Recent discovery of a planet revolving around a star in a far off galaxy has created a stir among scientist as well as the general public. The planet, Kepler-22B, which is considerably larger than earth, may also be covered with water. This presents the possibility of life, even human life, on said planet, or not. Those who subscribe to the logic that "there has to be life" on some other heavenly body because there are billions and billions of them in infinite space (and beyond!), are at least hopeful; hopeful that the cup may be "half-full" or even some amount above empty. They may be right, and we may never know.
Count me in the opposite camp, not that I don't believe that there could be extraterrestrial life; rather that I fail to see the relevance of it other than as an interesting supposition based on incomplete data but worthy of consideration.
At our current rate of space travel, it's estimated that it would take a couple of million years to reach this planet that may have life on it. We humans don't have that much time for that kind of travel. Unless someone discovers a means by which humans can be suspended in life for millions of years and then brought back to life, or a means to send to distant planets the disassembled elements of human life to be reconstituted after space travel, life on distant planets is a mere curiosity, perhaps even harmless.
Another view of human life is that it may be more special and unique than any of us have ever dreamed of. This may be seen as the "sands-on-the-sea shore" postulation. Billions and billions of grains of sand are present, composed of all the elements on earth yet they remain inanimate.
It would seem then that life is created of the elements present on earth by a creator. It's the Creator that makes human life very special. Arguing against this is the fact that human life, all too often, is not considered precious when aborted or when wasted by inhumane acts of violence.
On the "earthy" side, and what could be more earthy than politics, much has been made of Newt Gingrich's "baggage" in the Republican presidential campaign. He does have some baggage, as do other candidates. Romney has a record as governor of Massachusetts, and is said to be a "flip-flopper." Ron Paul is a "woulda-shoulda-coulda guy." When asked what he would do about a particular subject, he prefers instead to whine about what should have been done. Herman Cain's baggage became too heavy to carry and Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry seem to have simplistic answers only.
This long, long pre-nomination season has revealed flaws in all candidates. Yet Newt is said to be the one with "baggage." We may find little comfort in knowing that he is among a long list of politicians with baggage. Candidate John Edwards had a "bag" of unfaithfulness to a cancer-stricken wife. Bill Clinton had "affairs of the heart" that were hidden baggage until fully exposed in the White House.
In 2008, President Obama's baggage was found in a pew in Reverend Jeremiah Wright's church and in his neighborly consorting with avowed anarchist Bill Ayers.
We could name several formerly high-placed politicians with baggage, including a couple of New York congressmen, some governors, and a California congresswoman who flunked out of ethics class. Do the names Spitzer, Blagojevich, Corzine, Rangel, Weiner, and Waters ring a bell?
They should; they're all Democrats with baggage and at least one is headed to jail.
Baggage, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder and the severity of Newt's baggage depends on one's point of view. It doesn't seem to disqualify him from high political office. Some changes in his life have probably made him a better man; he's certainly more mature than he was 20 years ago. Gingrich is not afraid to speak his mind, sometimes to a fault. He also possesses something that the American people have recognized as being desperately absent at this time: ideas.
Whether you lean to the ethereal or the earthy, here's wishing you a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and light baggage!
Reynolds lives in Pleasant View. He is a retired businessman and member of the Kiwanis Club of North Ogden.
Comments