Heirs of Enik

There are many single issue blogs, and there are a few to which I subscribe. Some I have trouble reading regularly, because I find them too redundant for my tastes, but that doesn't mean I think they're doing anything wrong; it's simply their format, how they function, the purpose they serve.

Some of these single issue blogs are dedicated to battles against ignorance and stupidity.

This is the year 2006. Two hundred years ago, although he was not without his faults, we did have a president who was a genius, a deist and a firm believer in Reason. That was a long time ago, before Darwin, before Crick & Watson, before Einstein and countless other brilliant minds and discoveries. Looking at the situation two hundred years later, today's America seems unthinkable and surreal.

In many single issue blogs, I see a lot of brilliant people spending a good proportion of their time fighting ignorance and stupidity. This leaves me with mixed emotions. I find satisfaction and hope in seeing passionate people making an effort. On the other hand, there's an accompanying anger and sense of hopelessness in seeing so much precious brain power spent fighting battles won long ago.

The war between Reason and ignorance has gone on for millenia and, frankly, at this particular point in time, it really doesn't look like Reason is gaining ground; quite the contrary, it often seems like Reason is spinning and stumbling around the ring trying to keep its gloves in the air. It's very frustrating.