Tuesday

human nature

i have been reading up on a few of the more ancient religions lately- zoroastrians, ancient berbers' mythology, celtic druidism, norse mythology, etc. and i find it interesting that the simplistic monotheistic nature cultures were just that- simple. the more complex religions to follow simply streamlined and added layers to the already existing religions. hence, our judeo-christian-islamic religions all are very similar as they swiped from the ancient egyptians who swiped from the ancient berbers. and no matter how simple or complex, humans didn't really change all that much. they still worked and toiled and had families- and warred against each other. war seems to be a human trait.

perhaps that's the essence of humanity- our soul is war. people in western cultures believe that humans are born good and have the potential- the free will- to stay that way or not. i actually believe it's closer to what an ancient chinese philosopher, hsun tzu, believed- men are born with the tendency to want profit and gain but with proper guidance- they could change. it doesn't matter if you were an ancient berber tending sheep or a wall street ceo today raking in billions- humans tend to be greedy and arrogant.

as i read different aspects of the history we know about, i realize that what we see today is really a continuation of what we started as- humanity doesn't change. the biggest difference we face today- never before have we destroyed our own home- our planet is in peril. i am not optimistic we will ever have peace on earth as a whole. i really believe that the best we can do is work for peace within ourselves. from what i can see- the folks with their finger on the button aren't going to listen to us.

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