December 25, 2006

Letter Number One
Re: Requesting your attention

My fellow Humans,

My name is Al Braun. Though you don't know me, and I may live half the world away, I ask that you generously read what I'm about to say.

Almost my whole adult life I've thought Humanity was on the brink of disaster. It's a great thing to have been wrong about, but my opinion hasn't changed. Consequently, I've spent over twenty-five years working to understand what to do about the world's circumstances.

There's audacity and perhaps hubris involved in attempting to solve the world's problems. Yet I've been confident that it's needed doing. Though there are people who might be better qualified, they've been busy with other things. And there are no recognized credentials for this task. My qualifications stem from the luxury of time, a bent toward invention, and sincere commitment to our future.

Possibly there's even more audacity in attempting to address-indeed lead-Humanity. Yet I know we need leaders who hold themselves accountable for serving us all rather than just a portion of us. Again, the better-qualified have other jobs, and no one has perfect credentials for this. In my case, I'm not seeking position, but rather influence. I ask only that you consider my ideas and act on them as your conscience leads you.

I believe that my years of work have produced a set of tools that will enable us to create a breakthrough in Human conditions and our prospects for the future. But I ask for your attention even if I'm falling short. If you can be generous with me, others will follow. If I fall short, someone else may succeed. It's not so much necessity as demand that is the mother of invention.

This is the first of many letters I'll write to you. In each I'll share something I've learned that if included in our shared understanding, I believe would contribute toward pulling us back from calamity, and toward a vastly improved quality of life for us all. These things won't all necessarily be simple to learn, yet they're not much beyond common sense. Some might be challenging to implement, but will be consistent with improving your life.

Scientists say we Humans have lived in our current form for about 130 thousand years. Only in the last hundred or so have we had the power to extinguish ourselves and our planet. Can we mature enough to avoid extinction? This is the question for our time.

Respectfully,
Al

December 29, 2006

Letter Number Two
Re: My Opinion

My fellow Humans,

In my first letter I shared my opinion about humanity's future. When I was in college back in 1972, David Bowie recorded a song called Five Years. Here are the opening lines:

Pushing thru the market square, so many mothers sighing
News had just come over, we had five years left to cry in
News guy wept and told us, earth was really dying
Cried so much his face was wet, then I knew he was not lying

When I heard this, it fit other things I "knew" so I believed it. Of course, that was almost thirty-five years ago. How I could I have been so wrong? Well it was just my opinion.

I wasn't distinguishing facts and opinions. I thought my opinion was true. But opinions can't be true. Only facts can be true (or false). Opinions are those things for which there is no generally accepted standard. So for example, whether I'm a certain height measured in centimeters can be true or false. But whether I'm short or tall is a matter of opinion.

When I was a kid, there was a popular detective show on TV called "Dragnet." In it, Sgt. Friday frequently cut witnesses short with, "Just the facts, ma'am." Implicit was that everyone knew the difference between facts and opinions. But it isn't so. People are always trying to convince others of their opinions. And this isn't just in private. Political debates, from world trade to global warming, are all about convincing others our opinions are "true."

When we believe our opinions, we make assumptions based solely on evidence. Yet we can find evidence for anything. Consequently, debates can go on interminably, and our assumptions can be as wrong as mine was about our future. Yet whenever we act, we must do so consistently with some assumption, so how do make our assumptions? The short answer: Assumptions should be spiritually and behaviorally appropriate. More in my next letter.

Thanks for reading,
Al