Tolerance: The Utopia That Wasn’t

Recently, conservative commentator David French wrote in a National Review article titled "We’re Not in a Civil War, but We Are Drifting Toward Divorce," about the increasing polarization of our citizenry. According to Mr. French, our nation has seen a continuing trend, which has accelerated in the last 20 years, of people self-segregating into like-minded enclaves around the country. If you look, for example, at the now famous electoral map, you will understand what he means. The country is sharply divided between red and blue states, a fact that indicates not only what the politics of a particular region are, but also its general ideology.

Where No Man Has Gone Before?

If you're like me, every time I watch a space alien movie (which isn't all that often, now that I think about it) or some sort of space exploration program, I'm always wondering why aliens are almost always portrayed as hostile. Think of the last such program you saw. With few exceptions, aliens in them are always out to destroy humans and are more than likely monsters who, for some reason, have little in the way of logical thinking abilities, but nevertheless manage to be way more advanced than humans are (think Aliens!). Perhaps those who write and produce such shows are simply mirroring what they know to be true about humanity in general: we are depraved people who would likely do the same thing if we ever encounter a less advanced civilization than our own. And come to think of it, that's exactly what has happened throughout human history!