There is a ritual of marking territory in the animal kingdom. We call ourselves an evolved species, but I question that notion. Are we truly evolved? If so, why do we have wars, guns for personal security, and weapons of mass destruction?
By now, we should understand what humanity, God, and spirituality are all about. Yet, we are still in a state where we feel the need to mark our territories and arm ourselves for protection against our own kind.
Look at the way we live in our communities, nations, and even religions. There are strict rules for individual privacy, and like the jungle, there are those among us who break these rules. If we were evolved, we would see that life is a precious gift to the individual from humanity, accompanied by responsibilities to serve humanity. In turn, humanity has the responsibility to care for the individual in times of need, whether as a child, the elderly, or the sick. A community that cannot care for its sick is itself sick due to its promotion of selfishness.
Animals fight over territory because one or another disrespects the boundaries. Similarly, people violate and disrespect each other’s rights, leading to conflicts over property and physical crimes, escalating to wars over territories. What is the culprit behind most of our social ills? It is the uncontrolled inner animal, yet we love to call ourselves evolved creatures. (In the near future, I will write more about this inner animal.)
This inner animal causes personal insecurities and the desire to dominate others, just like in the jungle. Security and control are the two main problems for the individual, and they are the dead dogs for our internal and external wars.
From being torn apart inside as individuals to being depressed as religions or nations, we can’t shake the past. We keep scratching our wounds so they never heal because we don’t know peace and therefore don’t allow healing. We fear peace and play the victim to enjoy sympathy.
For instance, every year, Shias remember events from over a thousand years ago. I used to watch these passionate religious plays and wondered why people spill blood over something so long past. They reenact the entire scenario moment by moment to remember, but this flaw prevents healing and peace.
My logical side says punishing those who committed atrocities is fine, but none of those who committed the crimes are alive, so we have no choice but to move on. Our modern court systems don’t punish the families of offenders, let alone generations. This highlights the need to keep the politics of a sense of belonging alive.
As humans, we need healing and cures for all kinds of sicknesses, and we are perfectly capable of achieving this. The responsibility lies heavily on the shoulders of the coming generations. They must defy traditions and customs to find their own path of evolution because our previous and current generations have not fulfilled their responsibilities by merely following ancestral ways of thinking.
New generations need the knowledge and willingness to overcome the past. I call it a mental health issue, and it is not limited to the individual. All the symptoms, even collectively, are the same, just on a larger scale. Our leaders must recognize this and find cures for their communities.
The key is to learn to belong to humanity. I cannot stress enough the need to overcome the politics of a sense of belonging to any particular group. Imagine if everyone or every nation remembered everything that happened thousands of years ago. The Chinese would kill all the Mongols, the Native Americans, or the entire world, would be at war with England, and Jews would fight Germans instead of Muslims. These are just a few examples from our past.
I believe Shia-Sunni wars and Middle East crises are perpetuated by those who exploit political religions. They don’t want to solve individual problems or create peace, even if the future of their coming generations is at stake.
How can we overcome the past? Our evolutionary nature holds the key to peace, but some use the politics of belonging to work against nature, continuing to kill each other over ancient grudges. We should evolve to see all people as part of humanity, regardless of differences, and stop hurting people because of ancestral wrongs. While our justice system has caught up with equal human rights, our religions, their sects, and nations lag behind. It’s time to leap into the future to create peace for future generations.
We must evolve individually, especially beyond the politics of religion and nationalism. Replacing one addiction with another, like nationalism instead of religion, still plays into the same old politics of belonging to one group, which does not solve our prejudice-related problems.
The individual must rise to assume the role of CEO, recognizing that we are all human beings first and foremost. The politics of belonging has flipped our triangle upside down, making us act worse than other animals, all in the name of religion and God.
They are so accustomed to war over thousands of years that they know nothing else but killing each other. It’s like they are in a stinky room but have become nose blind. They seem to love their wounds, not knowing what a peaceful life would be like.
The key to solving these problems lies within the individual, not in the hands of religious or political leaders. The individual must become the CEO, stopping the cycle of depression and not being part of depressed groups. Their understanding of belonging needs to include human qualities that make a human a human. They need to learn about compassion, forgiveness, sacrifice, and especially love. Even with these qualities, they must understand the sense of belonging so as not to be swept away by prejudice.
The sense of belonging should be to humanity as a whole, not to a particular group. Right or wrong is not the question; it relates to our foundational knowledge of survival, security, and animal aggression. Personal and communal security is essential to reduce stress, both individually and collectively.
We all have responsibilities as individuals and communities to create peace for future generations. If everyone puts the “com” back into compassion and relates to humanity, we should be able to heal our wounds. Every community, nation, race, and religion has committed atrocities against others. All of this was done by less evolved people. Today, we save whales and other endangered species, for God’s sake. Where are the people who have a say and remain silent due to the politics of belonging? No one wants to stand against their own groups.
Logically, human security is constantly evolving, and our security system evolves with us. We have come a long way from obeying or disobeying the law of the jungle to practically and successfully removing ourselves from the food chain. Today, our security is no longer just a personal matter but a communal one. This is both a blessing and a curse because we become victims of our politicians.
We are damaging humanity; our wars have killed and continue to kill, especially since organized religions began dabbling in politics. Unaccountable individuals have been killed by religious extremism. Since we don’t want people killing each other in cities, we collectively want gun control. These days, our security is designed by our communities.
While we need some systems of home security, we mostly rely on our communities to arrange and take care of our security needs. This is why we need to understand our emotions and the importance of gun control in modern society. Every human knowledge is subject to change over time, regardless of being written in religious texts or constitutions.
We are emotional beings, and emotions can make even the most even-tempered person volatile. When upset, judgment can be clouded by emotions, which should not define an individual as a whole. We are told that guns don’t kill people; people kill people. This is true, but temporary anger should not result in someone being killed or becoming a killer.
If lethal weapons are readily available, it can be a problem for the community because these days, the community is responsible for our security. This is why all communities want gun control, but individual rights often come in the way. Since it is impractical to have a police officer for every individual, total control over individual and communal security is not
Are We Truly Evolved?
In the animal kingdom, marking territory is a common ritual. We consider ourselves an evolved species, but are we really? If we were, why would we have wars, personal guns for security, and weapons of mass destruction?
By now, we should understand the essence of humanity, God, and spirituality.