Total Eclipse of the Brain

Not that many centuries ago, an eclipse like we just experienced, struck fear into everyone’s hearts, as opposed to now being a spectacle to behold.  Pretty easy to understand the terror of something when you had absolutely no understanding of what was actually happening.  Imagine how those people felt when the sun at its peak in the day went dark? Then living with the uncertainty of what happened and thinking, was it an omen?

Today, we know better, at least the majority of us do. We know exactly what is happening and why not only with an eclipse, but many other events that happen in our day to day lives we can no longer need to stress over. Yet for many of us, we let our Neanderthal thought patterns rule our days.

The following comments I plagiarized from a blog I wrote last year.

“About 70,000 years ago, in the age of hunters and gatherers, it is estimated that we survived about 30 years. There was no need to plan for the future; just getting to tomorrow was a big challenge; so hoard, or take whatever you can get your hands on now! The instincts that we developed over millions of years that were intended to save us, now often inhibits us”.

Most of us have failed to evolve as fast as the world we live in. We see this in many, but not as likely to see it in ourselves. Probably all of us are subject to various degrees of regression and falling back on old ways of thinking. Especially if fear is an overriding factor at the time, and our fight Vs. flight instinct kicks in.

Now imagine one of the most powerful people on earth telling you to be afraid. Telling you to be cautious and even take up arms against your neighbor because they have a different skin tone, or they came from another country, or have a different heritage or beliefs?

President Trump understands or still lives in a world where fear can be more powerful than logic. I believe he took advantage of this to win the US Presidential election. Now we are witnessing extremists seize an opportunity not only in the US but in Canada. Their acceptance by their President is the likely the greatest gift they could have asked for.

Wherever we live, we can fall victim to the backward behavior we are witnessing. Can anyone truly believe that in order for a country to be great means going back in time to when ignorance and brutish behavior was the order of the day? I cannot believe for a moment that the majority who voted for Mr. Trump believe this, they were duped in a moment of fear and wanted change.

I was among many who needed to see the eclipse for myself. With the right tools I could peer directly into the great ball of fire in the sky and not go blind? It was education that allowed me to gather with friends and strangers outside our office to share the phenomena. We smiled, joked and shared with one another an array of homemade and professionally made tools to experience the event. For a brief period, an event that once cast fear into everyone’s hearts brought us together for the experience.

A great future requires moving forward, not backwards. Climate change is real, human rights need to be respected/protected, and logic not fear, need to be what motivates our decisions and actions. We all need to voice our opinions in this matter if we are to be louder than the voices who would take us back to another time.  Shame on us if we allow that to happen.

Written by Miles Clyne
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