Small Costs
I read an essay recently on the costs of losing our sight of the stars. Starlink, an Elon Musk company, announced it will launch several thousand satellites into the atmosphere. This will give people in the most remote parts of the world access to the internet. One of the side effects, however, is that the sheer number of satellites that are being tossed into the night sky will blot out our sight of the Milky Way and beyond.
There is always a cost. Every step forward comes at the expense of a comfort, a luxury, or a simplicity that dies. Take language. Now, a strong percentage of the human population speaks English. If we look back to just some centuries ago, there were thousands of languages spoken across the globe. But those languages are dying. In fact, every two weeks a language goes extinct. Language produces ideas. With the expiration of these languages, millions of ideas, emotions, and descriptions have also died out like dinosaurs who did not have the wisdom to turn into birds.
I have also noticed that when consolidation events occur, they arrive with a parade of self-promotion. Everyone proclaims the benefits of their service and considering the side effects is not a priority.
I understand the converse, as well. Simply pointing out all the ways things can go wrong leaves one in a state of paralysis. And indecision, too, is a decision. It’s deceptive because you feel you still have time since you haven’t acted yet. But time makes moves, whether or not you do.
Oh, the world is changing and the best you can do is keep your eyes on the ball. The speed at which things are changing is also speeding up. In physics this is defined as acceleration. The human mind, and therefore humankind, is ill equipped for these speeds. With no time to mourn, we must discard the dead whether they be your mother tongue or a starry night sky.
This ruthless sense of direction to the ever approaching future is the only way to survive an increasingly impersonal society. Like a gazelle who must abandon her daughter to the jaws of a predator, life lives to survive first and foremost.
I once watched Kobe Bryant explain the costs of his determination. He lost friends and precious moments with his family. But he did not want to reach an age and feel that he had left anything on the table. This is of course how one ought to live. Now, that cutthroat attitude must be adopted by all who want to play the game of life. The flattening effects of globalization makes everyone a competitor. And there are those that are faster, smarter, and much much hungrier than you.
This is why Western civilization seems to be flailing. Like any aging king, there is a sense of entitlement and a worldview that doesn’t fit with the current way in which the world works. If you were the winner of the last century then you cannot help but see the world through the same prism that made you king. But the times they are a changin'.