Book Excerpts discussion
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The Future of Man
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Hmmm...really makes you think. I love this stuff.
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:)
Sure, let me know when you're ordering it, or have you?
Okay, I'll look at ordering it then too.
Renee/Ali - Thanks for your kind words... If you do get together for a 'mini reading group', I would be delighted to be 'on tap' if/when you want author input.
Definitely Peter. WE'll start a thread in the Canadian Author's group if that's okay. Let you know when it's up.
When I was re-reading my excerpt post I found a "printer's devil". My first erratum! I have since edited it out of the post - but as a trivia question - did anybody else spot the hiccup?
It's edited out now? No I didn't notice. I tend to overlook some things when I'm reading. Was it a big error? I hope I'm not that blind.
I had a repeat of his... (said his His..). I know how it happened too. My editor changed all capitalized His to lowercase.. then, at the last minute, I decided to exercise my 'authors last say' and capitalized, BUT after that I read it several times and didn't see it - so if you are blind, I am blind and stupid..)
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I too have noticed errors in my work and am not happy with them...I want to have pristine work for people to read, but we are human, and reading the same thing over and over for years, your eyes start to skim over the words and your memory kicks in...I'm sure I can recite my trilogy...great thing, but not when you find things such as you mentioned...2nd edition will be cleaned...more than one editor is key, and reading it backwards once you find yourself 'not-reading' anymore!
Renee - I am not sure if you have taken any steps with your Canadian Authors initiative, but I have news that may be relevant.My web site is now (finally) functional to allow people to purchase books. There are 2 routes. The first is Amazon.com (which is probably the best for U.S. residents). The second route (best for Canadians) is to purchase direct from me.
I have a small initial inventory. If any Canadians in 'our circle' want to buy I will be able to ship on a 4 bus. day basis for CA$20 (all in) - and if one of our group asks for it, I would be glad to sign their copy..
That's awesome Peter, I'm in. Do you have paypal on your site, or is it credit card. Of course I want you to sign it. I'm keeping all books from goodreads authors, especially signed ones. I loaned a couple to our library (unsigned) but they know it's a temporary loan. I risk it getting wrecked or lost, but I think getting an author's name out there is worth my loss. It's worked too. The woman that runs the library here has had requests for more books by these authors.
Hey, never mind, I just ordered it from your site and got my answer. Left you a note with the order. That's amazing. i'll let anyone I know who wants a copy(library, etc.) to order from you.
Renee - It is paypal (haven't got the credit card facility working yet...). I am really glad you will be one of the first..
have the order now, Renne. Will ship tomorrow (have to buy some shipping materials..)
Okay, no hurry Peter. I kind of went book crazy this week. I'll have lots to read. Shh..don't tell my husband. I'm sneaking the books in while he's at work.
Renee - I may have mis-spoke about the PayPal only method... When I checked the facility it seems that the buyer can choose to use a credit card.... If a purchaser has a PayPal account, though, I think I pay a little less in fees via that route.. :)
I used paypal, i have my credit card linked to it, so its all good.
From Chapter 18 - Why We Must Act Now (a call for change)From the foot of page 148 (4 paragraphs)
I could be arguing for global disarmament measures, stronger international policing, and stricter measures to reduce the risk that terrorist attacks could strike us unawares (all of which I am in agreement with). But no, what I am arguing for is a revolutionary change in the belief infrastructure. If there is no rage, there will be no terrorist attack. If we all see one another as family, there will be no sense of alienation leading to hate. If the focus is on helping humanity where help is needed—rather than erecting higher walls to stop the deprived from getting at our wealth—then we have a healthy sense of self. We would no longer have reason to fear fellow man.
But then we have to deal with the “Second Amendment syndrome.” Many Americans hold that they will never feel safe on the streets or in their homes if they do not have the right to bear arms to protect themselves (just in case a “crazy” comes along). The thinking is if he has got a gun, then I want a gun.
I can deal with the “Second Amendment syndrome” in three ways. The first is to say that all the hot air about the interpretation of the American constitution seems to me to be a complete waste of time and effort. The constitution is not an inerrant sacred scripture. If there is doubt about its meaning (and it was written 150 years ago), then it should be revisited in modern times. There should be a societal position on such an important matter, and it should be clear.
The second way of looking at this is to say okay, I accept that we can never rid the world of all “crazies” no matter what we do, but wouldn’t it be better if we take away the ease of converting anger into death? I ask you to imagine two high schools. One of them has an absolute no guns policy and polices it by requiring all persons entering the school to pass through metal detectors. The other school publishes a right to bear arms so that any parent can pack a revolver for little Johnny to take with his lunch, just in case. Now, as a parent, which school would you send your child to if you had that choice?
The third way, and the only valid way in the long term, is to work toward 'future man' in our hearts, in our minds, and lastly, in our laws—which should at all times be an expression of human society’s values. Let’s really focus on root causes of crimes and deal with them progressively. Let’s remove the sickness that is threatening to destroy us, by living the values we aspire to, not just legislating them.
About 50,000 years ago, our distant ancestors stood on the brink of extinction, numbering less than 2,000. Miraculously they survived and now the human population stands at 7 billion. But today we face new threats to our future. Humanity is deeply divided into religious, ethnic and national factions. Hatred is constantly flaring across the factions, manifesting in wars and terrorism. Adding to the worries are global warming, pollution, reduction of the ozone layer’s protection and increased health threats from drug resistant bacteria.
In only a few generations, our species will either successfully ‘grow up’ to become ‘Future Man’ - or become extinct. To survive we have to shed our tribal past and become united as a species, committed to a noble future that could span millions, or even billions of years. But how can we do this?
In search of an answer, the author draws upon current scientific knowledge to review the events that bring us to this crossroad, beginning with the ‘Big Bang’ and then tracking through time to the beginning of life on Earth and the emergence of Homo Sapiens as an intelligent species - before considering man’s spirituality and its manifestation in the many competing religions today.
Our religions, in their extreme ‘fundamentalist’ form, have evolved into monstrosities that are doing far more harm than good. Are the atheists such as Richard Dawkins (‘The God Delusion’) right in rejecting the idea of God as ‘superstitious nonsense’? The future looks bleak - but there is a way!
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Excerpt from Chapter 16 – A New Concept of God (4 paragraphs beginning at the foot of page 129) -
We are left with the “leave it to evolution” strategy. Since life began on Earth, survival of the fittest has been a contest decided by the effective use of each species’ strengths. A strength might be an aggressive asset such as speed, size, or strength, or it might be a defensive asset such as the tortoise’s shell or the chameleon’s camouflage. Humanity’s greatest strength is its intelligence. Any solution to today’s problems must come from that source.
We have come to the crux of the matter. Tigers, lions, ants, bees, and all the other life-forms on Earth must leave it to evolution—they have no capacity to make a choice. They have no capacity to even know that there is a choice. We, humanity, the end-product of a sequence of events that began 13.7 billion years ago, are different—we are gifted with intelligence. We have been given the most wonderful, but at the same time the most burdensome, decision to make—and our future, and perhaps the future of all life on Earth, awaits our decision. We must face this as a responsibility—and move forward to our destiny in the universe.
God awaits our decision—and we come back to the question, “What is our concept of God?” Is God the god of the tribes, manifesting in myriad forms, each tailored to a particular segment of humanity? Is God the pessimist that expects only human frailty? Is God the fundamentalist, the traditionalist, who wants humanity to just replay its lifestyle, morals, and norms of a thousand years ago? Is God merely the watchdog and judge of individuals, attaching “go to heaven” and “go to hell” stickers to us as we live out our lives? Is God and His works cast in stone in man’s holy books, doomed forever to be seen only though the expert interpretations of priests, rabbis, and imams? Or is our concept of God to be a new unifying concept that is consistent with modern man’s reason and knowledge?
There can only be one answer—just as there is only one God, a God who sees all of humanity as His children, His hope for the future. A God that exists on rational grounds and does not depend on scriptures, visions, and miracles that favor a chosen few. A God who will tear down the divisions between us and prepare us, united, for a noble future.
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