What would it mean, for humanity to evolve "from" animals?

 

Would we still:

·         Eat?

·         Defecate?

·         Drink?

·         Urinate?

·         Sleep?

·         Grow hair?

·         Lactate?

·         Reproduce sexually?

 

Um, YEA~AH . . .

 

What then about the rest of the Animal Kingdom would we bid a fond adieu to, if not the above?

 

Or, better, what would we adopt as our new identity as a "post-animal" creature? (Please understand, the word "creature" is equally applicable to an entity, living or non-living, which comes into existence as a result of any process.  In the most basic sense, a crystal inside a geode is a creature of geological processes, and the president of the United States is a creature of the Constitution, and Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and Manuel Noriega are creatures of the CIA.)

 

How about:

·         Truth, purged of any taint of distortion.  Truth, on the grandest scale.

·         Objectivity, better called disinterestedness, or lack of bias

·         Altruism

·         The Long View, as opposed to instant gratification and planning no further than the end of the quarter

·         Things that Matter — when will people get their fill of fluff and drivel?  Don't hold your breath.

 

Gandhi, when asked by a reporter, "What do you think of Western Civilization?" replied "I think it would be a good idea!"

 

All the American presidents say they are Christians, and polls show that a self-proclaimed homosexual has a better chance of taking that office than a self-proclaimed atheist.  Yet which of them has more than a lapel-pin's worth of the Lowly Nazarene in him?  Maybe Carter, but then only a limited amount, and he is roundly denigrated as weak and inept.  He is hated by the jingoists for giving back the Panama Canal, called an Anti-Semite for telling the truth about the Palestinians, and lost his bid for re-election as a result of bribery of Iran's Revolutionary leaders by the GOP, payment not complete until Iran-Contra.  Yet the truth about him is that his administration, and not Reagan's, did the most to scuttle the Soviet Union, by the very creation of Osama and his Merry Mujaheddin, and feeding them Stinger missiles.  The subsequent collapse of Afghanistan cannot be blamed on him, either, but on those his successors, who neglected another golden opportunity like unto the Marshall Plan, to create a permanent love of the US in a crucial country and region.  (The position taken by the Republicans led by Bob Taft was opposition to the Marshall Plan.  Thankfully, it went ahead, and planted long-lasting love for us in Europe.)

 

 

The principal difference between the "new" us and the "old" us is nothing like the difference between the "new" Bob Dole and the "old" Bob Dole, before and after his most recent rogue facelift.

 

The difference between mankind and the lesser beasts is already dawning in the animal kingdom.  Koko the gorilla recognizes herself in the mirror.  She can sign her name (not with a pen, but with sign language) signifying that she is conscious of her uniqueness and selfhood.

 

[to be continued...]