The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever.

-Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

It definitely seems like there are some of us on this planet who look to the stars and dream about what lies ahead (for us on this planet and for our lives beyond) and then there are many who look no where but to the present.  I truly have been wondering more and more lately about the nature of humanity.  Are we bound to diverge so much that we become new, distinct species?  We already have groups of people who will not breed with other groups.  The far-right, conservative christians have entrenched themselves pretty deeply in some areas and seem to indoctrinate their children so heavily that those children don't fit in with modern day thinking.  How will our society continue to evolve when groups within cannot work together?  If Earth is our cradle, perhaps it is nurturing and raising us to be very different.  Perhaps part of biological evolution for conscious species is to diverge into new varieties.  I wonder if, when we do come to leave the cradle and "grow up", if a good proportion of what was humanity will remain behind, stuck in their ways and unwilling to change.