In a little over 20 minutes, 100 years ago the course of human history changed forever when over 1,500 people lost their lives in the bitter chill of a North Atlantic night.

23 years ago, a simple book changed a good part of my life and would intertwine me with one of the greatest stories in human history, albeit one of its most saddening.

The book was "Exploring the Titanic" by Dr. Robert Ballard. My reasoning for getting the book actually stems from another love of mine, Ghostbusters. You see, there was a part in "Ghostbusters 2" where New York, under siege from the netherworld finally gets to see the wreck of Titanic dock...in spectral form of course.

Fast forward to a few months later when I was in 2nd grade at P.S. 11 here on Staten Island. Every so often we would get these 3-4 page book order forms. Me being a book nut(something that also still hasn't changed.) saw Dr. Ballard's book and immediately reminded myself "Thats the ship from the movie!"

About 2 weeks later the book arrived and so began one of the things I will undoubtedly always be remembered for.

I'm not sure whether or not thats a good thing however. How morbid it is to be associated with one of the worlds greatest tragedies? People often come up to me, especially lately and ask me what it is about the Titanic that still draws me in all these years later.

There are a multitude of answers to give.

The one that sticks the most is Hubris. The fact that we as a society back then and especially now think of ourselves as the great and powerful human race, with great and powerful things to show for it...but where has it really gotten us?

Back then Hubris cost more than 1,500 lives and showed the world that despite the great achievements of humankind, nature will still prevail over all. We are not forever. Thats not meant to be a morbid statement, and i'm sorry if thats how it is taken but it is true.

That hubris still lives within us all today, this very day in fact. I've been watching the coverage of the massive severe weather outbreak in the midwest and can't help but think of the unlucky people who build homes on the cheap, just to beat a deadline, only to see natures fury rip the house from the ground with a family inside of it, yet we praise modern building methods.

We as a race of people are not "unsinkable", as some thought the Titanic to be. Instead of trying to control nature, we need to better understand it and work within its parameters.

We are a great people, just as we were back then, but we let our ego and our Id get the best of us sometimes. We have this great idea of a utopian society, yet we can't stop bickering about petty things long enough to realize that gets nothing done. Arguing for the sake of arguing is not proving ones point, its prolonging ineptitude.

If the Titanic proved anything, its that we can't have these class wars in society. That iceberg, that chilled water did not discriminate between rich and poor. It took who it took, regardless of who they may be.

It's for reasons such as those I can't help but scoff at the idea of our people having any effect on the outcome of the planets future. As I said, the severe weather in the midwest proves that if the Earth doesn't want us, it will find a way to get rid of us. The Earth does not beleive in climate change. Before the human race was what it is today, this planet made its way through the solar system as a black boiling ball of rock, and it did it just fine.

We aren't trying to save Earth, we're trying to save the Human race. We're so afraid of our own future that we've given up on trying to save ourselves and have instead pawned off our problem and blamed it on the planet. How much ego is involved there?

Probably a little less than the one that sideswiped an iceberg.

There is however hope.

There is always, ALWAYS HOPE. We can all start acting like decent, normal, good humans again. Going out of your way to hold a door open does actually do a little bit in the world, despite what you may think. A groundswell movement doesn't begin with an uproar, it begins with a ripple. And I know that we as a people are capable of this. We're not lost. I have full belief that we can learn from our mistakes and missteps.

Cynicism never got a damned thing accomplished, hope did. It was with that hope in mind that Captain Arthur Rostron ordered his ship, R.M.S. Carpathia to steam to the site of Titanics last position and begin rescue efforts, despite his being 58 miles away...which, back in 1912, was essentially a light world away.

This man did not just heed the call, he went above and beyond. This is something that we are all capable of doing. We're not helpless, we're lazy. And that goes for me too. The sooner we stop being lazy, the sooner we stop ACTING helpless, the more we can get done for the betterment of humanity. We act high and mighty, but when it comes down to it, few of us follow through with it. Now is the time for that to change. It's up to you.