I often say that I’m frustrated with being human, but that’s not really true. A dog may feel anger, jealousy, fear. A chimpanzee can show understanding of consequences, but can never have the willpower to use that knowledge. Even the simplest of animals can feel pain. But it is a uniquely human ability to transcend those base drives, to consider the future, to do not what is easy, but to do what is right. It is this uniquely human property which will take us to the stars. It is this property which allows us to become more ethical than the society in which we are raised.

And yet this is not something that we nurture. Conflict and drudgery wears us down. Needless decisions erode our willpower. We value others by the money they have in the bank, not the good they are doing for the world. Society distrusts—and often persecutes—those who would break societal norms for the good of the future. We encourage distraction and inaction; we encourage obedience and conformity.

This is not how the world should be. That tiny human spark, that ultimate hope for our future, is so easily extinguished. The spark does not exist when we’re tired. It does not exist when we’re worried. It does not exist when we’ve been asked to bear more than we can handle. We fall back to our base instincts; we show fear and cowardice, we care not for those except our closest friends and family; we stop thinking of what potential might exist, and instead think merely of how we might survive the day.

The future should not be a place of suffering. It should not be a place where people worry about disease or death, poverty or intolerance, where they are worn down and constrained by their experiences. The future should be a place of wonderment and harmony. A place of exploration and creativity. A place where the spark is nurtured and grown. A place were we are as human as we can possibly be. And while I believe that we will get there, I fear that we are taking the longest road to do so.

I’m not frustrated that we’re human; I’m frustrated that we’re not human enough.