On the Precipice of Misanthropy....

Misanthrope: noun; Someone who has lost respect for human nature and who sees very little that is respectable in the behavior of society as a whole. Someone who believes that man is a hopeless prisoner to his most primal instincts.

"The real hopeless victims of mental illness are to be found among those who appear to be most normal. Many of them are normal because they are so well adjusted to our mode of existence. They are normal not in what may be called the absolute sense of the word; they are normal only in relation to a profoundly abnormal society. Their perfect adjustment to that abnormal society is a measure of their mental illness."

- Aldous Huxley, author of "A Brave New World"

Was Huxley correct? Are we only "normal" in context with a "profoundly abnormal society”, OR, are we, as humans, largely incapable of anything more than what we have exhibited over the last few thousand years? Is this, in reality, as good as it's ever going to get?

Our track record (as humans acting humanely) in this country is not something to boast about. Upon inspection (not even a close one) it's hard not to use the word "shameful" to describe it. Yes, we ended slavery (after 250 horrific years) and we have no more indigenous people to exterminate and deceive but there are no signs that we are making progress in ending racism and hate. Women have been disgracefully subordinated in our society for centuries and it’s only changing glacially. Incomprehensibly, white supremacy is gaining steam in the 21st century. We are largely indifferent to the suffering of others and, as a symbol of our unique Americanism, we have a toxic devotion to greed and selfishness. Integrity and honesty?— In my lifetime dishonesty has become de-stygmatized. Lying will cost you less respect than will bad breath. We were once taught that Honesty and integrity are sacred, now, nihilo sanctum estne? Honesty was the moral link between the religious and secular world. It was the moral link between cultures."Where have all the flowers gone?"

We have rounded some edges in some areas. We have managed to put two rich and famous serial rapists behind bars in this century, but I don't think we have progressed all that much since we crawled out of the oceans to live on land approx. 1 billion years ago...we can run faster and jump higher than ever before but our hearts aren't growing in any discernible way. Our consciences are thinner than finely sliced proscuitto. It's hard to find even small traces of integrity among our species. You'll need a magnifying glass. Compassion? While Jeff Bezos and the Walmart family approach 1 trillion dollars in personal wealth their employees flounder at the $11- $15/hour rate while Bezos and fellow billionaires pay barely any taxes. It's inexcusable and it's disgraceful. Our country celebrates this cruelty.

The human experiment has a large enough sample size to suggest that this is as good as it's going to get. We are much better at designing Apps and delivering packages from shipping centers (next day) than at caring for our neighbors. It could be argued that greed in this country has never been more in fashion; absurd wealth accumulation is a sport. A person's "net worth" is measured in solely monetary terms.

And here is the most devastating and impossible to overlook evidence: Fully 1/2 of America is enamored and devoted to the personification of greed, corruption, dishonesty, and lust as it's hallowed leader. That might be the final verdict. It's a profound indictment on "human" nature. It's breathtaking.

It is, perhaps, imaginable to believe a Trump-like figure existing in the early days of the founding of the New World. Peter Stuyvesant came to power in 1647 to run the land, then just the tip of Manhattan, “claimed” by Henry Hudson in 1609 on behalf of the Dutch. Stuyvesant—vile, corrupt and with a peg leg, was by all accounts a ruthless authoritarian and antisemite. And, like Trump, he built a wall on present day Wall Street, using slaves, to keep out the undesirables. The undesirables then, ironically, were the Native inhabitants of the land. And, though the land would not belong to the U.S. until well into the next century the Dutch laid the foundation for the rigid, white, male authoritarianism and entitlement that was to come. Our civility and standards haven’t evolved since then? The answer, I maintain, is: No! It's 2020 and we are still unclear if black people deserve equal treatment under the law (a full 155 years after their emancipation). It's 2020 and we still don't demand honesty and integrity from our elected officials. It's 2020 and we have the most corrupt and heartless and inefficient and profit based, top down healthcare system in the developed world. It’s not even close. Google it. Our heartlessness is legendary and unique.

I think we should quite possibly accept that "human" is a pretty low standard. It's nothing to aspire to and it never was. Let's face it--we are animals. We may be walking upright but we have much in common with those who walk on all fours—don't let the suit and ties fool you. Nazi Germany built incredible infrastructures and had beautiful uniforms. They developed some of the best military innovations in the world. It didn’t make them respectable humans.

Our most basic nature is to survive and have sex (and beat the others in the rat race). That is our default. It's the default of all the members of the animal kingdom. It used to make me brisk when scientists would say that 99% of our genetic material is identical to the Apes. Well, after the last five years it's starting to make a lot more sense. We need to "own it" and hope that for God's sake there is a planet out there inhabited with life forms that exhibit dignity, and are worthy of respect and admiration. Sadly (our) factory setting is rather crude and largely unsympathetic and almost exclusively self serving.

What does it say about us that, in America, the most respected person is Jesus, followed by Donald Trump? A Saint and a psychopath*. A man who washes the feet of the poor with humility and, well, a psychopath. It can give you a headache just juxtaposing those two people. Are we that unclear about whether we prefer truth over lies, empathy over apathy, altruism over greed, humility over narcissism, taking care of the rich over taking care of the poor, respect over pussy grabbing, The New Testament over “The Art of the Deal”? Trump uses the Bible as a doorstop and yet many Christians think he is a messianic figure. There are no words to describe this insanity. It puts me on that “precipice”.

Where I came from ignorance and arrogance and greed would not get you very far. Now, it's the prerequisite for Kings; it gets you a “high five”.

Do you really think that we, the U.S., are immune from putting people in ovens? Up until 5 years ago I would have thought it an absurd notion. I was naive. Think again—with the right amount of scapegoating and flag waving and vilifying a Holocaust (or something equivalent) could be on our doorstep. Americans have a history of being very willing to look the other way. We already put children in cages at the border and we don't blink an eye. Any President who completely ignores (and mocks, and flames) a global pandemic that has killed 300,000 to date is fully capable of something as horrific as ovens. I know a heartless psychopath when I see it playing golf. Make no mistake, this man is heartless like Ted Bundy. He has 75 million fervent disciples, many who are willing to beat you with a club in the streets at his thinly veiled directive: “Stand down and stand by”. It’s frightening. It’s Nazi Germany frightening.

“All that is necessary for the survival of Evil is for good men to do nothing.” - W. Churchill

(The real problem I fear is that there are not enough “good” men to be found.)

And, if you think it's an uphill slog to even be "human" (now ) it's going to get a lot harder as technology takes a bigger slice of the "human" pie.

Now that I've asserted that the factory setting for "human" is very crude, and glaringly uncivilized, then we have to contemplate that transcending "human" is our only chance at survival.

It's technically achievable. It's not that we don't have the intelligence. Our best and brightest have given us electric cars and Twitter, and Thermodynamics, and many other gadgets to amuse ourselves (but), our ability to act in the interests of the greatest good and to resist the constant urge to indulge the self is dangerously lacking. And, when future technology starts solving problems we can’t now foresee they will surely be problems associated with efficiency, higher production and output. They won’t be programmed to grow our hearts and expand our thoughtfulness. Technology will not bring us closer together. It was exacerbate our differences and further polarize us. it will drastically distribute even more money to the top. It won’t make us better people. Why?, mainly because technology is largely dehumanizing at it’s core and, you can’t monetize compassion and kindness.

We can, though, push past the human default. We do it in other areas of human behavior. The human standard with respect to athletic performance certainly isn't what Alex Honnold exhibited in climbing the vertical 3,000 foot face of El Capitan without a rope. Yes, he is human but he harnessed and chiseled an extraordinarily super human performance. It's completely outside the "human" envelope. Running a sub 2 hour marathon is not the default performance for a human. It transcends the human standard. Yet, we have reached that benchmark. Our athletic performances and our scientific achievements continue to evolve but not our honor and civility towards one another. It's how we treat our fellow man where the standard needs to be elevated.

We can't rely on the default of human nature to sustain us in the coming years. We are on the precipice of catastrophe with respect to climate change, automation, income inequality, social media manipulation, and saving democracy. We are going to need a bigger boat. We are going to have to evolve beyond survival of the fittest, looking out for #1, dog eat dog, and “what's in it” for me-ism.

World War 2 was borne out of nationalism, hatred, cruelty, selfishness, and a colossal cooperation and compliance with the directives and propaganda of a homicidal maniac. The Germans, Italians, and Japanese were slaves to madmen. Amidst the suffocating ashes there were a handful of Oskar Schindler types, ones who risked everything to help strangers. Ones who put their own personal welfare at great risk. They were the "Mozart's and Einstein's” in the field of human compassion. Oskar Schindler said famously "I could have done more"after he spent all of his personal wealth and risked his life to save 1,100 Jews. Schindler was one of only a handful of those "humans" and there were countless millions of perpetrators and facilitators (other humans). So, who are the real humans?

It doesn’t have to be this way. Oskar Schindler(s) can be the standard. Benevolence and compassion and honesty and altruism are very achievable characteristics if there is a will and thoughtfulness. The characteristics that we will collectively need to survive are much more within the grasp of all humans than is the musical genius of Mozart, or the scientific acumen of Einstein,

It's going to take an act of (humans). Charles Dickens famously observed this. In 1843 he wrote his classic “A Christmas Carol” about a self serving rich man who cared for nothing but himself. He was blind and indifferent to the conditions of others. Dickens might be sad to know that the message in his book never got through. People don’t really think about what Dickens was trying to say. We are numb to the true message.

But, in spite of holding these views with no hope of seeing them challenged it is imperative to say that I have compassion for people; Ironically, more compassion than at any time in my life, and an even greater compassion for children, who deserve to live a childhood free from abuse, neglect, and thoughtless parenting. I'll never stop reaching out to my fellow inhabitants of this small planet. Being on the "precipice" is no excuse to not treat people with respect and dignity and empathy. Assuaging the pain of others in any way, great or small, might be the only salvation for those who need a reason to carry on.

No, Technology will not save us....on the contrary. The only thing that will save us in the AI age (pending) is compassion between people. We need to close the gaps between us—the way Oskar Schindler closed the gap between himself and 1,100 “dirty” Jews. The way Harold Mintz closed the gap between himself and a total stranger from Ethiopia, saving her life by giving her one of his kidneys.

"What the world needs now is love. It's the only thing that there's just too little of."

*A key difference between a psychopath and a sociopath is whether he has a conscience, the little voice inside that lets us know when we’re doing something wrong, says L. Michael Tompkins, EdD. He's a psychologist at the Sacramento County Mental Health Treatment Center.
A psychopath doesn’t have a conscience. If he lies to you so he can steal your money, he won’t feel any moral qualms, though he may pretend to.

A sociopath typically has a conscience, but it’s weak.
Both lack empathy, the ability to stand in someone else’s shoes and understand how they feel. But a psychopath has less regard for others, says Aaron Kipnis, PhD, author of The Midas Complex. Someone with this personality type sees others as objects he can use for his own benefit.

Where do we go from here?

My opinions