Christopher Tremper

Grooming the Space Monkey Christopher Tremper

Human beings are capable of realizing an incredibly bright future, but we are an immature species (adolescents really) and our current trajectory is one leading to a fairly dismal end. While we are well equipped to elevate one another, the sad fact is that we are not incentivized, as individuals or collectively, to do so. Despite our laws and loosely imposed moral codes, we simply do not defy our incentives. Our incentives shape the way we treat one another. They shape the way we view on another. They shape our utilization of our planet. They shape our trajectory.

The deep flaws in our incentives are not difficult to see, but we are not incentivized to look at them. We need to change that. We need examine them and acknowledge: How our current economic systems are ill-suited for our long-term survival and how they can be altered to serve rather than condemn us. How we have failed to craft an effective, one-size-fits-all moral code and reassess how we can do so. How our spirituality is distinct from religion and its vital importance in guiding us through our technological advancement. There is hope. We have enormous potential. We have an amazing planet. We have each other, but we need to incentivize ourselves to take advantage of our potential rather than to continue taking advantage of each other. There is a simple yet massive distinction between those things. We surely can do it, but we have to first see why it has to be done. And done soon...

Grooming the Space Monkey attempts to help with that. It puts our absurdity in plain sight (and reasonably plain English) then urges us to rethink what we've come expect from each other and our cultures. It is time to grow up. We may be these great teens with all the potential in the world, but it doesn't mean a whole lot while driving 150mph... drunk and stoned... in the wrong lane... at midnight... with the headlights off.