MANKIND In the distant future, when the universe is finally rid of its human infestation, an alien race, with the ability to uncover the details of Mankind's history, might likely summarize its conclusion on the study of the human experiment with the following observation: Mankind was forever struggling to be Mankind, but always found excuses not to succeed. Those not so inclined to make such scholarly forays into the histories of an extinct race will nonetheless share their own feelings on the matter, but in terms a bit more prosaic. The less erudite will very likely popularize the remark that humans talked the talk, but never found the gumption to walk the walk. The human challenge is as difficult as it is simple: to fully acknowledge our common, and perfectly natural, humanity, and do so with complete disregard (if not utter contempt) for any contrived (i.e., unnatural) social directives, especially those that are rooted in ancient superstitions. The common pulse of humanity, beating in the heart of every human soul, should never be sacrificed to the pettiness of temporal social dynamics. In a word, it is time for the artificial, and arbitrary, distinctions that we call nation-states to disappear, for all political boundaries to dissolve, for everyone to acknowledge that the earth and its resources belongs to no one, but has to be used by everyone, and on a perfectly equal basis. For Mankind to truly be Mankind all class distinctions must be completely eradicated from the social consciousness. Everyone should search their souls and ask themselves which is more important, to be a citizen of a certain country, or to be a human being. Our common humanity is primal. It is far more important than whether we might just happen to be someone who just happens to have the fortune or misfortune to live in a certain place on a planet that doesn't belong to anyone (or any corporation). Or, as John Lennon once said, "Come together, right now, over me."
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