Ukraine in the Big Picture
What is Putin really doing in this struggle with Ukraine? Let’s take a moment and pan outward… let’s talk about the big picture and the clues to be found there.
Cultural Evolution
Ukraine: A Dangerous Matter for All of Us
At this moment the greatest danger to a potential global war is the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine with the possibility of quickly escalating into a nuclear war. This is not hyperbole.
The Consequential Struggle to Maintain Democracy in the US
The history of the United States has been a cyclical struggle between democratic and class control. It is a history of rising democracy as stated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution United States.
Technology
Humans and all hominids before humans were – and are – the maker of tools. The two qualities that separate humans from all other species on this planet are our ability to create technology and to create the systems that technology requires. Technology is the catalyst for cultural change. The process of political, economic, and social adjustment to these technological changes is cultural evolution.
The Tail Wagging the Dog
Cultural evolution can be seen clearly in the history of Judaism. The beginning of Judaism can be traced to the first civilization, the Sumerian, over 5000 years ago. Some of the Sumerian Gilgamesh tales are incorporated into the Torah and known as the book of Geneses in the Christian Old Testament. The tribes of Abraham migrated from the Tigris Euphrates to the Levant. There they built a civilization centered around Jerusalem. The Israelis developed the second monotheistic religion in the world (after Zoroastrianism). The Jewish culture was built around its religion and unified tribal loyalty in society. Israelites had been expelled from Jerusalem by conquerors several times.
The Curiosity Trait
Curiosity is the desire to know. The curiosity trait is universal and is critical in the cultural evolution of human society. It is that sense of wonder that we are born with. We all possess it, and like other basic truths, we seldom give the concept any thought – yet it is a prime component of who we are both as individuals and as a species. Curiosity transcends species. It is that universal quality of wanting to know and understand the unknown.