May this anomaly never end in my descendants’ lifetimes.This concept is one that I’ve had a hard time articulating to people. We are violent creatures, and we live in a violent world. The animals that inhabit this world with us are inherently violent. Even your pet, sleeping on the couch next to you, is an inherently violent creature. Watch any nature documentary and you’ll get an idea of what I mean.
The fact that we have known any sort of peace at all is a windfall with the same odds as winning the powerball. And just like the majority of lotto winners who almost always fall back into poverty within a few years, our entire society can also also completely relapse.
How many empires have fallen? How many people of Ancient Rome thought that their glorious modernity would end in flames, themselves being either slaughtered or driven into the wild lands beyond their walls? How many Athenians thought that their beautiful democracy would be a mere footnote in history books?
What makes us think that we are any different? The fact that we live in 2020? That we have lightning being piped into our homes? That we burn ancient trees instead of ride horses? That we have the equivalent of the Library of Alexandria beamed into our hands 24/7? None of those things change the fact that we are violent creatures, created and adapted to a violent existence in a violent world. A world that, statistically speaking, will become violent again.
So hold your loved ones tight, give your dog an extra scratch on the head. Appreciate how unbelievably good we have it right now, and above all, be prepared for when the system corrects itself.
All good things must come to an end. -S_S
I stole this post from fellow blogger Sunshine_Shooter (with his permission of course). Maybe he was a little bit prescient; at the time he wrote it (January 26, 2020) most of us were cruising along blissfully unaware of what the very near future held. Hop over to his blog and check it out. Be sure to check out his “How to Survive Quarantine” where he offers a lot of suggestions of things to do to keep yourself busy, happy, and productive during your lockdown.
