Stuff and Things

I was recently intrigued by the Georgia Guidestones. Here they are:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Guidestones

As stated previously, I had a vision as a child that it would be up to me to save the world's culture. The guidestones, which I fully support, are set to jumpstart civilization after a collapse.

Anyone who studies history, even in passing, knows that collapse will come. There have been major collapses everywhere, throughout all time periods: from the Soviet Union to China's Three Kingdoms, Rome to the Aztecs, the Mughals in India to the Iroquois. America will collapse. So will the E.U., Japan, and South Africa. Sad, but true.

They may all collapse at once. The cause may be so devastating that the guidestones will be useless (total nuclear annihilation, mass core ejection of the sun). Or they might be more historical, and humanity will be given the chance to rebuild itself.

Every single generation is responsible to itself, and this also mandates a responsibility to the past and future. The peoples of the past set aside and elevated some things for our benefit. We needs must preserve and rightfully cherish these things: undeveloped landscapes, endangered species, novels, sheet music, sculptures and chronicles. So, too, must we sift out our best offerings for the next lot to admire and learn from.

Some people go through life trying to make the stuff that will be remembered. Some go through life trying to survive, or in a haze. And some people work to preserve the past and sort the present with an eye to the future.

Whoever built the guidestones is in the latter. So am I. I wouldn't mind being in the first group, but I find myself drawn to the functions of a transmitter, storyteller, and archivist.

I have a vision of a dwelling much like The Shadow Gallery from V for Vendetta. Bookcases, from top left, with Gilgamesh down to, bottom right, the best of the 20th century. Music from around the world, from all different epochs. 100 years of drama, comedy, and visual splendor. Works of art from 30,000 years and nearly as many movements and cultures.

But I'm glad for the guidestones of Georgia. The Hoover Dam. The Svalbard seedbank. For all my cultural preservation would be of no consequence if there aren't people enough for civilization. Here's hoping they make it to Georgia and Norway before they hit up my place.