will be more likely to be happier, kinder, and make long needed changes to our socio-economic system. Changes that result in a universal sharing of resources and ever greater numbers of people becoming empowered through an effective government, resistant to regulatory capture, transparent, and responsible to the people it serves. If we can realize these goals before it is too late, then perhaps we will avoid being stricken by the sword of Damocles that we currently cower beneath, and then, the best part of history will begin.