Interdependence Day

Well, it's finally happened; Second Life Insider is going live on July 10th! You might well ask, "What does this have to do with Interdependence Day?" You might even ask "What is Interdependence Day?" You might finally decry "There is no such thing as Interdependence Day, you walking lint ball from a giant's navel!"

Well, that just goes to show what a poopyhead you are. However, in the spirit of Interdependence Day, I'll ignore your impassioned outburst. Interdependence Day is the day we celebrate our continued coexistence on this beautiful spinning blue marble we call the Earth, or Terra, or Gaia, or the Mothership.

Despite July 4th, with its notions of independence, it's important to realize that no one living thing is entirely independent of anything. We all live in a (sometimes) barely-sustained ecosystem, where even a minor change can have far-reaching ramifications for us all. Ancient indigenous peoples have understood this for centuries and strove to live within the limits this system requires.

However, modern man has been overstepping its bounds for a long time now, with disastrous results; I need not reiterate the catalog of crimes against Nature that mankind has engendered... suffice to say, an awakening is coming, and while it might not be a pleasant one, it need not be an entirely catastrophic one.

The key here is Harmony. We must all learn to live in such a way that we treat each other as we would treat ourselves. I propose a corollary to the Golden Rule, which I'll call the Leaden Rule: Don't do to others what you would not want done to yourself. I'll expound on this more in another post, but do me a favor and think about it a bit, while I return to the topic of Second Life Insider.

SL Insider is a prime example of how Interdependence can enrich our lives. As a blog specifically about Second Life, a world built solely by the creativity and efforts of thousands of users, it will succeed or fail on the interaction with its readers. On July 10th, I urge you invisible readers of this blog to go forth and peruse the back posts that we've been writing, and make comment on any or all of the stories available to you on Launch Day. We exist to communicate with each other; why else do we have voices? If something pleases you, or offends you, or confuses you, please tell us all about it. You have a say in making SL Insider into something great.

I'm not trying to impress you with my lines
They don't mean nothin' at all
It's just another expression of mine
It don't mean nothin' at all
-- 'People Just Love to Play with Words', Men At Work