Second in a series
As I set out on this voyage of exploration, I hoped that you my reader will follow along with me. I already have defined the basic unit of my philosophy and that is the individual, the individual human being who is capable of imagination, realization and of making choices but what of the world in which that person lives?
What can we say about that world and how do we define it?
First, I could say that when we are born, our world is very small but it seems huge. It basically encompasses only those who give us sustenance and nurturing as we develop but it is all we know. Our world then continually expands. It grows to include our parents and siblings, oftentimes extended family members, members of our clan or our “tribe” or community. On it grows in our awareness until we know that we live on a planet with more than 6 billion other human beings and teeming with all sorts of other living creatures. The planet also is subdivided into a plethora of various cultures and nations but as an entity it is this tiny speck of dust in galaxy made up of billions of stars and that galaxy is but one of a multitude in the discernible universe. It can be and is a bit overwhelming to think how small and insignificant we as individuals have become in our vision.
We discover that there are political subdivisions that govern our behavior within those societies that we have been born into. Those societies are divided by their prevailing world view, but to us as individuals – until we learn better – we think that that world view is universal and shared by all 6 billion of us. That perception is wrong, but it is difficult for us to shake ourselves free of it.
There are a few things as humans that I believe we do share: a desire to be fed, to be warm and dry, to be protected from the elements and predators, to have companionship, to reproduce, to protect our offspring, to protect ourselves, to feel as if we have dignity and that we have a place in the cosmos. How we meet those needs often brings us into conflict with others who are either competing for resources or for an elusive feeling of power that we are somehow better than others.
There is nothing wrong with the latter. I view it as being part of our essential psychology, part of our “human nature.” Because we have that feeling, and need to recognize that everyone shares it, it becomes the role of society – or civilization – to moderate those competitions. But in the end, there always is a basic need for each of us to feel that we are “right.”
But to have right, we have to have wrong. Don’t agree? Well, try to define right without having something to compare it against? You can’t really do it.
So that brings the next challenge: Who decides what is right and who decides what is wrong in the world? IF you really have the answer to that question, you might have solved the riddle of mankind.
You see, the problem most of us face is how the heck did we get here? Look, we are very tiny bits of mass in a very, very, very large universe. How is it that we developed into creatures – the only ones we know of at least – that have the ability to think in the abstract, to communicate those concepts to other individuals and then ponder not only the origin of life but the meaning of it. When we realize just how small we are in the larger scheme of things, sometimes it is overwhelming.
Obviously, there are forces at work that we don’t understand. Maybe we will never understand them but we feel compelled to explain how these forces work and interact. For many people, the answer lies in religion. Religion often is ridiculed as merely belief in ancient mythologies, but it does seem to be something that many people share: a need to believe in a higher power.
To others, the answer lies in “science”, but that is more a method of approaching problems than a belief system … or is it? There are those who say if science can’t answer it, then it doesn’t exist. I am not sure I buy that, but that is my own belief and I am not requiring you to accept it. Of course, science does assume some rules, but basically those rules are articles of faith and accepted demonstrations of validity. Beyond that, nothing is in control. However, I have a problem with that … but don’t take my word for it.
You see, if you accept that the world is without control, without some higher power giving it some purpose and those rules, then there are no limits on what you can do. You essentially can be out of control, because life is out of control and what does it matter – especially when you look at how little an impact an individual seems to have on the course of events. If life and death have no meaning, then why do we have the means to ponder it? Why do we even honor it? Why have a moral code?
Only when you try to claim that there is a purpose to all the travails that afflict the planet, then you have to come to grips that some entity must have established the rules for the universe and the planet. This is where a lot of strife enters the world: Whose version of this ultimate power, this creator of the universe, do you accept?
Now, I am not going to be so arrogant as to tell you what God or vision of the Creator to accept. Not my place, I have decided, so I am not going there. I will tell you that, yes, I believe in God/Creator. I believe in the one based on the Judeo-Christian template. I believe that is a real force in our lives, because I can claim to have felt that force in my own life. How and when and where is irrelevant to my discussion, only that I have faith and believe in its existence.
I believe it is from the influences of this God that we – in the United States and North America – have developed our values, our senses of what is right and what is wrong. Yes, I could be wrong, but I don’t think I am. Faith is, as someone once said, believing when all else tells you not to believe.
I accept that there are those who have different visions or even believe that it is impossible to believe in any divinity that would allow bad things to happen to good people. I accept that because in my faith, it is the individual’s choice to follow wherever his or her conscience dictates. That people are free to believe what they want to believe. My “God” allows that and only asks of me to hold one rule really inviolate: Treat others as you wish to have them treat you.”
If that sounds like the “Golden Rule”, well … it is. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” I believe it says in the King James Version of the Christian Bible. To me, those are pretty good words to live by. Unfortunately, not all religions (Christian denominations and otherwise) agree with that interpretation and it is more important to say you believe in the right vision of God than it is to merely uphold the Golden Rule. (I won’t go into the other version of the golden rule just yet)
And then there always is the Code of the West from the movie “Waterhole #3”: Do unto others before they have the chance to do unto you.
I hope I have given you a little to think about the “world” as we view it.
Nuff said for now.
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