...we could communicate via smell?

Sight, Sound, Taste, Touch, Smell. Five senses and many modes of communication. The first modes that are usually thought of when communication is considered are most likely involve sound; verbal-auditory communication. Language has evolved so that one person making a unique patter of sounds and syllables can be easily understood by another person. It is very possible that this form of communication, however, was preceded by more visual forms of communication like sign language (light is faster than sound after all).

The next step in the evolution of communication was perhaps visual. Man learned to transcribe his verbal language onto stone, papyrus, and other more permanent forms. In addition to allowing verbal communication to take a physical form, transcribed information is also the basis for non-linguistic means of communication like mathematics. Braille also transform touch into an equally powerful mode of communicaiton. 

Beyond these very distinct forms of communication that allow us to transmit very specific feelings or thoughts, music and graphic art also serve as a means of conveying a broade range of emotions. But what of taste and smell? What is it about these senses that limits our ability to communicate intellegently with them?

One might argue that chefs communicate via the flavors they concoct or that scented candles can communicate as well, but how much information can truly be conveyed? If one says that something is good or bad, or if one sees "good" or "bad" written down on a piece of paper, one immediately processes the information and connects it to a particular feeling. Similarly, in music, if one hears a major versus a minor chord, specific emotions may be evoked. There is a language that is associated with these concepts that can be passed easily from one person to another.

Is the potential for a means of communication via taste there? Perhaps it just has not been invented yet!

...eyes could see a greater range of light?

The human eye is capable of seeing light, or electromagnetic radiation, with wavelengths between roughtly 400 and 700 nm. When incident upon rhodopsin - a structure in the rod and cone cells of the eye - light induces a reversible chemical change in a molecule called retinal (a derivative of Vitamin A). This triggers a series of signal  cascades that send chemical/electrical signals to the brain, and thus allow the sensory information to be processed. 

Nowadays, science and engineering have made it possible to "see"  and use electromagnetic radiation of all wavelengths and frequencies. But what if mankind could see and/or process all light without aid of machines? What if we could "see" radio waves or "smell" gamma rays. If we could see radio waves, maybe we would have telepathy - we wouldn't need to speak, just transmit our thoughts via radio waves (we'd lose at least FM and AM radio though). If we could see infrared, perhaps heat from our everyday environments would blind us. If we could see x-rays, perhaps medical diagnoses would be faster and less expensive (though probably not >.<) . 

...there is no God?

When I was young and in the shelter of my parents' home, I believed in an all powerful, all knowing, and all loving God. Now, as I have grown up, moved out, and seen the world for what it really is, I don't think I believe in the same God anymore. The God I know now is distant, tired, and, ostensibly, far removed from the struggles of humanity. He may see the poor and oppressed, but instead of doing something himself, he asks me, someone far less capable, to work in his stead.

I have no doubt that countless people have walked this path before me, countless people are walking it now, and countless people will walk it the future. To all those people, I implore you to neither simply accept your inherited religion, nor to throw it away; I implore you to earnestly seek truth, whether it be one Truth or manytruths.

In a paragraph addressed to Christians, Francis Schaeffer summarizes the need for truth seeking from the Christian perspective:
"In (the) face of this modern nihilism . . . Christians are often lacking in courage. We tend to give the impression that we will hold on to the outward forms whatever happens, even if God really is not there. But the opposite ought to be true of us, so that people can see that we demand the truth of what is there and that we are not dealing merely with platitudes. In other words, it should be understood that we take this question of truth and personality so seriously that if God were not there, we would be among the first to have the courage to step out of the queue." (The God Who is There, Francis A Schaeffer)

What if there is no God? My suggestion would be to live as such . . .

...we had no perception of race?

After President Obama's inauguration, the Reverend Joseph Lowery delivered a prayer that ended with this:

"Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest,

and in the joy of a new beginning,
we ask you to help us work for that day
when black will not be asked to get in back,
when brown can stick around,
when yellow will be mellow,
when the red man can get ahead, man;
and when white will embrace what is right.
Let all those who do justice and love mercy
say Amen."

Personally, I thought it was humorous. After seeing a number of other blogs and responses to the prayer, however, I realize that many whites feel that the sentiments Reverend Lowry expressed were anti-white, or "reverse-racist". 

I can understand how many whites may have felt hurt by the insinuation that whites don't already embrace what is right, but such a sentiment is immature and shows a lack of understanding of the history of our country. Of course there are whites that do what is right (abolition and the civil rights movement would not have been possible without them), just as there are yellows who are mellow, reds who are ahead, and browns who are around, and blacks that are not asked to stay back. Reverend Lowry's statements were not an expression of anger or resentment towards the past, but rather an exhortation to a new beginning. His hope, as is the hope of many Americans, is that race should no longer divide us, instead it should bring us together. We cannot deny our diversity, but we should choose to embrace it.