“. . . war is mankind’s most natural state: the fittest survive and the greatest technological advancements are made.” — File Card: Destro 1983
OK, that’s not really the point of this little bs session but I always liked that quote and, to a certain extent, I agree with Destro.
In the modern world, presumably under the influence of the hippie generation, we’re taught that man is by nature good. Evil arises through some external force – either environment or genetics – acting against man’s default angelic nature. This is peculiar to me. It seems, rather, that it had been agreed all along that man’s default nature was evil: hence the rise of governments, religion, etc. All means by which to ensure order and contain the worse aspects of our personalities.
In Genesis, God creates Adam and Eve who promptly violate his decree and create the doctrine of original sin. What is original sin except a confession that we are a flawed creation, with the first component of our essence being sin? God didn’t just let people trip along happily, tweaking them when they got out of line. No, he set rules and boundaries and then rained fire from the heavens when someone slipped the leash. That’s what religion and government have done all along: set rules and boundaries and made clear the penalties to be paid for giving rein to their natural instincts.
This original understanding may be coming back into vogue. Theodore Dalrymple writes how he came to the same conclusion by working in the British prison system:
“My vision of humanity has darkened . . . since I began to investigate the lives of ordinary British people in modern conditions. I have come to the conclusion that the default setting of man is to evil and that, if not all, then many or perhaps most men will commit evil if they can get away with it.”
That, my friends, is unvarnished truth. From the kid stomping ants on the sidewalk to the schoolyard bully threatening his fellows to the whack jobs sawing people’s heads off on camera: it’s a pretty steady progression. The rule of law is needed. Swift punishment for transgression and steady monitoring of behavior are the remedies. When your kid tramps mud all over the carpet you’ve just cleaned do you negotiate? Do you try and work out a deal? Or do you smack the hell out of the little rat and try to get them back on the straight and narrow path?
A little more discipline in all things would do us some good.