Not Enough Marshmallows
(How we, as a species, have simply not evolved)
Maybe all "thinkers" get to my current point — the point at which they see the history of the human race as a completely useless and absurd hamster wheel; just cycle upon cycle of the same thing — just a million years of a million ways to "spell" killing and taking. We have accomplished so many things but we, in our hearts, haven't changed one iota. What is the difference between the Neanderthal who clubbed his neighbor and stole that fellow’s favorite sitting rock and the modern purse-thief? What's the difference between the Anglo Saxon warlord who uses his men to take what he wants and the twenty-first century’s leader who orders his army into a foreign country?
We have not evolved, within. At all. But, as always, there are some who stand with their shoulders above the mobs of time. Our collective history is nothing to be proud of. But there are individuals — good people and brilliant people — whose lives were worth something, scattered throughout history like the marshmallows in an otherwise inedible bowl Lucky Charms. (I know — seems a sily metaphor for such a dark subject, but I can’t think of a more perfect one.)
To paraphrase George Carlin: I love individuals. The individual can be an incredible wonder who creates beauty and makes harmony, but put those individuals in groups and, before you know it, they are wearing little hats and armbands and knocking on people's doors at 3 AM.
People are generally a waste of protoplasm. But once in a while, among the pressing crowds of ignorant and immoral oafs, good and great people live and make one believe there is a chance...
Hmm… I dunno. History really is nothing to be proud of—for the most part, at least. So Darwinian. So cruel. I mean, I can surely see the SS being reincarnated, given who’s president. But I think it’s possible for our species at large to change. My reasoning: that, contrary to your point, I think it’s clear that we have before. The world is still violent, but less violent than it was a hundred years ago. And it was more violent still a hundred years before that. Progress isn’t linear. In the twentieth century, for sure, we had a pretty bad performance. I’d even agree that we’re tilting back toward that direction. But on the whole, data suggests that we simply are more civilized than we used to be. That change can be traced from everything to economics to the spread of literacy. But the point is: the potential is there. Why, then, be so glum about the path we’ve been down, when there’s a better path right in front of us? I think it’ll take a little optimism to get us back on track—but a warranted optimism. Anyhow, we need to try. We need to see the marshmallow in as many people as we can.