Society is sick. This cannot be disputed. I am not talking about viruses or pandemics, I am talking about the creation of that stench which pervades over everything and that is fear and apathy.
Aristotle was right when he said that humans are social creatures, but what he did not say is that other animals are also social creatures (think ants, dolphins, monkeys etc.) yet humans place themselves above animals. Why? Because humans believe that they have the ability to be self-aware. Whilst the tools are in place (the cerebral cortex etc.) it does not mean that one knows how to use them. If, for example, one saw another taking a substance which made them act in a manner which was immoral and destructive then one would, rightly, question the ability of the individual to make decisions for themselves, or in other words, question their sanity. However, if one were to be ‘out’ one evening and see one’s social group, or those around within the same context, drinking too much alcohol and engaging in the said behaviour one would consider this normal and if one were to raise a concern within their self they would, probably, not speak it due to a) apathy- meh, who cares? Or b) fear- fear of not fitting in within the social group. Whilst we can see people getting intoxicated, seeking partners without their current relationships, engaging in bullying etc. and shrug it off as ‘normal’ behaviour it is not a far goosestep from a night club to a Nuremberg rally. Why? Because the same precedent holds sway- fear and apathy means that one will suppress any negative judgement that they may have in order to ‘fit in’ and thusly, the sickness becomes spread, the sickness far more deadly than any virus. What do I mean by deadly? Well, it is well known that children are starving to death in North Korea, it is well known that people are dying of aids, it is well known that people are dying from want of clean water. All of these things are well known and yet nothing is done. Why? Apathy and fear. Indifference to the wellbeing of ‘the other’ and ‘fear’ of putting one’s head above the parapet. ‘gosh, if we say that China commits human rights abuses then they may not want to buy our hamburgers’ and thusly business dictates ethics. If the international community got together and said ‘we will trade with each other, we will provide the Chinese people what they need and we will, together, oppose the Chinese government and their human rights abuses in a manner which will not even impact upon the markets’, it would be done in a second. But, as we have said, business dictates ethics and business itself is sick.
We all know the truism that if you are not in the room you are not in the know, and yet this truism can still stand. If, those inside the room, reached out to those without the room then what would the cost be? Work would be more productive as all would feel included and thusly many obstacles of projects would be side stepped. Right? Yeah but you are forgetting, Greaterfool, that there is the concept of power. Power? Yes, those in the room feel part of the special group. Have you never sent an email asking for help at work and then had someone else come to you about it, as they were in the room when it was discussed? Why is that? Because they, consciously or unconsciously, want to be in the ‘know’, to be in the ‘elite’, the small group which, as with those getting intoxicated, having affairs or other actions which would be judge by an impartial adjudicator, immoral, and, frankly, showing poor mental health, judge those within as they would judge themselves, making themselves weird totems of mediocrity. And then it gets even more insidious. Who are those who are labelled ‘sick’? those labelled ‘insane’ (not in the clinical sense)?, those who are inclusive, those who are open and, worst of all, those who see a problem and instead of accepting it as the norm, speak up and try to make a positive change after all nothing is more ‘insane’ than seeing a problem and trying to fix it, and nothing is ‘sicker’ than treating people as human and being inclusive, not discriminating upon arbitrary lines, lines which can easily be transcended, such as one’s physical location at a specific time.
‘till next time
thegreaterfool2016 