Where are we headed as a species – humans, I mean. What do we conclude when our baser nature shows itself? It’s customary to conclude we’re headed in a forward, upward moving direction when the best of our human nature comes out.. On the contrary, when there’s selfishness, greed, indifference, disrespect and our “lower” nature manifests itself, there is a great disconnect. This disconnect takes place within and without.
“Human nature is not totally fixed, but on any realistic scale, evolutionary processes are much too slow to affect it. ” ~ Noam Chomsky
Even for those who might not be the least bit interested in politics or passing judgements on other people, the riot at Capitol Hill touched some deep discordant chords within. Personally, although I’m not from the U.S.A. I feel sad that this happened. It caused me to wonder about my own human nature and whether or when I too could be reduced to this kind of behaviour. What would it take? What did it take to cause these people to act this way?
“We need more understanding of human nature, because the only real danger that exists is man himself.” ~ Carl Gustav Jung
It’s true that we’re all different and have had different influences in our lives. However, my experience tells me that most of our public institutions – schools, churches, universities, etc. try to instil values like respect, consideration, acceptance, openness, empathy and love towards others.
The child’s first teachers, namely the parents, try to pass on some core values to their offspring. Peace is a concept we all become familiar with at some point in our lives and, hopefully, most are trying to follow. How do we begin to explain this forgetting that took place that day? Should we try to even explain it? Should we just accept that we all make mistakes and this is part of human nature?
“We are not only human animals; we are also persons, in essential relation with other persons, and bound to them by obligations and rights. Our world is a shared world, exhibiting freedom, value, and accountability, and to understand it we must address other people face to face and I to I.” ~ Sir Roger Scruton
Did this group of people know each other? Did they plan that this was how they would act? Did the behaviour of others in the group influence them? Did they want to look good in the eyes of the other people? Irregardless of whether they were instigated or not, something happened individually within them that day that made them forget that their actions would have ramifications.
“Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
All this questioning and wondering on my part is to come to terms with, perhaps, not only what happened at Capitol Hill this week – it’s to try to understand my own human nature a little bit more. If you have some of the same thoughts and feelings, perhaps this short post will help you to see that others are resonating with you.
Out of the basic values we’re taught as children come the bigger concepts we put into practice like justice, acting with integrity and not being violent toward others. Peace is made up of all of these elements. It’s my hope that our higher nature can prevail. Despite outward circumstances, may we all be able to tap into the core of goodness deep within us and make a concerted effort to behave decently toward others.
“When the norm is decency, other virtues can thrive: integrity, honesty, compassion, kindness, and trust.” ~ Raja Krishnamoorthi
