THE WORLD CAN DO WITHOUT THE BEST
The world or earth as we see it is a tiny stage in a large cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all the generals, emperors, commanders, and world leaders so that in glory and triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the “people” of one part of this world on the scarcely distinguishable “people” of some other part. How frequent our misunderstandings, how eager we are to kill one another, how fervent our hatreds and the conquest to prove that we’re better than the next person.
Our posturings, our doctrines, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity — in all this vastness — there is no hint that “help” will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
Who are some of the greatest historical figures in history and would the world still exist without them?
From an observer on a distant vantage point, your “world” might not seem of any particular interest. But for you, it’s different. It’s home. It’s you. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, everyone who has ever connected to you lives out their lives. In it, you find the aggregate of your joy and suffering, religion, ideologies, and economic doctrine. But if you cease to exist today, would these elements affect the entire world as it is?
I see astronomy as a humbling and character-building experience and there is perhaps a no better metaphor to depict the folly of human conceits and achievements than the distant image of the earth in the milky way galaxy. Think about it. All our hubris, all our bluster, all our self-perceived importance reduced to a fraction of a dot on an immense cosmic scale.
So back to the question “can the world do without the best?” The answer is YES! Absolutely. The “best” would die and earth would continue to spin.
The term best is relative but generally means “the most excellent, outstanding or desirable type or quality.” History has shown and proven that the “best” as a quality is a factor of time and knowledge. For example, the fastest car in 1950 can’t be compared in terms of speed to the fastest car in 2020. So the term “best” is actually a subject of arrogance.
Arrogance clouds our judgment and makes us feel far more important than we really are. It leads to prejudice, hatred, greed, irrationality, and short-sightedness. It causes us to forget what life is really all about. Over the years, you see people strive to be the best for money and territorial domination, oppression of minorities, etc. If we all looked at the world without “arrogance” or and realized how insignificant we are, we’d understand how petty these things all seem.
I believe we’re all on this life to live a life of love and service. So it’s our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, to preserve and cherish the world that we share. The strife to be the best shouldn’t be the goal but we all should be in a competition to make life better for ourselves and everyone around us.
