The Golden Record . . .

[Aaron]

. . . is a collection of the sights, sounds, and music of planet Earth for the benefit of extraterrestrials who are hoped to cross paths with Voyager I or II. They were assembled by a team headed by noted atheist, the late Carl Sagan. The selection, of course, reflects their world view.

If you were in Sagan's place, and had unbridled liberty to select the works to communicate the story of Earth, but could only select one example of each, what would be your choices for the:

1. Literature?
2. Music?
3. Image?
4. Spoken greeting?

 

[Thinkingstuff]

. . . is a collection of the sights, sounds, and music of planet Earth for the benefit of extraterrestrials who are hoped to cross paths with Voyager I or II. They were assembled by a team headed by noted atheist, the late Carl Sagan. The selection, of course, reflects their world view.

If you were in Sagan's place, and had unbridled liberty to select the works to communicate the story of Earth, but could only select one example of each, what would be your choices for the:

1. Literature?
2. Music?
3. Image?
4. Spoken greeting?

I'm currently in ill humor for the earth tonight. So as of this point I think the most representative works for the people of the earth is:

1. The bible (especially the book of Judges) but a close runner up with Out of the Silent planet by Lewis. Possibly the Illiad Uncertain

2. Sympathy for the Devil by the Rolling Stones

3. Auschwitz

4. Run for your lives! We are humanity!

 

[Aaron]

1. For literature I would choose the Song of Solomon. (I'm going for something concise.)

2. I haven't decided on the music yet. My first thought was Handel's Messiah, but that's just an infatuation with the subject matter. The music itself isn't something I would call Christian or church music.

Haven't decided on the image or greeting, either, although Thinking's suggestion has merit. Unclean! Unclean!

 

[Scarlett O.]

Oh, I love this question. :applause:

Literature: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. We learn so much of humanities' foibles. Very intense education on the depravity of man. Yet here we have a father, a righteous man who is intent on letting none of this touch his children. Not the cursing, the hatred, the violence, nor the looking down on others because of their youth, color, gender, agedness, poverty, nor any other reason that people hate each other in this book.

The absolute best line in all of literature is the last line of this book. Boo Radley has saved the boy, Jem from being murdered. The sheriff has brought Jem home and he is in bed, unconscious and with a broken arm. Scout is crawled in her father’s arms as he sits by Jem’s bed and reads a book to her. In all of the turmoil that this family endured and that others endured, she takes great solace in her father’s strong arms. She says of her father, as the book ends...

….”He would be there all night and would be there when Jem waked up in the morning.”

Peace, from the love of a father, ……..what better story is that?

Music: I’m torn between "The Hallelujah Chorus" or "Oh Happy Day" by the Ethan Hawkins singer (1969)

Art: "First Steps" by Vincent Van Gogh It’s a beautiful picture of a simple family. The father is working hard in the garden and the mother is working hard making a home. The baby is taking her first steps. The mother is excitedly taking her out to the garden to show the father. He immediately drops what he is doing and is thrilled at his child’s first steps. No one in the picture is looking at us, the audience. They are oblivious to us. Their personal fulfillment and happiness come from being a family.

http://www.vangoghartprints.net/images/van_gogh_first_steps.jpg

Personal Greeting: “Peace to you, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

[Aaron]

Good answers so far. :thumbs:

For music: It's a tie between O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, and Abide with Me. These reflect the true longing of mankind.

 

[donnA]

LOL, how would they understand our language or the imagery we sent them?

 

[Aaron]

I don't care about that. I'm interested in what folks see as the best (or worst) of planet Earth.

 

[Aaron]

Heck, for music it might just be Handel's Messiah.

 

[Aaron]

The image: A flower. Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as one of these.

 

[Aaron]

Spoken greeting: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.

 

[rbell]

Depends on a "friend or foe" situation.

If they seem friendly:

1. Literature? The Bible; "Othello" by Shakespeare; "Calvin and Hobbes"
2. Music? Handel's Messiah; Beethoven's Fifth; Ode to Joy; Robert Palmer's Riptide; Fernando Ortega's "Hymns" collection.
3. Image? Da Vinci's Last Supper; Mona Lisa; Picasso's Guernica; Michelangelo's "The Creation of Man"
4. Spoken greeting? Psalm 150, read by Charlton Heston.

If they are hostile:

1. Literature? "An Inconvenient Truth" by Algore; any book by Al Franken.
2. Music? Anything by 50 Cent, Ludacris, or the Backstreet Boys; "I'm Too Sexy for my Shirt" by Right Said Fred.
3. Image? A picture of Janet Reno.
4. Spoken greeting? A Rosie O'Donnell monologue.

Hey, if you can't beat 'em...scare the mess out of 'em.
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