The Reason Why the Universe is Expanding

About a week ago, I was looking for a way to relax after dealing with a string of disrespect, power egos, theft, and news about people killing other people for no reason or even worse, for God. It was raining, so a relaxing evening on the stream was out. I read for a while, then decided to vegetate in front of the television. I'm a bit of a nerd for science programs, so I tuned into a Public Broadcasting Station that was airing a series about the universe. 

I learned that stars have a life cycle. In about 5 billion years, our own sun will expand into red giant and engulf Mercury, Venus, and Earth. In short, all humans left on earth will die. The only hope for human survival will be to relocate to other planet(s) surrounding other stars, maybe in other galaxies. We will be the universe's immigrants. I will not be around then, but it saddens me to know that here will be no more trout fishing on my favorite streams. Maybe I should fish in the rain more often.

I also learned that most physicists are convinced the universe began with a rapid expansion of a 'singularity', whatever that is. The theory is popularly known as The Big Bang Theory.  At first, scientists once thought that the gravity would eventually slow the galaxies as they flew through space, then eventually the gravitational pull would cause everything to collapse back into the 'singularity'. But recent observations have proven that to be wrong.

In fact, the other galaxies are flying away from our own galaxy at ever increasing speeds! This observation has, in turn, led to the theory of dark matter and dark energy. I'm not really going to discuss the theories of dark matter and dark energy except to say that many of my night fishing experiences have involved dark matter (like unseen logs) and dark energy (like falling as a result of dark matter). Instead, I want to share my thoughts about why the universe is behaving this way.

I recently had a eureka moment while visiting a local big box store. I watched people cutting in front of each other to get a parking space 10 feet closer to the door. I saw people leaving shopping carts in any place other than the rack provided for them. There were people cursing at each other and their kids. Their kids ran amok throughout the store, handling produce with their grubby, snot-coated hands without any discipline from a parent. When I left the store, I saw two dogs left in a locked car with the windows rolled up. Suddenly, it all made sense to me. The other galaxies are running like hell to get away from us before we start the emigration!

Royal Dun