Mr. Compton you asked good questions. I don't think we can answer them
fully, the answer will come in history, long after you or I are 100 years
old. May I share some thoughts.
>But the question still remains: What moral lessons have we learned in the
>same period of time?
We have learned some moral lessons on a grand scale. I am a cold warrior.
As a member of more than one submarine crew I carried around sixteen or so
missiles and have several years of submerged time. We have kearned that
this is not the answer. The horror of nuclear destruction has finally
dawned on many people. Chrenoble (SP?) is a piece of cake compared with
what the former USSR and the USA were ready to do. Out of unreason we now
have some reason.
>How much has the world be "brought together" through
>all of these remarkable discoveries?
This is a two edged sword. The explosion in communications certainly has
brought the world closer. Our monetary systems and many businesses are
now global. In my view this is good for people from otherwise opposing
sides are meeting and forming understanding. The performance of business
in fostering cooperatioin is certainly better than governments.
>Is the world a safer place because of
>what we've discovered?
Yes and no. The standown from nuclear threat and the standdown from
global competition is safer. The ease of obtaining a "spare" nuclear
weapon or building some biological bomb is scary. Moreover some
governments are protective of their perceived rights -- and some want to
force their concept of what is right onto others.
>Why do we spend so much time talking about
>technology and so little time talking about morality?
Morality is boring, technology has pizzaz! Morality is too much like
religion or ethics or philosophy. Morality is threatening too. A dialog
about morality requies that I open up and share my deepest held beliefs.
Yet these beliefs are the basis of growth for I start from my current
beliefs and if I am going to grow I need you to share your insight -- your
deep beliefs -- this is the dialog of advocacy and inquiry.
We are learning, we the people of the world are beginning to enter into
dialog. Right now it is carried on by people like us -- the small guys.
As we grow in numbers and in mutual understanding we may even begin to
influence the big guys.
--"William J. Hobler, Jr" <bhobler@worldnet.att.net>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>