Can you imagine what the world would be like if the weapons of today were in the hands of our conquering ancestors? The people who counted slaves as ⅗ of a human or not human at all? Those who killed people of different religions, or started wars with tribes who shared family members?
There is something that makes modern times different, that keeps us from physically annihilating our competition or challenging them to life or death duels. Most people are not aware of it because it is hard to see from the inside, it is difficult to talk about, and it can be misconstrued in a way that seems oppressive, arrogant, and judgemental.
Most people look at what is directly in front of their faces and forget to zoom out and see the context of the entire story of humanity. Doing so the difference can be seen more clearly. Although it is by no means universal, there is a worldwide moral and social development that is more inclusive of others and more tolerant of differences.
And of course our previous way of existing in the world—the hate towards our closest neighbors, the ego and ethnocentricism—still exist. That’s exactly what makes nuclear weapons development in Iran and North Korea so frightening. Yet they are the extreme minority, whereas in the past their point of view was commonplace.
