What do we human seek? Warmth, comfort, care and protection! The answers are elusive, some perplexing, some astonishing. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramid has been successful to large extent to explain human behaviors. Yet there are aberrations such as self-sacrifice, whose motivation are hard to define and describe.
The social circumstances in which we find ourselves influence our thought process and decision making to a significant extent. But it is said over and above it all is self-preservation. Irrespective of the circumstances it is considered the most basic instinct of all living organisms. Might all our actions have one paramount goal, “protecting oneself”. It is also exposited that the instinct to reproduce (mate) it also deeply connected to our instinct to feel secure. It’s a case of security in numbers. The larger the group more is its chance of survival.
But the, what are we so busily securing ourselves from? Who is this perpetual, omnipotent enemy from whom we are guarding ourselves? These adversaries come in all imaginable shapes and forms. Right from those tiny microscopic disease causing organisms which helped the invading colonizers by decimating the Natives to the gargantuan stray asteroids that could smash in our benign home earth. We stand guard against all these threats, sometimes with a microscope, sometimes with a telescope.
Cyber security experts subscribe to the adage, “You are only as secure as your weakest link”. They perform continuous vulnerability analysis of their networks to recognize any potentially targets and take preventive steps. This is continuous process which is repeatedly indefinitely to ensure security of the network. Similarly all our deeds and acts are orchestrated to create a “better tomorrow, bright future”. Or Are they?
How do we then explain the wanton destruction of the natural ecology, causing irreparable damage to the environment? Are we blind to the harmful effects that are to follow? Aren’t we intelligent enough to understand the catastrophic consequences for our actions? When the world’s lone super power refuses to join in the fight against climate change, one can’t help but wonder, is this instinct of survival.
Man, unlike most other organisms understands and perceives the consequences for his actions. His decision making is guided not only by the considerations of the present but that of future as well. We make short-term and long-term decisions. Unfortunately the short term goals take precedence, if not prominence. Why should we bother what happens to the world 50 years from now? Neither is medical technology going to advance so much that it might extend our life span to the extent that we would live to witness that day. Consequently, we have nothing to worry about climate change. And even if such medical advancements occur, only the poor have to bothered, for the rich can always colonize another planet.
The rich have plenty of resources at their disposal that can be effectively deployed to cushion them from adversities. It is only the poor and weak who cry wolf. Extreme climate events are being reduced to nothing but extreme media hype of ordinary day to day events. Suppose that any of these had happened before 2000 years, we would have been begging to God for mercy. Perhaps a great prayers meeting would have been organized by the community such as the one we tried to in Paris. Extreme climate events and disasters have turned out to be one of the most effective anti-poverty schemes. Entire families and communities get shifted to a better and peaceful place (moksha, nirvana or heaven). These are nature’s population control drives.
The relative decrease in disasters such as famines and wars has caused the earth’s population to reach 7.8 billion (106 billion in 1900’hrs). Minor advancements in health care and minor changes in the establishment of a relatively peaceful global order have been identified as the main cause for this hazard. Ergo, something ought to be done to curtail this harmful growth of population. With such mammoth numbers, the shortcut to achieve stable population growth is to allow nature to have its toll.
The richest 1% control more wealth than the bottom 90% according to Oxfam World Inequality Report. Seems to have been a misunderstanding of the concept of sustainable development, wherein the bottom 90% sustains the top 1%. All our hard work, survival instincts and well honed evolutionary weapons have brought us to this precipice.
We ought to continue running the rat race, living a hand to mouth existence and securing our future. Self-preservation is after all our guiding star. How can we ever fail? Next time we discuss about the “future we want” we ought to spare sometime for the “future we deserve”.
Splendid!
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