Indisputable

The only sure thing is uncertainty. Oh, there is that death and taxes saying, but the reality is that even it is only half right (before civilization there were no taxes, and if civilization ever breaks down into anarchy there will most likely not be any taxes again). We are constantly striving to insulate, insure, prepare and plan so that things will be as we want them to be. In the end, what happens is dictated by so many variables beyond our control that all our efforts seem laughable. One could say that even when things go right it is at best half due to our actions and half due to chance. That being said, why do we not just throw up our hands and let the tide take us where it will? It is the challenge, the fight, the contest, the game if you will that keeps us engaged and always working the next angle. This is our nature. Our successes, our failures, our greatest moments of compassion and our darkest moments of destruction have all come as a result of this. Some of you are thinking 'if this is our nature, then this is a sure thing and your argument collapses in on itself'. There has always been a minority of people who have given up on the challenge. If that minority becomes the majority, if there are more people willing to drift on the wind and let others dictate thier path, then we will all be lost. Some would have you believe that this would create more certainty, that fewer people making big decisions would stabilize things more. I beleive that this would only serve to magnify the destabilizing consequences of the aforementioned chance. To boil it down - uncertainty on a small. personal scale can be overcome, delt with and absorbed without widespread chaos, but uncertainty on a large scale can be catastrophic with little chance of recovery. Remaining engaged is the only way we can have any hope of continuing the advancement of civilization as we know it. Game on!