The Resilience of Man, In Spite of Himself - Part I

I am a student of life. More narrowly, the history of (hu)mankind. It seems a natural thing to study given my membership in this grandiose segment of existence, in a Universe rife with contradictions.

Given man's history, I have concluded that we have either been endowed with a resilience that keeps us going despite ourselves, or whatever great force scripted us into the universal plan has a morbid sense of humor and an enduring threshold for pain. The kind of pain that comes from repeatedly watching the human race succumb to it's belief that, of all the wonders of the universe, we are the chosen. And as such, we are free to heap our impunity on one another in search of individual or special interest group superiority. The reality, of course, is that we are but a twinkle in the universal macrocosm. Outside of an unknown grander plan, our existence is important only to ourselves.

One can only speculate on the inter-relationships of the first human societies. Bible stories give us clues about early human life, but they remain debatable and dependent on one's faith as to which to believe and the true nature of their origins. That, in and of itself, has spawned much of man's inhumanity to man and continues to be a hotbed of confrontations, as myriad religions vie to be the chosen way... readily accusing each other of fraud.

The masses are pliable. Over eons, they have continued to migrate to that which either brings them less pain or offers more answers to their needs, at any given time. The fickle nature of mankind has always and continues to exist.

There remains conflicting thoughts as to the origins of man. Darwinism, which claims man evolved from a "lower" form of animal, some 4 billion, or so, years ago. Creationism, professes that man was created, in His image, by the One superior Being, which has always existed and created the whole Universe from His thoughts. This just a few thousand years ago. More recently, in an effort to meld the two thoughts, the thinking of some has led to a new belief called Intelligent Design; holding that this One Being created life and infused it with evolution to correct the imperfections that would surely be revealed along the way, to its final perfection.

The truth is that no one really knows the origins of life and it's a good bet that we will never know. It's also a good bet that we will continue to argue the point and heap accusations of fallacy on each other until the last flicker of life is extinguished... perhaps by mankind himself.

This may all sound like a defeatest view of existence. That could be because, whether we chosee to accept it or not, defeatism is the one true consistancy in mankind's history. The rise and fall of kingdoms, dynasties, countries and ideas, fueled by warring peoples each proclaiming their way to be best for all; each proclaiming the one true God is on their team.

In the midst of the chaos, our risilience allows us to carve out our individual or collective niche designed to achieve what we each, in our time, see as our purpose and fit it into the scheme of life afforded us.

... to be continued.