We are each made of a swarm of atoms that were originally created in exploding stars billions of years old. We come to exist, glued to a tiny planet by gravitational forces we don't really understand. The planet we are on spins at 1000 miles per hour as it screams through the unbelievable hostile vacuum of space at 160miles per second around the center of the Milky Way galaxy. It takes 220 million years for us to complete one rotation around this galaxy - a cluster of 200 billion stars - one of which is our sun. There are at least 1,200 billion other galaxies in this universe each with their 200 billion suns and countless planets.
The universe is unbelievably large and we unbelievably insignificant in comparison. I first realized this at age ten. This was good and bad. The next step was to realize, while sitting in church, that out of all this immensity, for God to have sent his only son here - looking just like us? - pretty suspect. As in bullshit. It was pretty much downhill from there as regards my ability to buy into most of the rest of the modern party line.
Viewing Earth from the perspective of a tiny fragile globe hurling through space humbles and inspires all at once - but makes flag waving and joining in difficult. And so from age 10 on things got difficult. I mean if you're paying attention, even just a little, how can you not be angry? But how also can you not be inspired and awed. And so I write.
The universe is unbelievably large and we unbelievably insignificant in comparison. I first realized this at age ten. This was good and bad. The next step was to realize, while sitting in church, that out of all this immensity, for God to have sent his only son here - looking just like us? - pretty suspect. As in bullshit. It was pretty much downhill from there as regards my ability to buy into most of the rest of the modern party line.
Viewing Earth from the perspective of a tiny fragile globe hurling through space humbles and inspires all at once - but makes flag waving and joining in difficult. And so from age 10 on things got difficult. I mean if you're paying attention, even just a little, how can you not be angry? But how also can you not be inspired and awed. And so I write.
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