Wed 25 Feb
2009
Astroscope Will Change the World
Posted at 6:35 PM by Max Cameron
It appears that our last blog post didn't quite grasp the full reality of our challenge, or of our opportunity. The stakes have been raised, and we are ready to respond.
No Looking Back
Ever since we naively unveiled the most powerful and compelling ice-breaker application ever written for the iPhone, and kicked-off our Drive to Start 1,000 Conversations, we’ve realized that accomplishment comes with devastating responsibility. We have unwittingly decided to directly confront the most important, historic, and complex challenge ever faced by mankind: Starting the first conversation between a man and a woman. We have, as it appears, rested the fate of the world upon our shoulders.
At first glance, this global and immemorial challenge appears all too simple. Aren’t there more important things in the world than finding ways for men to meet women? What about war? What about poverty? What about famine, disease, global warming, and systematic political oppression? How can you compare loneliness and heartbreak to the all-too numerous horrors of our time?
To these challenges we must respond; how could one wage a war if not fueled by greed and the desire for power and control over others? Imagine the psychological state of any devious criminal, crooked politician, horrific dictator, or greedy Wall Street investor. What drives these men to hurt and control others? Furthermore, what prevents men from stepping in to put an end to atrocities they know are happening around them?
The Banality of Evil
In times like these I think of the philosopher-journalist Hannah Arendt, whose analysis of the origins and nature of genocide are as true today as they were in the late-forties. She asks how this type of disaster could actually take place. Were the people who committed the crimes exceptional in some way? The devastating scope of their actions begs the question: were they super-villains? Arendt famously concludes by declaring the banality of evil, illuminating why the worst horrors of the world are not as unimaginable as we would like to think. Regardless of the implications for the human condition, the most offensive practices are committed by the most normal of people. And the most normal of people struggle with the most universal of problems.
I argue that loneliness and heartbreak, rejection and humiliation, if repeatedly endured, can slowly erode any sense of morality, respect, and justice towards others. Because behaviour is cyclical, and communicated across generations and cultures, I argue that loneliness leads to war, oppression, greed, and the need for control. Loneliness and heartbreak can leave a heart jaded, and leave a man unwilling to step in to prevent genocide, or fail to do everything possible to contain and eradicate pandemic diseases. By building as many good relationships in our society as we can, we're laying the framework for a just and peaceful future for everyone. Good things happen when people get together.
Hope Emerges
I know this because the inverse is true: Love is the great muse of humanity. The power of good can always and indisputably triumph over evil. Cycles can be broken. Respect breeds respect, and love reproduces more love. True love between two people, in other words, can go viral in a way a YouTube video cannot. If we can help one man meet the right woman, we can change the tide of mankind. We can save the world, one relationship at a time.
The greatest warriors of our modern era would agree: Ghandi, Bob Marley, Mother Theresa, the Dali Lama, would probably agree that love is in fact our only hope of salvation as a species. And if the argument that love can change the world is accepted, the next natural question that emerges is how our goal could be accomplished. Such an eternal, powerful, and complex challenge must require a solution that is equal in complexity, size, and power.
Simple is Better
Think about David, as he turned down Saul’s armour, taking only a sling and a staff to combat Goliath, the most fearsome Philistine warrior ever seen. Goliath was capable of striking fear into the heart of the bravest Israelite, and none of Israel's warriors, even with their most powerful weapons, would take one step in Goliath's direction. Think about the simplicity of David’s weapons, the simplicity of his belief in the power of good over evil, and his conviction and courage in confronting the very embodiment of evil.
Think about the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina, who stood up to the most fearsome political Junta that nation had ever seen: armed only with photos of their disappeared sons, young boys who those mothers loved dearly. They did not bring guns to their protests every Thursday afternoon, no, they only brought photos. And many credit these grandmothers, these feeble old women, with breaking the deadly silence that had defined the political reality of their time.
And now think of us, two young Canadian boys, who work from a bachelor apartment, who have forgone high salaries in the corporate world because our belief in the power of our ideas. We have created the modern sling and staff; we have brought to you only a picture of hope. We have come to you with a request that you use our simple tool to accomplish the impossible. We ask you to join us to help save the world, one relationship at a time.