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This young man is surveying the vastness of the Pacific Ocean and pondering the meaning of humankind’s existence in the face of such overwhelming power. Is it evidence of God’s infinite presence, as the theologians tell us? Or merely the chance confluence of heavy elements created in the fiery furnace of distant supernovae and then agglomerated under the force of gravity, as the physicists tell us? Will we ever know? Can we know? Will the theologians and the physicists ever get their shit together?

Actually, our young hero was waiting for the waves to roll in, and then running gleefully away just before the water could touch his toes. It was pretty cute. But really, who knows what was going through his mind while he waited?

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They want to control the story. Our readers don’t let them.

Powerful forces are working to control the narrative, rewrite history, and keep you in the dark. That’s why the Mother Jones newsroom is fiercely independent, not backed by billionaires or bending to political whims.

But we can’t do this work without you.

Our nonprofit newsroom is funded by our readers. Each donation helps strengthen our work, so we can continue to investigate and publish, no matter what an authoritarian-minded administration wants the media to say.

Stand with us. Make a gift today.

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