The Pale Blue Dot

By
Andrew DeMarco

The last few weeks has brought a large amount of insanity to the world.  The Florida bomber, the Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh which left 11 dead and the dysfunction which continues in Washington along with all the other problems around the world reminded me of one of my favorite pictures. This picture below should be up in every home. In old Italian homes it should be right up there with Frank Sinatra and the Pope. In addition, it should be in the office of every government official and world leader, right next to the pictures of their families. It should also be displayed on a grand scale at the entrance of the United Nations.

I know right now you are saying have you lost your mind, what the heck are you talking about Andrew, what kind of picture is that. Let me explain. It is not a mistake or a double exposure, that is a picture of us. Not just me and you but rather all of us, and when I say all of us I mean it.

This is a picture taken by the Voyager I space probe which was launched by NASA in September 1977. In February 1990 as Voyager was about to leave our Solar System, the astronomer Carl Sagan requested that the cameras on Voyager be turned around and pointed towards Earth. If you look real closely at the tan stripe on the right about half way down you will see a small dot. That is us, that is earth, the third rock or rather pebble from the sun. Mr. Sagan called it “The Pale Blue Dot.” (I find it interesting that U.N. peace keepers wear pale blue helmets.)  Now understand that is earth from over 3.7 billion miles away and looking at that one might say we really don’t amount to much in the grand scheme of things and maybe we should all take a step back and think about that.

Now don’t get me wrong I am not a globalist but what we all must realize is that we all share a small piece of that pebble.  Maybe when we get a bit arrogant, selfish and righteous, we should think twice about any of our biases and hatreds and look at that dot we share. If every leader looked at that picture before he or she made any decision, maybe just maybe they will think twice and hopefully more wisely. I do know we have come a long way since that blue dot first appeared. I also know that any people or beings that have made the advancements we have and that can create the technology that can send a probe over 3 billion miles and take that picture should give us some hope.

Maybe I am too much of an optimist but one thing I am certain of is that once we realize that all of us are residents of that dot we can accomplish much more together rather than apart. We can, move towards eliminating our hatreds and biases and make that pale blue dot really shine. Keeping this picture handy might just help that cause and give us all that feeling that Cousin Bob would call that… Rosy Glow.