Back in 1994, inspired by an image of the Earth captured a few years before by Voyager 1, astronomer Carl Sagan wrote the book “Pale Blue Dot,” reflecting on the folly of human conceits, of the pointless and petty struggles that humanity deals with on a daily basis. In light of the horrific attacks in Israel and the ongoing battles in Ukraine, it would serve us well to remember his words:

“Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every ‘superstar,’ every ‘supreme leader,’ ev...