The day humans decided to store food and choose a sedentary life, they stepped into the “we” world inextricably and irreversibly, more so than any of them may have understood at the time. Gone were the good ol’ days of “guy heaven”: hunting for food, shooting the breeze, making babies, coveting the neighboring hunter’s wive(s), and staying alive. (Just to keep the records straight, the women did the boring unglamorous gathering job that provided stable daily nourishment, while the men did the unplanned and sexy, heroic, scarcely and occasionally successful hunting, which resulted in everyone overeating and getting sick because there were no food preservatives.)
Then they stumbled on growing food. With natural laziness (more food with less work), risk-averseness (the plants can’t trample you to a pulp) and even more natural lack of foresight of implications, they started producing more than needed, and therefore storing food. Now a few could work on the food, and others could do different stuff, like build sheds to protect the food. But now too, there were the touchy-feely complicated matters of societal rules, specialization, dealing with others whether they liked the others, having to hide the coveting of the neighbor’s wive(s), etc.
Don’t like it? Gone are the days of “total freedom”? Well, tough!
So after thousands (15 or so) of years of evolution into societies and growth of civilization based on specialized skills and mutual dependence, some of us would like to believe that we’re “independent” and need only “worry about ourselves”, and most certainly “don’t want to give up my pleasure for Joe Shmoe”. My freedom to drink, smoke, eat junk, produce babies out of wedlock or stable home, earn and spend irresponsibly, not look after my elders, …. is my unalienable right.
Maybe. But. There is a cost. Of every decision. For everyone. Because we left the “independent” jungle living. For reasons.
And for those with short-term convenient memories, it was dangerous, hot/cold, and there was no pizza or TV or internet.
6 responses so far ↓
shez // December 24, 2007 at 6:09 am |
good post. ur blatantly bashing pre historical man. im sure not all of them were unfaithful, if anything if one were to plot a graph of the general level of faithfulness of man(or woman) against time, im pretty sure it would be upward sloping.
mutarjam // December 24, 2007 at 12:34 pm |
thx for visiting and commenting shez! things are only as good or bad as the context. the intent isn’t bashing – nor to be historically accurate. and if there’s such a graph, i’d love to see it – neat idea though!
if you’re interested in the topic though, you may like “Guns, Germs and Steel” by Jared Diamond – one of my all time favorite books on the evolution of civilization and why some nations prospered faster than others.
X --- // December 25, 2007 at 1:07 pm |
Profound thoughts put through in a very candid manner!
I agree. There is a cost to everything, its only a matter of us as people opening our eyes to see the price we pay so unknowingly for our actions. If only we as people had the courage and the ability to see the cost of our actions and emotions, things would be very different today.
In societies today, we now have very specific roles and responsibilities, and the most glaring examples can be seen when people pass the buck to others even in the case of civic responsibilities.
ps….im back!
mutarjam // December 25, 2007 at 3:18 pm |
Thank you X! Great to hear from you again and your thoughts are always interesting to hear
I like how you’ve added “emotions” to the list… very appropriate, as these are the key drivers in most if not all decisions/ interactions. Life then becomes about – above all – managing one’s own and others’ emotions. IMHO 
X --- // December 26, 2007 at 3:25 pm |
You are right. The buck always stops at emotion. Ours or those of others.
Every trait, good ot bad, in mankind, manifests itself in some form of emotion or other. The scope of emotion is actually very broad, much broader than the standard happy/sad/angry etc etc.
mutarjam // December 26, 2007 at 4:05 pm |
Can’t agree more X