While the beauty of nature as it exists in its currently evolutionary phase is indeed contributed to by what can be the real cruelty of natural selection, the fact that our most-developed organ as the human species is our brain probably means that we can get it right by way of doing things differently to the rest of the animals. Can you imagine men having to fight it out to the death in order to win mating rights for example?
There are so many other examples I could use, such as how we’d mark our territories using urine and faeces – yuck! What I really want to get at though is my realisation that we’ve probably lost a lot of what it means to be human over the decades and centuries, perhaps more so in recent times due to the rapid rate at which technology develops.
Don’t get me wrong – the development of technology is largely a good thing, but I say largely because it’s just one of the many spheres of life in which we seem to have lost the true spirit of humanity. Think about it – what is the purpose of technology in the true sense of the term’s definition?
Technology is something, whether physical or methodical, which is meant to make our existence that much easier, but it’s meant to be for all of us as a species. For example, the jet engine is a piece of technology which has been in existence for far longer than some people have lived, originally created to make our lives easier by allowing us to fly further, longer and quicker.
Sure enough the tech is put into action, but how many people in the world actually have access to that technology? How many people in the world, relative to those who have flown in an airplane, will never get to experience a momentary existence 30,000 ft above the ground, whether by necessity or for reasons such as going on holiday?
The disparity between those two groups of people makes for just one of many instances which serve to demonstrate just how we seem to be missing the point. Nothing much is about making our lives easier or more bearable. It’s all about money and if you don’t agree with me then you can take me up on it!
Think about it – does the florist who suggests to you that you should buy your wife a set of roses to apologise for screwing up really care about your relationship or does he just want you to give him your money?
As lost as the true essence of humanity is to the many institutions that govern our lives, it is our own intent and our own interactions with those institutions which can bring it back. If for example I’m busy playing around with some sympathy gift ideas to send to someone I genuinely feel sympathetic towards, whoever I go on to buy those gifts from may not be sharing my feelings, but by mere virtue of buying that gift and presenting it I am owning it and I’m adding that much-needed element of humanity to it!