The scientific revolution that took place in the 16th and 17th century changed our thinking and the way we saw the world. Copernicus showed us that the earth was not the center of the universe. He showed us that the earth revolves around the sun and that seeing the sun move across the sky was an understandable illusion. In doing so, Copernicus solved many of the astronomical problems of the day caused by the geocentric view. This new heliocentric view, or the view that the planets revolved around the sun, was revolutionary and resisted by many, but it change our lives for the better.
Today we have millions of people who hold firm to a countrycentric or culturalcentric viewpoint of humanity. They believe that their country, their religion, their way of life is the center of the universe and representative of the truth. In the same way that the geocentric viewpoint was never accurate and caused many problems, the countrycentric or culturalcentric view of our world and humanity will always be flawed and cause problems. The truth is that we share this beautiful planet with each other and with all the sentient beings and insentient forms. Accepting this truth and living with this truth as a guiding principle will solve many of our most difficult problems.