You have a brain that's meant to produce thinking, ideas, speculations, designs, schemes and what have you. Congratulations, you're a human being that's really an animal; but one that's separate and distinct from the other animals by the fact that you have a magnificent brain that can do all those things and more.
If we define the termination
of life as being the ultimate sin anyone can commit, then most animals,
including our species, are bad actors because most of us kill other species to
consume, thus insure our own survival. The good thing is that by some mechanism
we call instinct, all species have been genetically programmed to avoid killing
members of the same species, among other things.
Whereas the other animals have
dwelt on Planet Earth for about half a billion years before the humans came
along, there was not a moment during those years that can be said life on Earth
was in danger of extinction because of the instinct to kill came close to
suppressing the instinct to survive. Such condition became a reality, however,
when we came along and started using our magnificent brain in ways that often
take us close to that perilous condition.
Aside from all that, the big
question is this: How has the addition of a magnificent brain to our physical
construct, contributed to turning us into the most dangerous species to ever
exist––dangerous even to ourselves? When we think about this question
seriously, we find that the brain's contribution to making us what we are
today, was never a direct one. It was an indirect contribution in the sense
that the brain both amplifies our instincts, and provides us with the ability
to turn them off.
This brings us to ask the
following question: What are the main instincts governing our behavior? The
answer is that all the species in existence today, including humans, are here
because we are driven by the instinct for self-preservation, reproduction and
the nurture of our offspring. What separates the humans from the other species,
is that the enhancement brought about by the brain has allowed us to unfurl the
instincts, and create several variations of each.
To take an example, the
instinct of survival for the self has engendered the instinct for the survival
of the species. It has also engendered variations we call compassion, empathy,
generosity and many others we call attributes. Each culture has a list of
what's considered good behavior known as virtues, and what's considered bad behavior
known as sins.
But the greatest enhancement
our brain brought to us, is the ability to imagine the endgame before we embark
on a project. We thus have the ability to study the ramifications of a project
we wish to realize before we even start it. Upon this, we decide whether or not
it will be a good idea to proceed with it. That ability to imagine the future
and analyze it, is called “speculation”.
And speculation is where both
our glory and our decline as human beings, have their roots. We speculate and
get excited about encountering other civilizations in the galaxy. But we also
speculate and get excited about annihilating a human competitor here on Earth;
a competitor that might stand in the way of our chance to monopolize the means
guaranteeing our survival.
We can see how this is playing
out in real life when we study the article that came under the title: “Iranians
are looking beyond ayatollahs and the Islamic Republic,” and the subtitle:
“Evidence mounts that the captive population that the ayatollahs control is
seeking change.” It was written by Ilan Berman and published on March 23, 2021
in The Washington Times.
Based on a survey that could
not reflect a fraction of what a familiar population may be thinking, Ilan
Berman nevertheless came up with an assertive speculation about the desires of
a foreign population, and used it to start his article. He wrote this: “What
happens when your population wants you out of business? For Iran's ayatollahs,
the answer may come soon, as evidence mounts that the population, they control
is seeking change.” Imagine the cheekiness!
Berman went on to write 600
words of idle speculation aimed at reassuring readers of his ilk that their
fantasies about a popular revolt in Iran, and the overthrow of the government
there, are about to be realized.
Unfortunately, this is the
kind of work that has proliferated throughout America. Its authors reflect the
eternal wish of those who seek to grab and monopolize the entire pie instead of
adding to it so that everyone may have a bigger share.
This kind of attitude develops
among people like Ilan Berman when the instinct for self-preservation is
stimulated by a declining culture, and goes into overdrive.
The instinct to kill lest they
be killed, takes over from there, and draws on the enhancement energies made
available by the brain. Filled with adrenalin, the individual sees nothing but
a prey that must be hunted and brought down, and he goes after it till the
mission is complete or he dies trying.
Iran is not about to
disintegrate. The contest between the survival of regimes came and went. Donald
Trump pitted his regime against that of the ayatollahs. His regime was brought
down and they survived.
It is that the natural order of things, has a way to deliver justice, and it did on this occasion.