There’s this thing about human nature. We want what we don’t/can’t have. And we take for granted what we do have. We misuse people and kill for status. We ignore pleas for help because maintaining the status quo is much easier than rocking the boat.
We hate the strong among us as much as we despise the weak. We lie, we cheat, we hate, we interrupt, we fear, we murder with weapons and with words. We make excuses, we look the other way…even from our own family members. And then we act civilized because of our technology, life-lengthening drugs, and a little unsacrificial giving occasionally. Shame on us!–Me.
I posted the above on Facebook a while back. I was feeling fed up with how we as human beings seem to take two steps forward then three steps back. We have been to the moon, and we are planning trips to Mars. We have technology that allows us to speak with each other no matter where in the world we are. Almost everyone on the planet has access to a hand-held computer that also allows us to make and receive phone calls.
Then there are the medications. There is a medication for almost every complaint and disease state under the sun! There is a medication for high blood pressure. There is a medication for incontinence. There is a medication for children who are behind the growth curve, to catch them up. And there is a medication for people who have grown too much. There are medications for mental, emotional, and physical ailments. There are medicines to re-grow hair!
But no matter how much technology or medication we invent, the baser things of human nature cannot seem to be fixed. We continue to be selfish. We continue to want to keep up with the Joneses. We continue to hate and despise each other. We continue to exercise elitism, racism, and slavery. And it is 2017.
I suppose it does not matter what year it is when we start to discuss innate humanness. We cannot fix something until we face it. And as in any relationship, everyone has to want the same thing. In the case of human nature, we would all want the next person to have what we want, which is typically peace, quality of life, respect. At least we should want these things.
But when some people do not want these things for themselves, they definitely will not want them for anyone else. It is sad to say; some human personalities are just that way.
What do we do in the meantime? Maybe those of us who care continue to help when and where we can? I believe we must because that is our personality. Generally, most of us value human life. Let’s continue to value human life. Let’s do our part to be a positive in the craziness of the world. Things may look bleak sometimes, but imagine it all without you!
