September 2010

Stephen Hawking has been called the greatest mind alive or the greatest since Einstein. Perhaps I do not know how to recognize a great mind, but I have a problem with a thought from his new book, that something can come from nothing and that the universe did not therefore need god to come into being. I may be naïve and display my scientific ignorance but I have such difficulty with the notion that something can actually come out of nothing. I wonder if that is scientifically really true and if work down the road will not show that this is not possible. As to the idea of god, unless Mr. Hawking explains what he means by the word god then his argument is weaker than it may look. It’s clear he doesn’t mean the god of the bible, but there are other definitions and concepts of a more impersonal force, or one that can’t easily be described. Regardless though, his current work, or at least the part that has caused talk, makes me wonder whether Mr. Hawking is not a scientific fundamentalist, maybe not as militant as a religious fundamentalist, but fundamentalist nonetheless.

There’s something down right scary about singling out one ethnic group. The French government ongoing expulsions of the Romas back to Bulgaria and Romania has earmarks of discrimination and prejudice. What’s even more disturbing is that the Romas, often called gypsies, are part of the 27 nations European Union and people from one nation are permitted to go anywhere. While individual countries have the right to protect themselves, from, for example mass migration from sub-Saharan Africa, it is not clear the Romas fall in that category. French President Sarkozy has vehemently defended his policy and the fact that he wasn’t as well received as he hoped at the last EU meeting is encouraging. The EU has agreed to review the situation. Meanwhile the expulsions continue. The Romas, who as a group are not wanted in Italy, in Romania, in Germany and in other countries as well, go when they are tracked down by the French police, and then find a way to come back. That may help them survive, but that doesn’t solve the prejudice they face. Let’s hope Sarkozy’s determination will force the EU into action and find a better solution.

My young nephew who’d enlisted in the Marines and was sent to Afghanistan was injured recently. He lost his legs. Today’s technology is such he may be able to avoid being in a wheelchair and even if not he will go on to live a productive life. Until then though there will be a lot of rehab and a lot of steps to go through. So far he’s been stoic and so strong. After all, his father told me, he is a Marine. But at some point he’ll have to deal with the loss of his legs. They are gone, amputated completely and irrevocably. It’s fashionable for our politicians to invoke supporting our troops. Are they including the thousands of young men and women whose lives like that of my nephew have been altered? We consider ourselves lucky, so many are enduring far more difficult losses and injuries. Yes, he was awarded a Purple Heart, but I wonder though, who will thank my nephew and the thousands of others for their sacrifice? Will the Afghan people? Will the nation manage more than a few words meant for political effect? Will the world? Sadly it may depend on whether or not we can prevail and push back the extremists who wreck so much harm.