Peace and prosperity have been fragile things. They are so hard to maintain without hypocrisy. Since the first field of grain was planted, peace and prosperity have nearly always been bordered by grimacing strong arms and violent encounters.

I imagine a world where equity renders borders meaningless, but I wonder do we humans, so petty up to now, possess the goodwill, good faith, and willingness to sacrifice a bit of ourselves for others, to move us to that ideal.

I can imagine a good and humane world, but only if enough of us collectively choose to trust and share with others. I wonder if we have the desire or motivation to resist our baser tribal predilections. I wonder if we can reign in the hypocrisies we will apply to bring equity to the world. I wonder can a kinder fairer world be built on hypocrisy. I wonder can a kinder fairer world be built without hypocrisy.

We shall see.

The more complex the system, the more perfectly the components must function. The more complex the system, the more imperfectly human components function.

I think time is not a brittle line.

I think we perceive a static past and uncertain future, but , to me, time seems more likely to be dynamic. Past, present and future forever in flux. Perhaps, like water, time pools or flows, but I doubt it exists indelibly before a certain point and fluidly after that point, the way I experience it.

I suspect that my momentary perception of past and future shifts with the tides of past and future. I can barely imagine a fluid past, but I cannot reason why it should be otherwise. It frightens me.

Science fiction is often written with the perspective that altering an existing timeline would be catastrophic. I have never before asked why this should be catastrophic, but now I do. I think the idea of altering my past is frightening because it would render memories mute. I am largely (if not wholly) defined by my memories. Altering them feels a terrifying loss of self. Just because I am afraid of a thing does not make the thing untrue.

I wonder how long the time that supports my consciousness will remain stable. Maybe it isn’t. Maybe this is all just a flash. At any rate, my attachment to myself is a clear bias, and I see that bias in much human thought, philosophy, and religion.

When one doesn’t trust their senses it’s hard to move beyond, “I think, therefore I am.” What am I?