Mr. Watts had too much coffee…then he had thoughts of Karl Marx.

I agreed with Marx when I knew only the part “religion is the opium of the people” that everyone uses–usually in a negative manner. The entire quote, taken in context is very profound. It’s interesting and telling how the creationists get to take everything out of context to forward their agenda. Ben Stein, in his  pro-intelligent design movie, interviewed Richard Dawkins and made it seem like Dawkins was admitting that there is a designer. Creationists can take natural selection theory, the bible, and everything else out of context, but if I argue with them about their precious scripture, they cry and scream that I am taking their “holy” scribbling out of context. I must digress, because what I am thinking about is not intelligent design, or people taking written words out of context, but that the future of humanity is in the balance. Our fear and ignorance will be our undoing, and humanity seems to be obliviously hurtling toward its demise.

I have decided that most people are afraid of nearly everything, and that they don’t particularly want to understand anything. Math, science, and building a fair and equitable society are all difficult endeavors to undertake. It is much easier to sit in one’s hovel and shake in fear and super naturalist wonder about the world and universe, relying on ancient writings–written by madmen–to build one’s opinions and ideas. This may be caused by our society progressing faster than natural selection can accommodate. Only a few thousand years ago, my ancestors were living in a cave and were discovering fire. Now, I am sitting behind a computer, using quantum mechanics based technology to write this essay. It is staggering to think of this, especially when one considers the age of the earth (about 4.5 Ga) and how long man has been here (about 40 Ka as Homo sapiens) that we could progress so far, especially in the last five-hundred years. Of course, the human backbone has still not caught up from our transition from quadrupeds to bipeds (about 4 Ma ago), as evidenced by humanity’s persistent back problems, so it is somewhat understandable that our minds cannot make the leap from living fearfully in caves to living quite comfortably, in just a few thousand years.  Conversely, one would think that with 6.5 billion people on earth that we would have evolved to be more intellectual and curious than we are. Unfortunately, the people who do most of the breeding are ignorant super naturalists who abusively inculcate their children with obsolete beliefs; this does not bode well for a continued successful society.

It could be that humans have reached a dead end in the process of natural selection. For most of human history, the fastest, strongest, and most intelligent members of a human group had selective advantages and had a better chance of mating successfully. Now, the laziest, most stupid, ignorant, and weak minded fool has the opportunity to breed and pass on his or her traits to the next generation. Success is all based on money now. If you are rich, you get all of the power and you can pass on your traits. Then your offspring can rule the world. The rich are often not the most intelligent nor intellectually motivated specimens, note G.W. Bush as a prime example. The quest for money is hardly a trait that will ensure the future success of our species. The ignorant rich blissfully prop up the status quo of religion in order to keep the mostly ignorant masses under control. There is no reason for the rich to understand math, science, or society building since it does not benefit them. The rich depend on an ignorant populace to stay in power.

At the other end of the economic spectrum, we have the ignorant poor. The poor are helpless and hapless; they are simply trying to survive in a world dominated by the rich. The poor seemingly prefer not to think. They prefer to remain ignorant, their thirst for stability quenched by the tepid, caustic fluids of scripture. The so-called, and disappearing middle class is not unlike the poor in their ability to abstain from thought, in order to remain secure. Security is important, but at what cost? Our species is being dominated by rich charlatans whose only goal is to dominate us and to enslave our minds and actions. What motivation do the poor and middle class have to consider and learn math, science, and a better society. They are too concerned with survival. Uncontrolled, free-market capitalism, coupled with religious domination, guarantees that the poor will remain intellectually stagnant.

People who think and think profoundly should be breeding. Unfortunately, when one can think, one thinks otherwise about breeding. How can one conscientiously bring new life into a world that is dominated by the rich and their quest for money and power, and the poor with their quest for stability through ignorance. If intelligent people do not start breeding, we may have reached an evolutionary dead end. Money does not make a society great or successful, it can offer the potential for a great society, but without intellectual impetus behind the money, wealth is an impotent force.

Ultimately, religion is the opiate of the people, as Marx is often quoted, out of context, as saying. Religion dulls the minds of the poor and middle classes so that the rich can remain powerful. If we do not somehow overcome the intellectual inertia that plagues our society, humanity will perish from the earth.