Re: ATTN JMS: Humans build communities

"Wendy of NJ" <voxwoman@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:rg8mq1lsuda8o89nemra4aslnp42rf09rn@xxxxxxxxxx
> On Thu, 22 Dec 2005 21:24:18 +0000 (UTC), "Mark Alexander Bertenshaw"
> <newsthang@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>
> IANJMS, however, it seems to me that in the B5 universe, Earth has a
> much more diverse planetary "culture" than any of the other alien
> races. This is pointed out most clearly in "Parliament of Dreams" in
> Season 1.
>
> Thus, one may conjecture that the other spacefaring races had one
> dominant culture that either wiped out all competing cultures (and the
> Centauri actually exterminated a competing sentient race on their
> planet) or subsumed them in other ways. There is a hint at some
> religious diversity on Narn, but their population seems to have been
> decimated over the last millenia, and their culture is also fairly
> uniform.
>
> The other races don't seem as good as "sharing" as Humans are.
>
> That's the sense I've gotten from the series, in any case.

Hmmm. I can't say that I can contradict any of that. It just niggles with
me. The thing is that it is true that diversity *does* benefit our species.
So by saying that humanity is multi-cultured is pretty much the same as
saying that we are better. I suspect that Joe was in all good conscience
trying to promulgate the optimistic message that we, humanity, are "better
than we think we are", but in so doing, this has become the literal theme
"humanity is so much better than all those monocultured aliens".

I suppose that I am looking for an explanation along the lines of: the
Vorlons and Shadows have interfered in the evolution of all species, except
humanity, causing a static society in the former, and a single winner
society in the case of the latter. However, there are quite a few
objections to this, such as: this requires active guidance; Earth has been
visited by only Vorlons, as far as we know.

--
Mark Bertenshaw
Kingston upon Thames
UK



.

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