Be on the Right Side of History

We tend to think art or writing, music, accumulation of wealth, posthumous lore, or intelligent, honorable children will carry our legacies. Agreed. In general. However, where our ancestors stood on the heavy contemporary issues of their day have the biggest effect on our feelings for them. I’m white. There are slave owners in my lineage. Not cool. However, at least one of my ancestors released his slaves decades before the US forced others to do the same. Very cool. We judge the people of history by their relationships to pivotal moments and when we do, more often than not, we validate our judgment from the luxury of modernity. That grotesque 20/20 hindsight cliché rises again like one of those black and blue ghouls in Japanese horror films. Society finds much of its shame, fear, love, and humor in history. History is our revolving legacy.

Be on the right side of history.

Yes, experts can be assholes. Can’t we all? Experts can be arrogant. Can’t we all? It’s not the experts themselves that matter. What matters is the amount of real knowledge a dedicated group of arrogant assholes can accumulate. Evolution is one of those piles of knowledge. We argue the reality of evolution from hundreds of angles on hundreds of sub-topics but the most evident and relevant angle is medicine. Scientists in medical research and disease prevention watch evolution working in real time every day. Evolution is real. If you are remembered for your disbelief in evolution, you will be a joke.   

Be on the right side of history.

---

Read More