ISHMAEL 1

"You've been doing what you damn well please with the world. And of course you mean to go right on doing what you damn well please with it, because the whole damn thing belongs to you." (61)



thetechnologicalcitizen.com

Humans own the world... right?

While this is a message (i.e. humans are ruining the planet) we are by now very familiar with - its a hot subject now in politics, business, international relations, science classes, architecture, etc. - it seems a little unfair to blame all of humanity for the problems with the planet. Especially because there has been a sincere effort on the part of a minority of the population to try and reverse what has been done. It is a grim prediction, however, and one that seems to be becoming a reality. It depends on what you believe, but there is no doubt that the planet has been heading for the worse. And one species in particular is held responsible.

However, to be perfectly honest, as a generalization, this quote is extremely acurate. Humanity does believe that they are an "exception" on earth... that they, in essence, rule the earth. In some religions, humans are told to be the "caretakers" of earth, but this has been misconstrued as an allowance to do whatever humans please with the planet. According to Ishmael, however, religion itself is part of the mythology of the story to which all humans are captive. This thought itself was definitely an eye-opening one; after all, religion does require some degree of blind faith, but not everything can truly be explained by science. A lot of personal belief and value comes into this discussion, but the mere thought of searching yourself and searching the world for answers, for the story, is a step towards the unknown.

"Tomorrow we'll screw up our courage and cross that border. And as you'll see, we will not fall off the edge of the world. We'll just find ourselves in new territory, in territory never explored by anyone in your culture, because your maps say it isn't there - and indeed, can't be there." (91)



3dhifi.com

The world isn't actually flat. Really.

This journey itself can be a terrifying proposition. When one has grown up holding strongly to a certain set of beliefs, questioning them can be equivalent to questioning one's very identity. But having doubts, searching for answers to what you fear to question can only lead to more knowledge and a greater belief in the answers you find. After all, the world was once thought to be flat. With that concept proven incorrect, an entire planet was discovered, an entire universe - a huge amount of knowledge was procured, and humanity became aware of how much there is left to discover.