The son of man, and sometimes even his daughter, is constructed - for he is an animal - in such a way that the limits of reward and punishment provide the framework in which he lives. He avoids the one and strives for the other. The extremely complex system in which we live our lives is the result of a long evolution, and the sophistication of social rules means that it is no longer necessary to cut off the hand or gouge out the eye of someone who breaks the rules of coexistence. We can be proud of this progress, and perhaps we should be, but we should have no illusions about the nobility of man.
There is one very important reason why we can live like this today: fear of consequences, fear of punishment. Some people are deterred from doing what they think of or feel like doing by the fear of imprisonment in this world, others by the fear of damnation in the next. This is the most solid foundation that allows us to walk the streets at night, to travel across countries, or to sleep peacefully while our daughter, our wife, is away somewhere... because the state, the law, religion, the abroncha of faith, does not allow it to be otherwise beyond a certain point.
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But where and when these compelling forces are removed, what we call in man the animal comes to the surface... and no animal does to another living being what man is capable of doing. So let's let go of the idyllic image we have associated with this word and call it simply that: human. The social collapse that more and more of us fear is dissolving the very framework that prevents this human behaviour. And while we might look to older times, measured by different values, for examples, we need not. |
Serial rape, infanticide, robbery, extortion, blackmail, human excrement everywhere... Hurricane Katrina, Superdome, New Orleans, 2005. People brought together by a disaster, in a vulnerable, miserable situation where it no longer mattered where they came from or what they had. Together, in a safe place of survival. But there were those who saw this as an opportunity. An opportunity to unleash their desires, because they had the determination and the weapons to do it. And the state, the law, retribution were not present. So Noah's ark became human in every way...
So let us see, through a sea of examples, a world where it no longer matters what you do, only that you survive. Where the values that have been the basis of our lives are transformed beyond recognition. Where the basic things that make life worth living, like water, food, land, women... Do we long for such a world? I don't think so. Can it come? It certainly can. Therefore, if we really count on that possibility, two things remain for us.
Firstly, let's look at what we have with different eyes. And even more so to our most precious asset, our human relationships. It's a good investment, it will pay off, because there may come a time when we have nothing left. On the other hand, let's think carefully about how our lives would be different in such a situation, what we would have to do differently to live, and what we need to learn from today to make that possible. Preparation doesn't take anything away from us, it allows us to keep more of what we have.
Two films I recommend you watch:
The Road, Viggo Mortensen, 2009.
The Rover, Guy Pearce, 2014.
From where we are looking, it is difficult to identify with either the character or the situation in which he lives. But if we do, we can see a world in its reality that we could never in a sober moment wish for. But whether it comes for us or not seems to be less and less up to us...
