You’re all
insane. The condition of humanity is the
smell of mustard gas and roses. At once,
horrible and beautiful. Humans have made
incredible advances in technology, our understanding of the universe we inhabit
and of our place in that universe. At
the same time, we hold powerful allegiances to nation-states, religion, and
social dogma. Humans can hold spurious
or completely facetious beliefs in our social systems because there are no negative
consequences or those consequences are obfuscated by other dogma. The same is not true for the physical
world. If I breathe pure hydrogen I will
die. If I submit that as a tenet of a
new religion, there is no consequence.
However ridiculous, they are just words.
Reality takes no prisoners, and the physical laws of the universe are
non-negotiable. But I can say almost
anything and it will be up to the intellectual sophistication of the audience
whether it will be dismissed out of hand or taken as an ultimate truth. Words are not reality, though this is not how
we are brought up. We are taught
language with concrete nouns. We see a
representation of a dog and we are taught to say “dog” and that the symbols d-o-g
means dog. It does not, but we are
brought up to believe these symbols, whether sounds waves or squiggles of ink
on paper are reality. This form of
indoctrination has nevertheless played a pivotal role in humanities’
advancement. Language, written language and
the use of symbols in mathematics has been instrumental in the ascent of
man. Written language in particular has
made it possible to extend knowledge beyond local borders and time. The creation of cheap books has democratized
knowledge. It has also provided a
platform for dogma and disinformation to propagate as fast as the truth. That is why we elect or prop up leaders who
are actually detrimental to the very social structures they pretend to
support. Humans have a fundamental
flaw: we emote before we analyze. Rather than examine a possible candidate for
office for their qualifications, experience, and past work or writings, we
attend mass events where true believers cheer and celebrate a candidate without
regard to the efficacy of their positions.
Humans are easily swayed by those who understand the emotional value of
words. They use human predilection to understand
things emotionally to gain authoritarian positions and stay in power. Societal structures are hierarchical with the
power concentrated in persuaders and away from the masses of persuaded. Humans
are still willing to put their lives in great peril by going to war for a
dogma, a political theory, or a social movement. This partially stems from a major piece of
dogma that permeates most societies:
This is not the only life.
Religions primarily promote the notion that somehow, contrary to the
physical laws of the universe, human life and consciousness continues on
despite the cessation of all metabolic activity. It then becomes a simple choice to place oneself
into the meat grinder of war while young and healthy because you will actually
not die but persist in one of a myriad of mythological ways after you die. If you understand the obvious fact that our
lives, our consciousness, is dependent on the biological activity of our
bodies, waging war for political or dogmatic reasons becomes a most
unattractive proposal. It is doubtful
that any one in the prime of their physical life would put that life in serious
danger when it is the only life you have.
Life would become precious if humans understood that this was the only life
they will have. Most people have been
persuaded that their life will not end with their biological processes. In that case, then this life is a stepping
stone to a better existence, usually unencumbered by the frailties of the body
we now inhabit. The Christian and
Islamic dogma also includes the concept of hell, in which the mythological
creator of the universe places transgressors in a place of fire, torment, and
suffering. But that would lead a sinner
to give up all hope in this life and continue to sin because the die had
already been cast. Fortunately, religions have included an escape clause
whereby you can become purified or seek forgiveness and be saved from being set
on fire for eternity. Fortunately for
those who make it to hell, the universe is not eternal. Their sentence, depending on the cosmological
model, may last a few tens of billions of years to a few trillions of
years. I jest. It is the curse of humanity that these dogmas
are taken seriously and their true believers are often willing to kill those
who do not believe. Part of this
deficiency comes from an innate property of human nature to form hierarchical
societies and to unquestionably subjugate themselves to those at the top of the
pyramid. This deficiency will be
addressed in the next installment.
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