This is quite a loaded question for a miscellaneous Tuesday morning.
Around the holidays though, I usually feel like people are in higher spirits, and I wind up getting those classic “This will restore your faith in humanity” clips all over social media. This is also that time of year when more stories of people’s generosity go viral on the internet. And it’s heartwarming and joyous and makes me feel warm inside!
But then I think about how these beautiful acts of kindness and generosity coexist with all the less fortunate acts of humanity. Me personally, I just think it’s interesting how there were circumstances dire enough to justify the creation of mustard gas or intentionally mislead doctors to prescribe opioids.
It truly is not my intention to be cynical. I find it very thought provoking to think about what makes humans the “dominating species”, and that finds its way to what makes humanity charming and what makes humanity frightening. I think it’s very charming that we can be sentimental towards each other and be attentive to others’ needs and preferences out of care and compassion. I also think the fact that there are so many different ice cream flavors, types of pastries, and so many different disciplines of artisanship that are sustained and supported is very beautiful. We went from hard tack to commercialized saltines, raw meat to an herb crusted rack of lamb, and a cave to post-modern farmhouse kitsch 3 bedroom apartments. I live peacefully and with gratitude knowing that somewhere out there, there is a creme brulee croissant at a miscellaneous bakery in a big city because someone was able to have the passion to create them and be an environment where that passion can be supported.
But I find it frightening that this passion, this capability to think critically and pursue the creation of something “better”, can also lead to large scale harm. This is where a stronger knowledge of psychology or history would be helpful to elaborate further, but I’m not fortunate enough to possess that yet. I do think the case of the opioid epidemic is a relevant example though. A big pharma company wanted to develop the generation’s best pain killer, and felt that their product had potential to the extent that they hyper-incentivized salesmen to push the painkillers. These salesmen wanted to be able to make a living, so they do their best to push this product, and all of a sudden we have an opioid epidemic that has been persistent for the past two decades.
In regards to how I would define humanity, I think it’s the interaction between impulse and rationalization. My impulses are what I want to do, and my rationalization involves what I should be doing. I think peak humanity is when they trump each other.
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