CompuServe Messages

Interesting slant on things. I tend to think of cultures as organisms and view the growth of our species as directly mappable to the growth of an individual. I think the species mentality, reflected in the behaviors we've been talking about, is reaching that point where self-reflection leads to a breakdown of the personality. In an individual this process can lead to a rebirth and renewal as a new being -or- it can lead to an ongoing futile attempt to shore up the walls of the old personality, like a caterpillar taping its cocoon together, resisting becoming a butterfly. This crisis of evolution can lead to a paralysis of indecision and struggle, even death -or- it can lead to vistas of growth. There's no guarantee, as far as I can see, that our species will certainly be able to survive the transition. I hope so, though…