James Cook, 1728

I have been thinking about how to positively respond to the growing culture of a reverence for ignorance. I have been very upset, almost agitated, by the pervasiveness of flat out lying at the highest levels of government, and the deprecation of a free press.  It really feels like the beginning of totalitarianism.  I know that I have a lot of company in theses feelings, and maybe even a majority of people feel this way.  May we rise up and take back what is good and great about our culture.

So part of what I have been doing is to look back at the people who were instrumental in our growth as a people.  James Cook is one of the world navigators of the 18th century who was really impressive.  He dies a grizzly death as a result of his miscalculation and his crew's mistreatment of Hawaiians, but prior to that he provided a wide range of discoveries for the Western world.  He may not have been the first to find Australia, but he opened it to European exploration.  He is most likely the man who first European to seek out both Antarctica and the Arctic Northwest Passage.  He was a talented seaman, but for me, the two things that he gave the future generations were detailed and accurate maps, and he carried talented engravers who did detailed depictions of the native populations of the lands that he explored.  The Northwest Indians culture and art in the 18th century was so impressive and our best record of it comes from his voyages.  Exploration is complicated, but Cook was a master to be remembered.