Pinhole: Who Wrote the Book Of Love

Pinhole: Who Wrote the Book Of Love, a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

I first learned about, and became intrigued by, the Georgia Guidestones when I read an article about them in Wired magazine several years ago ("American Stonehenge: Monumental Instructions for the Post-Apocalypse," Wired, April 4, 2009). Since I was in Atlanta visiting a friend for the holiday, I suggested we visit the site, located at the highest point in Elberton County, Georgia, on New Year's Eve.

Erected in 1980, the Guidestones provides a post-apocalyptic "to-do" list for mankind's recuperation. Most of the 10-items on the list are common sense ideals cored around love, fairness, nature and reason, but the first two items provide mild justification for eugenics (which future dictator or government provides the reproductive guidance???). The list is carved in eight modern languages. The side shown in this image contains Hebrew (left) and Hindi.

Here's the list*:
- Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.
- Guide reproduction wisely — improving fitness and diversity.
- Unite humanity with a living new language.
- Rule passion — faith — tradition — and all things with tempered reason.
- Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.
- Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.
- Avoid petty laws and useless officials.
- Balance personal rights with social duties.
- Prize truth — beauty — love — seeking harmony with the infinite.
- Be not a cancer on the earth — Leave room for nature — Leave room for nature.

The Guidestones are rife with symbolic twaddle, which the Wired article talks about in-depth. It's also rife with mystery since nobody knows who conceived, designed, and paid for the monument. The front man who commissioned the work and paid for construction used a pseudonym, which has led to claims of New World Order, Illuminati and even Satan as the backing agents.

It was worth the two-ish hour trip from Atlanta to visit. The area is quite pretty and there are some great little towns nearby.

If you've been, I'd love to hear your thoughts (and conspiracy theories) about the monument.

Holga 120 WPC, f135, expired Kodak Portra 160NC, about 4 seconds

*Wikipedia contributors, "Georgia Guidestones," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Georgia_Guidestones&am... (accessed January 8, 2013).