A Leap of Faith
I Dream of a United Humanity
It was exciting to be alive in the twenty-first century.
It was amazing to see technology like computers, the internet, and telecom getting faster, cheaper, and accessible, bringing us closer together and making the world a smaller place.
Trade increased exponentially, and travel kept getting more affordable, connecting national economies like never before.
It was possible in the last three decades to witness the technological explosion that has made humans the uncontested rulers of the world. Amazing indeed!
I expected one day to wake up in a world where I would have a fifteen digit identification number and be a citizen of Earth.
To need no passport or visa to travel the world.
To seamlessly communicate with people speaking different languages.
It was exciting to live in a connected world.
One world.
A united world.
I guess dreams have to end at some point.
What use is technological connectivity in a world of disunited people?
Divided by race.
Divided by religion.
Divided by god.
Divided by ideologies.
Divided by language.
All memes dreamed up by humans.
Borders that were opening up are now closing through disputes.
Racial discrimination that should have united communities is instead dividing them.
A global pandemic that should have united countries is instead pitting them against one other.
Cancel-culture is shutting down dialogue.
Individuals lost in their headphones and phone screens block the world outside their personal bubbles.
Divided by language, communities erect barriers.
Divided by trade and ideologies, countries build walls.
We divide ourselves under the banner of preserving culture.
Technology that was supposed to make the world a smaller place and bring us together is instead isolating us.
Yet, this is neither a failure nor the responsibility of technology.
It is our failure to fulfil human potential.
It is our failure to differentiate ourselves from other animals.
It is our failure to rise above the law of the jungle.
Perhaps I ask too much of our fledgeling species?
Human history is long and relatively uneventful until a few centuries ago. In that short span, we have advanced technology to the point where we can destroy ourselves in the blink of an eye. But biologically, we are not very different from our ancestors of 70000 years ago. Maybe we have not yet evolved enough to escape the law of the jungle?
Perhaps it is silly to hope, but I am still excited. I have a new dream.
Technology may have ended up distancing us from each other, but it has the potential to bring us closer to the stars.
In this century, we may very well be able to stand on the moon or find the Earth through a telescope on Mars.
And perhaps in stepping off this planet, we will see ourselves from the perspective of the universe, to realize how small we are, and how petty the issues that divide us into our little bubbles.
To finally be united and free.
To explore infinite human potential.
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