HOBOS THINK OF A LOT OF WAYS TO GET ME TO GIVE THEM MONEY...BUT DO THEY EVER THINK OF ME?It is amazing to think about the staggering amount of people on our planet. It is not the numbers that impress me; humans have been extremely prolific by biological standards, but this feat is diminished in comparison to the resiliency of the cockroach. No, the thing about humans that baffles me is this: every person I see is leading a life that is as important to them as mine is to me. I know that this only makes me sound vain, but it always amazes me when I sit and ponder it. The bum that just asked me for some change (they even specifically tell me that it’s for beer here in Austin)? Normally I just say “sorry man” and keep walking without even a hitch in my stride. I’ve even mastered the whole putting-hands-in-pockets-and-shrugging gig. Sometimes after I walk by, however, I wonder what the rat is thinking about me as I pass. At first I think that he is thinking “What a jerk. He probably has change. He doesn’t even care to try to help me.” But to be honest, he probably doesn’t give half a poo about who I am. He just wants his beer. I then begin to speculate about what everyone thinks of me as I walk by. I don’t think it’s cynical to assume that not a single person I pass thinks about my life story in the slightest—which is all dandy, because I usually return the favor. This is where I get the funny feeling in my tummy; not a single person I see throughout my day cares about my life, and I rarely care about theirs, a far stretch from Gods command to “love one another…as I have loved you.”[1] With billions of people like this all over the planet, it is hard to imagine how—or why—we manage to accomplish the things that we do.
So, despite our general apathy towards each other, we still manage to make some astounding things. A combustion engine, a crane, a cell phone, nuclear power plants…these things that we take for granted are amazing bits of technology. Our highly developed capacity for intellect has allowed us to master our domain and harvest the power that nature has to offer. I am not implying that humans are necessarily superior to animals or nature, but this is a vast difference between our motives. As David Lurie states, “We are of a different order of creation from the animals. Not higher, necessarily, just different.”[2] While an animal is content with food, a mate, and shelter, man wants more food, more mates, and better shelter. There is no question about whether we can achieve this or not, but Dana has brought up an interesting point: do we deserve it?
WE ARE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHO IS DOMINANT.
After thinking about it, I realized that it doesn’t really matter. For in the end, does anything really matter? Virgo alludes to the inevitable rhythm of nature in his poem “Pollio”, saying “Erunt etiam altera bella, atque iterum ad Troiam magnus mittetur Achilles. Hinc, ubi iam fermata uirum te fecerit aetas, cedet et ipse mari uector, nec nautical pinus mutabit merces (New wars too shall arise, and once again some great Achilles to some Troy be sent. Then, when the mellowing years have made thee man, no more shall mariner sail, nor pine-tree bark play traffic on the sea, but every land shall all things bear alike).”[3] It is my belief that eventually the human race will die off or evolve, thus nullifying the issues that we grapple with each day. But until then, the real question is this: does anything deserve anything? What does a flower do to justify its existence? When has any organism proven to be essential to the existence of the universe? The obvious answer is never, and to the “real” question, the answer is no. Regardless, I don’t think that this means we should give up on living. If we make the effort to lead compassionate lives, entitlement becomes irrelevant.
But can we ever lead compassionate lives? (See this link for the dramatic ending: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Y73sPHKxw)
EVENTUALLY WE WILL BE AT THE MERCY OF PHYSICS, BUT UNTIL THEN WE ARE AT THE MERCY OF EACH OTHER...
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