Regardless of hunger and instinct, cannibalism is not prevalent. It has not evolved in most societies, whether discussed openly or in remote areas. Most societies naturally avoid this topic. In this day and age, we have an acceptable level of crime in all human societies. Each level of crime may be slightly different, but no society is crime-free, including religious societies with the harshest punishments, which are also riddled with various crimes.
Despite the crime rate, we have made some progress. My question is, where do you personally stand in this evolving world? How far would you be pushed to break the limits or rules of the group to which you belong, whether it be a social issue or one concerning your religious beliefs? Would you commit a spiritual crime knowing it is wrong? Would you blow yourself up to kill innocent people or bomb a city in the name of your group? In the end, would you resort to cannibalism if you were starving? I have not read or heard news of cannibalism, yet I hear of humans dying of starvation throughout history. Cannibalism is rarely heard of these days; why do you think people don’t kill others for food? They kill each other all the time. What are the reasons behind this? What makes us different from other creatures?
Education. Education. Education.
Interestingly, most societies follow a phenomenon where we don’t kill each other due to our aggressive nature or lack of education but kill each other because of our sense of belonging and politically tainted education. As babies, we don’t discriminate, yet as adults, we can’t stand each other. Growing up with knowledge acquired through education as part of our wish to be better informed about our fellow humans shapes our identity. We wonder why others cannot understand that we will follow a group that encourages us to be informed and make informed decisions regarding other people in our society. We need to assess individually to choose whether to act as a human being in the group to which we belong. Your political identity is what you assume is the same as the groups you have chosen to follow.
To me, knowledge is only knowledge when practiced. Wisdom is about the effects. If we learn to become or accept being human beings, we can overcome our identity crisis. Personal weakness and powerful politics within our groups give us comfort in adhering to our sense of belonging. This forces us to reject the education of opposing groups regardless of the wisdom it contains.
The fundamentals of civilizations are based on education, yet it is not that simple when it comes to the politics of a sense of belonging, evolving nature, or even starvation. Obedience to the rules, respect for law and order, and religious beliefs, including God, are things of a full stomach. A few days of starvation create hallucinations, making this obvious. Regardless of our education, each of us comes with conflicting sides due to the ideas we receive from our group of birth. Despite the strength of our animal side, humans possess an equally strong spiritual side at our core.
Yes, our good and bad are related to our core. Why would God do that to human beings? Why are there bad people, or why do people who are bad become good over time? Common sense comes to mind when people use the human body as an example of humanity.
The first words of wisdom about good and bad are that we would not know the differences if there were no good or bad. I am not certain, but I have read somewhere that the human body consists of ten trillion cells with twenty-six thousand genes. We have a hundred trillion good and bad bacteria with three million genes to keep our body alive. Even bad bacteria, viruses, and parasites are important to keep the immune system in tip-top shape to help the body stay healthy. To appreciate the good in life, individuals must understand that without both, there can be no distinction between bad and good. If we don’t have anything bad like poisons in the body, our immune system is a dead duck, and we will not survive this world full of infections. We have earned the right to live on Earth by surviving infections.
Good and bad can be an opinion of a certain time and era and related to education or understanding. The bad in our gut is actually good if it helps us survive. People in society are like colonies of bacteria working for God or humanity. It may be chaotic if everyone in society is good because there is no gauge to compare good and bad. Bad has its importance for educational purposes, or we don’t understand it at this time. Remember that our past bad behaviors are acceptable as well as the good things today, so an evolving entity can’t be completely sure of their evolving knowledge. It is still a choice for the individual regardless of the era they are born into. When it is established that choosing good or bad comes with a choice, that means there is much more responsibility on the individual’s shoulders than we are taught to believe in religions. You simply can’t hide behind the Devil or God for your good and bad choices. God or Devil don’t come into your decisions because you have been blessed with free will; thus, you individually have to take charge and be responsible for the decisions you make.
Today, we have court systems in most human societies, and the fundamentals of justice are based on individual responsibilities and personal choices. No one disputes free will. Since good and bad are assessed by the popular beliefs of the era you are born into, it becomes problematic when the politics of the group you belong to conflict with the wishes of your fellow individuals.
We may be taught that it is good to commit spiritual crimes for our belonging groups, whether in the name of nationalism or religion. This group may try to convince you that it is not a bad thing to do something bad even though you are acting for the group, including so-called religious groups.
The human individual is a subcontractor to God, so there is no if, and, or but regarding personal responsibilities for all the evolved and educated individuals. The more we evolve, the more responsibilities are placed on our shoulders to live as we must. These are the reasons why, in modern times, religions have taken a hit in popularity. If you choose to act and murder someone innocent of any crime in the name of your religion, you are still responsible for your actions. If it is determined that you did commit this crime, you, not your religious group, will be tried and, if found guilty, punished in a court of law. This could mean many years in jail or the loss of your life.
If you are told or personally believe that God will save you from any court because you have done it for God, you will have a rude awakening on both levels. First, you may get the death penalty, and second, you may lose your belief system because God will not show up to save you. God may say, the reason I gave you free will is to make choices. If you can choose and own the decisions you make, you are using your individual powers. If you do not choose to own your decisions, you are undermining God.
One can blame ideology for being violent, but when it comes to responsibility, it is all about individual responsibility. If it is related to the extreme, it comes from choices made by individuals. Being good or bad has been, is, and will continue to change with time. If your acts of being good are related to the politics of your sense of belonging, they may be tainted with something you perceive. It can be good, but if it is proven to harm innocent human beings, this is a spiritual crime committed by you, the individual.
In this day and age, if you are still living in the past or want everyone else to live in past glory days, you are not paying attention to the changing world around you. If you believe even the leaves of the tree can’t move without God’s will, how can you choose to act independently to extremism and rob someone of their God-given life? If you believe someone’s death by your hands is God’s act, remember the power of the politics of your belonging group over you. Assess your sense of belonging and freedom, and create a balance so you can make a good judgment as an individual blessed with the Godly gift of free will.
You have been blessed with free will by God, not by your belonging groups, for a reason. The free will you have received is a gift from God to use within your belonging group, so think spiritually, not politically.
Both good and bad are usually related to the choices of our animal and human sides. If everyone around us has a larger or dominating animal side, we would naturally follow, which is the norm. Yet, potentially, each of us can use personal choice. As individuals, we make choices but are dependent on the circumstances we face at the time. For instance, natural disasters or acts of God, national or religious conflicts, or serious health conditions will have the power to force us to comply regardless of our free will. I am saying that in the same breath because we need to use our personal politics to survive in a world full of political infections.
God’s wisdom comes into play when you take chances and walk on fresh snow, not knowing what danger may be hidden beneath. The story of life comes from God, but the steps are taken by individuals with free will. Carving pathways is the individual’s choice, which may take sacrifices, but the survival of humanity requires the physical hardship of human individuals. You may have a dotted story line in your life, but you have been given the choice to connect the dots. Remember, we all come into life with a purpose, so God’s work will be done through you.
You may not feel or understand the spiritual path you are on at the beginning of your life, but as you grow and understand, or I should say choose to understand, the value of free will, you will see nature and spirituality clearly.
A while back, I wrote a blog about the fragmented picture which described the importance of finding personal satisfaction in living a mortal life. At the end of the day, each and every one of us comes with a personal and prescribed journey, which makes the learning of free will the most important and valuable lesson for evolution.
Interestingly, as a mass or collectively, we discourage individual independence. Many religions and ideologies even force individuals to stay within their boundaries. Yet, we are continuing to evolve. Without free will given by God, we would not evolve. Every bit of progress made by humanity has been, is, and will be dependent on that one revolutionary individual who comes up with God-inspired ideas.
From religions to ideologies and on to democracies, and everything in between, all have attempted to govern human societies, and they all have a human input. Religions may process God-inspired knowledge, but they may also be brought down by their own human interpretation. Throughout history, humanity has favored mass over the individual in philosophy. Most religious organizations and ideologies have been disrespectful and controlling towards their followers.
Finally, democracies brought in respect for individual equal human rights. When mass is chosen over the individual, regardless of who is right, it leads to group rights violations. Larger and stronger groups often try to dominate smaller and weaker groups, much like they do with their own citizens. In my opinion, this is the root of our group conflicts. Thus, I hope that embracing equal human rights as a new paradigm will not only help individuals but also humanity as a whole to resolve our conflicts.
A respected individual learns to respect not only the group they belong to but also other human beings and groups. This respect can lead humanity to respect each other both individually and collectively, which could be the key to achieving long-awaited peace. With our current capabilities, we have the power and ability to make a deliberate decision to eliminate all our weapons of mass destruction.
While there is no solid evidence that democracy is the solution to all human problems, it has played a crucial role in advancing equal human rights. One notable contribution of democracy is voting, giving citizens the right to vote knowing that one vote equals one voice, regardless of color, gender, race, or religion. Personally, I believe this makes it the best system to govern human societies so far. People are drawn to democracies not only for economic reasons but also for the promise of equal human rights for all citizens. Many who lack these rights may choose to leave their homeland and immigrate to such democratic countries.
Simply accumulating knowledge from books without putting it into practice may make you knowledgeable, but practical living is what truly matters. Religions offer wisdom, but our interpretations are often tainted by politics. Politically tainted religious beliefs are now linked to today’s social problems like prejudice and discrimination. This has placed spiritual aspects of religions in an awkward position as they’ve transitioned from teaching us to be selfless and compassionate beings to embracing politics, abandoning spirituality.
Regardless of authenticity, God and spirituality do not govern because humanity is evolving. Knowledge evolves over time. The bitter truth is that truth cannot be mixed with politics. If combined, you may eventually commit a spiritual offense in the name of God, so it’s better to keep them separate. We are not perfect beings until we reach our full potential, so politics should not dictate our belief systems.
If you disrespect even one individual and feel superior, you are entering the realm of politics. You cannot judge who is going to hell or heaven. That decision lies between the individual and God.
As we evolve, our concepts of good and bad seem to be shifting or becoming blurred. Today, no one wants to be associated with racism, slavery, prejudice, or discrimination; these are increasingly seen as crimes. In our recent past, however, they were trademarks of superiority in both religious and governing systems, actions used by various groups to demonstrate pride.
Kingdoms, dictatorships, authoritarian regimes, and religious governing systems have all disregarded and continue to disregard individual human rights. Thanks to the internet, humanity, a sleeping giant, is waking up with the goal of achieving equal human rights for everyone worldwide. No one should be on the wrong side of history. Democracy’s promotion of equal human rights should be respected because it aligns with God, spirituality, and humanity as a whole. Most other governing systems prioritize the politics of group membership over humanity as a whole.
God and spirituality are universal truths for all of humanity. Religions, if used as political systems, ideologies, and other politically driven security systems, represent our individual and collective truths.
Understanding and seeking security in both God and humanity as a whole is the new paradigm facing resistance, like other contemporary causes of turmoil. You can stick with outdated practices and continue to harm each other, or embrace the new paradigm. The choice is open to all; choose humanity over group membership because we now possess weapons of mass destruction, and our current path is leading toward our extinction.