At about the same time our ancestors discovered fire, they started to think about whether there is any individual identity after being eaten by a saber tooth tiger. Some modern cultures have rejected traditional Judeo Christian conepts of life after death. Humanists in Sweden recently paid for billboards questioning whether God exists.
Translation: "God Probably Does Not Exist."
Putting aside Sweden and Nietzsche for the moment, there does seem to be a basic human need to look beyond the cadaver. This week the national media attemtped in its goofy, breathless way to have Michael Jackson live past his autopsy. Rest assured that Michael will be celebrated, castigated and litigated for a long time. He was a talented, complex and tragic guy whose heart stopped beating, prematurely perhaps, but as all our hearts will some day.
It's interesting that modern culture still looks for immortality, albeit immortality of its own making.
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