Humans Part 2

"Humans are different because they are the only species that can engage in storytelling and abstract thought"

There's a phrase you can't say while looking in a mirror. You'd have to look yourself in the eyes and accept the inherent arrogance the sentiment reeks of.

I'm probably being too harsh. This idea comes from a place that wants only harmony, and peace. When people say this, they mean to be poetic, sure, but more accurately they mean to unite all humans. "We may have different beliefs and different lifestyles, different politics and passions and religions and backgrounds, but we all share the human-exclusive capacity for storytelling. That is what unites us all. So let's love one another".

But what does it say about humans that we must be superior to any other species in order to even consider loving each other? It's not just this context either, war unifies countries internally, angry parents unify typically quarrelsome siblings, and harsh teachers make for good friends in any given class. We find unity only with separation, with an 'other' present, an 'other' party, an 'other' individual, an 'other' species. It's no news that humans often assume communities that don't operate like their own are inferior. It's one of our favorite mistakes to make.

Maybe if/when the presence of life is discovered on other planets, all Earth's species can love each other. I suppose that's what it would take.

Not to mention, it's embarrassingly ignorant to assume non-human species are incapable of storytelling and abstract thought. As it turns out, the Earth isn't the center of the Milky-Way. What a shock that we rotate the sun. We can't imagine anything outside our realm of understanding, anything that doesn't happen how we assume, or that isn't like us. 

Why does there have to be water and oxygen on other planets for life there to exist? Just because our bodies happen to run off H2O and O2 doesn't mean 'aliens' couldn't use other elements. We can't walk in another creature's shoes for our dear lives.

Chill out McKensie, you're being absurd! I mean, for example, giraffes can't go up to each other and discuss the after-life or recount the birth of their children. You're absolutely correct. They can't, in any way that us humans are able to recognize, understand, identify, or even imagine. Just because we need H2O and O2 doesn't mean other-wordly life does. Just because humans use specific gesticulations and certain types of language doesn't mean all Earth-dwellers do. There's so much we don't and can't know. More on that here :)

We think storytelling makes us better than the 'others'. More loving. More wise. But if anything it exposes in harsh light our limitations in love and wisdom.

What's wonderful is that we're working to become a kinder society, in many ways. We're making an effort to adapt our ever-evolving language to be more inclusive. But in our noble efforts to unite ourselves as the human species, we have sometimes further separated ourselves from other animals. Why do we need to be different, better, or superior than someone else to love? There's enough love, we don't need to be so picky. For a species that uses Earth's resources in such quantities, we have a hard time using our love for universal unity.

Strangers on a Plane

  Let me set the scene: You're standing in line in the terminal. Somehow terminals are always arctic, the crisp gush of central cooling hits you and you fumble with your cross-body bag to un-tie your sweatshirt from your waist (you're stylish, btw). You're near the back of the line, C group, as usual, because you never check-in in advance and don't know how to, and if someone were to have that knowledge, they would hopefully feel free to comment below and share. There's finally some movement, you're making your way through the terminal. You approach the entrance, a flight attendant smiles and welcomes you, you turn the corner and gaze, overwhelmed at the options. You're C group, so you'll be sitting in the middle, between the aisle-seater (A group), and the window-seater (B group). But which aisle-seater and window-seater you sit between is up to you. You know what you're looking for. No laptops, the "business-trippers" don't converse (they're usually scrolling through excel sheets and/or listening to podcasts). Anyone with a kindle is probably just gonna sleep. You know to stay the heck away from any guy reading Men's Health Magazine. You want someone with a cross-word puzzle, someone drinking bottled Minute Maid, someone reading the safety placard! 

Plenty people I've spoken to on the subject say they don't care for mile-high smalltalk. Awkward and stuffy as it can be, I can't get enough. 9/10 times, well maybe 8/10, I de-board planes disappointed. 8ish/10 times I leave having made not one new friend, not having had a stimulating, fascinating discussion with an interesting stranger, not having taken some sage nugget of wisdom from a mysterious and wise row-mate. And you'd think a little row-bonding would be inevitable. We're in the sky. Together. Looking out over whatever state/country we're flying out of/into. Looking at the sparkling sea from miles up, seeing dime-sized houses and crumb-sized trees. Yet oftentimes the extent of passenger interaction is a half-awake offer of hand sanitizer. A few times, though, I've had some pretty cool interactions.

Once I sat next to a woman we'll call Ann. For the better part of the flight, we sat in silence. I was in the middle. Ann was to my left, by the window. Another lady sat to my right, she didn't leave much of an impression. A baby near our row started crying. The lady to my left said something about the baby sounding hungry. Ann bookmarked her John Grisham novel to agree. She was a pre-school teacher, she explained, she worked with babies and young children all day. Thus our conversation commenced. Together we laughed about the difficulties of opening the bag of peanuts "The 'tear-here' tab! Where's the tab!" she'd exclaimed. She shared with me her analysis of her love-life "I'm too child-like" she said "Honestly I act like a toddler, not a girlfriend". She told me about the times she had during her friend's recent bachelorette party (don't worry, it was very tame), about her memories of summers at her grandparents house, how the remote never worked "inevitably!" she'd laughed. I got off that plane with a new connection, a fleeting but valuable friendship.

Another time I sat next to a mom who's daughter and boyfriend were sitting in the row across from us, and about whom the mom told me more than the daughter would surely have liked. She told me about how long they'd been dating, how close the boyfriend was to the family, how she never thought she'd agree to let him come with her daughter on a trip but here they were! She even told me how he asked her daughter to prom "He made a bath-bomb from scratch, with some letter-thing in the middle that she only saw once it dissolved that said 'prom?', isn't that adorable?" Yes, you go dude. 

Yet another time I sat next to this cool young couple. They were chill and cheerful and traveling with infant twins. They let me hold their kids (one at a time), which was a win-win for the parents and me. The husband was across the row so he wasn't always a part of the conversation. The mom told me about how he was pursuing an online degree. She proudly explained to me how hard he was working and how well he was doing. She just smiled and loved on whichever baby she was holding whenever he/she (they were opposite gender twins) got fussy. She asked about me and listened and talked about her twins. We waved when we saw each other leaving the gate. 

"Inevitably!", you'll be disappointed, most of the time. But chances are, your row-mates don't want to read "Southwest the Magazine" for the entire flight either, and you never know who you might get to know. It doesn't have to be a group soul-search session, "what's your biggest regret-go!" doesn't have to be your opener. Just take a break from your ear buds and comment on the book they're reading, or ask for some help with 22 across, "Who directed Citizen Cane?", or notice they're drinking cran-rasperry kiwi Minute Maid and agree with them on how underrated it is, then let the conversation lift off. 

Mermaids, Fairies, Elves, and Humans

First of all, a disclaimer. Here I am, an *adult*, and you'd be hard pressed to convince me there aren't mermaids and fairies out there, cleverly hiding themselves from humans. I think to assume they don't exist simply because we can't see them is, in it's own way, arrogant. Perhaps we're not the all-knowing species we think we are. In fact we surely aren't. The same goes for Sasquatch, elves, aliens, and all the forms of God's creatures we haven't yet "dreamed up".

What puzzles me though, is why are we, why am I, so fascinated by these "mythical" beings. In nearly every culture (that I know of), there are tales of these creatures, there are websites and organizations dedicated to keeping files of alleged sightings. Qualified researchers risk public ridicule to research them. Everyone's fascinated, whether in a child-like or academic sense. But why?

The first answer I could think of is: because they are unlike us. Humans are by nature fearful of and fascinated by the unknown. It's natural that we're intrigued by these beings that seemingly differ from us so greatly. But I stand corrected. I'd assert that we're really fascinated by these creatures because they're like us. What's more fascinating to a human than a fish? A fish with a human brain and upper body. What's more fascinating to a human than a butterfly? A tiny human with wings. What's more fascinating to a human than the thousands of unique and beautiful forest creatures? Wild humans with more hair and more muscle. We're simply obsessed with ourselves.

Why is a fairy magical and a fly a nuisance? Both can do things we aren't, and never will be, able to do. Both live and think in ways we'll never know about, ways we can't even fathom. In fact, the fly's way of life is far more foreign and unfathomable to us than the fairy's. Why is a mermaid mystical but a goldfish simple? We know more about how a mermaid would think than we'll ever know about how a goldfish does, because we share a brain with a mermaid. Then shouldn't the goldfish be the greater mystery?

Being like us is what gives mermaids, fairies, elves, and Sasquatch their magic, in our human eyes. And in the minds of most normal adults, these creatures probably don't exist, yet we still know far, far more about their minds than we ever will of the creatures we deem so commonplace.  If I were to tell you I think flies are sentient, and I do, you would probably think I'm being a little (or a lot) ridiculous. That's how in our heads we are, but we will never know what a fly is thinking. No matter how advanced and marvelous and wonderful our technology and scientific knowledge are, and they are all those things, they will always be from the perspective of a human. Every thought every brilliant, genius human has ever thought, has always been a human thought. And every thought every brilliant, genius human will ever think, will always be a human thought.

We marvel at an animal's intelligence when he/she does something human-like. But animals (that aren't human) could, and surely do, hold non-human intelligence as well, intelligence we will never be able to identify, imagine, or even fathom, because every human, in this life at least, has only ever been human. Perhaps a lizard looks at a human and marvels at her intelligence when she does something lizard-like, or perhaps the lizard is thinking a thought I could never comprehend in my most creative, human dreams. I'll never know.

Even when we attempt to measure the intelligence of a given species, we are basing their intelligence on what we, humans, deem to be indicators of intelligence. It'd be like measuring someone's mathematical intelligence on their performance in a history class, if we'd never heard of or thought of math. We cannot even imagine what a measurement of intelligence is by that animal's standards. By a lizard's standards, humans could be notably stupid. We cannot possibly be unbiased, we know no other way of thinking than the human ways.

Just as I cannot fathom Heaven so long as I'm living, I cannot fathom having another, non-human brain so long as I'm human. Here's to great mystery and great humility, which can't be separated, and to one warm thought blanket.

Guest Writer!

allora esploriamo!

god told them

there are desert sands

smooth and vast

with rolling dunes

and gentle slopes

there are mountains

tall and high

with crags and cliffs

and views that spread for miles

there are oceans and rivers and seas

there are lakes and streams and shores

there are skies that go forever

with lights that will guide your way

and darks that hint at mystery

there are creatures that fly and dive

and some that crawl and climb

and some that move like a flash

and some that steal your heart

there are plants that burst through the ground

and saturate all the colors

and wrap around your ankles

and scent the air you breathe

there are foods that spark every sense

some that enflame and comfort

and you can mix them and play with them

and share them

and there are people to love

more than you'll ever know

and different in every way

and what did the people say

– Karen Miller

Thank you mom! 💗

There's Something About Cable TV

Maybe it's more FOMO, or maybe it could possibly be that both my parents have extensive and experienced knowledge of cable television, but I cringe a little when I hear someone say they've gone sans cable, full streaming.

Don't get me wrong, some of my very favorite shows are on streaming services; Curb Your Enthusiasm on Amazon Prime, Portlandia on Netflix, Handmaid's Tale on Hulu, One Mississippi on Amazon Prime (which, in a surprising move of stupidity, Amazon Prime cancelled), and how far we've come as a society that not only do you not have to form your schedule around your favorite shows, but you don't even need to worry about setting the DVR to record! You can watch your shows online anytime! But there's something about the shared experience of cable, that on couches and at break room tables across the county, or country (depending on the network), others are watching the same news/show at the same time as you. It's not live TV, but it's not streaming either, it's live streaming. Pre-recorded cable shows are (in my opinion) second to live TV, which is right under live performance.

I'll use SNL as an example, here's my order: ideally, I'd like to be in the audience at a live recording, if not I'd like to watch it live, while it's happening and with the rest of the country, if that's not an option, I'd take the re-run, and last resort would be to watch it on the NBC website. At least with the re-run I know that probably several hundred other viewers across the country are watching it with me.

Watching TV is often considered an anti-social activity on it's own, but I don't think it (necessarily) is (though if you're doing it all the time, then yeah, maybe invite some friends over). Nothing's the same as really being with others, FaceTiming never compares to real life, and pictures are never quite memories blah blah etc, but I don't think tv, specifically cable tv, is so lonesome at all. It's participation in a county/country-wide activity, it's being informed and entertained and challenged in real time. You may be watching an HGTV re-run from three weeks ago, but at least you're not alone in the debate over whether Margaret and Adam are going for the fixer-upper within price range or the ranch retreat near Margaret's office. Across the country eating dinner in front of the TV, trying to stay awake in study lounges, reclining on couches, and sitting at bars that are weirdly playing HGTV, are viewers having the same debate over newly weds Margaret and Adam.

It's easy to advocate cable tv when you're not staring at the Comcast bill (or on hold on their "customer service" line), of course, and I can see why some people opt for streaming services only. But hey, at least you know you're sharing the experience of that staticy hold music with hundreds of other frustrated customers eating dinner, reclining on couches, sitting in study lounges and break rooms, and watching HGTV in bars (because their home tvs don't work) across the country.

FOMO

I get FOMO (fear-of-missing-out) pretty often, and in different ways. I'd like to say I'm a self-aware, grown-up, independent gal who's at peace doing her own thing, but I really don't like missing out, and I'm often paranoid I don't know about some event everyone's going to while I'm the only person sitting in my dorm diving head-first into a YouTube worm-hole. Of course I'm never the only one, no-one ever is.

But more than a "fear of missing out", I think we're afraid of being isolated. Gosh there's so much pressure to be young! I just felt everyone over 25 roll their eyes and everyone over 40 mentally curse me, but hear me out. If you're, say, 52, and you decide to stay in on a Saturday night, just sit and watch a movie, mindlessly add novelty candles to your amazon shopping cart, screenshot blog-recipes, eat a few slices of just plain bread, that's fine! That's considered a nice, normal, relaxing weekend night, as far as I know. Feel free to call me out on that. Truthfully, I have less experience being a 52-year-old woman than you might expect. But if you do that in college, heaven help you! You're young! So help me if I'm nineteen and don't try to absorb all the possible "getting-out" to be had before I graduate! 

Making an argument for "just chilling with my tv and food on the weekend" is far from original. We (us college "kids") are always making sure everyone knows how darn relatable we are because "we just stayed in last Friday", yeah bro we just "watched netflix and ate", so down-to-earth it hurts right? 

If anything we're stressing what a novelty it is that we didn't party 'til the sun rose for once. If someone were to say they "actually ate at a restaurant that wasn't the microwave in my dorm" last Friday, that they in fact "were with friends" for the first time in weeks, it suddenly wouldn't be so cooly relatable, it'd be weird that they didn't ensure everyone that doing so was their norm. 

The result is everyone running around like confused freshmen during orientation wondering if they're having the normal amount of fun. How many beach bonfires have you been to?  Well hello this foldable chair isn't gonna use itself! Did you go see New Guitar Vintage Jeans play? Was that what everyone was doing Thursday? No! They were at Ron's! Who's Ron? Come see (movie)! It's the premier? Ok? No, we're going to the EDM glow-in-the-dark free smoothie date party putt-putt thing on almond place. Yeah me too. Wow, do you ever just stay in and watch netflix? Yes! All the time! I'm so lazy....and relatable, I swear! All the time? NO! hahaha, no, just like, once every few weeks, lolololol! 

Sheesh.