Remembering H.G.Wells
Not that today is H.G.Wells' any special day, but they were playing Spielberg's adaptation of H.G.Wells' War of the Worlds on Star Movies and I was reminded of the beautiful story that it is.
War of the Worlds was written in 1898. A mere ~40 years after Darwin wrote his earth-shattering book, The origin of Species.
I admire H.G.Wells for writing about the actuality of human nature. More so, for having the guts to write this specific paragraph:
And before we judge them [the Martians] too harshly, we must remember what ruthless and utter destruction our own species has wrought, not only upon animals, such as the vanished Bison and the Dodo, but upon its own inferior races. The Tasmanians, in spite of their human likeness, were entirely swept out of existence in a war of extermination waged by European immigrants, in the space of fifty years. Are we such apostles of mercy as to complain if the Martians warred in the same spirit?
-Chapter I, "The Eve of the War"
Why is it that it's just so difficult for most people, that they'd even get offended, to question the reason of existence of all the things that they proudly call as 'human nature'? Why is it so difficult for people to accept they are mere animals and start from there to get rid of the animal from within? What does the common man lack that prevents oneself from seeing what geniuses like H.G.Wells could see so easily?
A lot of humility, I guess.
War of the Worlds was written in 1898. A mere ~40 years after Darwin wrote his earth-shattering book, The origin of Species.
I admire H.G.Wells for writing about the actuality of human nature. More so, for having the guts to write this specific paragraph:
And before we judge them [the Martians] too harshly, we must remember what ruthless and utter destruction our own species has wrought, not only upon animals, such as the vanished Bison and the Dodo, but upon its own inferior races. The Tasmanians, in spite of their human likeness, were entirely swept out of existence in a war of extermination waged by European immigrants, in the space of fifty years. Are we such apostles of mercy as to complain if the Martians warred in the same spirit?
-Chapter I, "The Eve of the War"
Why is it that it's just so difficult for most people, that they'd even get offended, to question the reason of existence of all the things that they proudly call as 'human nature'? Why is it so difficult for people to accept they are mere animals and start from there to get rid of the animal from within? What does the common man lack that prevents oneself from seeing what geniuses like H.G.Wells could see so easily?
A lot of humility, I guess.