In 2017, NFL Colin Kaepernick refused to stand during the pre-game playing of our National Anthem. Instead, he dropped to one knew in protest. Within weeks hundreds of other NFL players--the majority being African American--followed suit and also took to their knees during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner. The reasons given for these protests were police brutality and oppression of black people in the United States. We may look back on these protests as a pivotal era in American history.
For over a century, the playing of our National Anthem signified our coming together, a diverse group of people putting our differences aside in support of the principles that comprise the social and political values of the US. The song symbolized our love and pride of country. It represented the honor and respect felt for those who sacrificed their lives in defense of our nation. Our ancestors may have originated from vastly diverse parts of the globe, and skin color and physical stature may differ greatly, but with the waving of the flag and the playing of the Star Spangled Banner, we become one homogenous, unified culture, sharing and celebrating mutual values. That tradition appears to be a dying one.
The National Anthem controversy may spell the beginning of an ever-widening gap between the white and black cultures and their values. Whereas the white culture regards the flag and Anthem with reverence and respect, growing numbers in the black culture regards them as a symbol of repression. Coupled with that attitude is a growing disregard within the black community for our Founding Fathers and the Constitution. Many blacks regard Founding Fathers, like Jefferson , Washington, Franklin, Madison, etc., has old white slave owners, and hold these men in contempt, while disregarding their writings, which have shaped an entire nation with the concept of individual liberty.
The danger is that the newest generation of blacks will grow up viewing the NFL protesters as heroes and role models. It is very likely that in the decades ahead, we will witness a splintering within our population. One culture will disregard and hold in contempt the ideals represented by the flag, Anthem and Constitution; the other culture will continue to hold those ideals as the embodiment of
human freedom.
Our future may see an ever widening rend in the fabric that unites and protects our country. A tear that cannot be mended, and that may not stop until it is torn in two, forever severing and shredding our bonds as a free and united culture.
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Sunday, January 28, 2018
LOSING THE GRIP ON CULTURE
I have always prided myself on being someone who kept up with pop culture and who could relate to what went on in this country in terms of music, movies, television, literature, politics, etc.. But not anymore. Now that I have reached my 70's, I find myself drifting to the periphery of pop culture. I feel increasingly like an outsider looking in, unable to fully relate to what I see and hear around me.
Take movies, for instance. Ever since I was a youngster of 4 or 5 I have been a big movie fan, a love implanted by my mother, who was also a huge fan and often took me along to see her favorite movies and stars. I have seen thousands of films over the years, comedies and dramas, big spectaculars and obscure independent films. Today I scan the movie listings and yawn with boredom. I recall the edgy and innovative films of Scorcese, Altman, Coppola, and a host of other young directors from the 60's and 70's. These were productions that created cutting portrayals of the human condition, both funny and tragic. Today, Hollywood offers up a menu of preposterous super heroes from some alternate universe, cartoonish comic book figures in preposterous plots aimed at adolescent mentalities.
Turn on the TV and it's more of the same. Superheroes, comic book characters, and the sophomoric and silly antics of 20 somethings written by sophomoric 20 somethings for 20 somethings.
The casting of movies and television ooze with political correctness. Stories are no longer cast with actors who would be most proficient for that role. Instead, actors are cast to fill diversity requirements to meet some unwritten diversity quota.
Even one of my favorite magazines-Entertainment Weekly-has begun to lose my interest. When I first became a subscriber 20 years ago, the magazine took a serious approach at all aspects of the entertainment world. Today the magazine is all about superheroes, comic books, ComicCon and an editorial policy aimed at people under the age of 25.
The music scene has also changed, and not always for the better. Listen to the top 20 songs and all you will hear is slow and moderate tempo music. Gone are the rockers like "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "I Saw Her Standing There," or one of the up temp jams by Chuck Berry or Little Richard. Hip hop, rap and EDM dominate the charts, all of them done by artists with identical voices and singing styles.
Maybe a growing sense of cultural alienation and detachment is inevitable.As the years mount, so does my distance from the youth that shapes and dominates our culture. In truth, 2 generations separate me from this under 30 group. The old cliché says time marches on, and as it does, it moves past the older generation and doesn't look back. It also means I do not have to follow if I dislike the direction on which they're headed.
Take movies, for instance. Ever since I was a youngster of 4 or 5 I have been a big movie fan, a love implanted by my mother, who was also a huge fan and often took me along to see her favorite movies and stars. I have seen thousands of films over the years, comedies and dramas, big spectaculars and obscure independent films. Today I scan the movie listings and yawn with boredom. I recall the edgy and innovative films of Scorcese, Altman, Coppola, and a host of other young directors from the 60's and 70's. These were productions that created cutting portrayals of the human condition, both funny and tragic. Today, Hollywood offers up a menu of preposterous super heroes from some alternate universe, cartoonish comic book figures in preposterous plots aimed at adolescent mentalities.
Turn on the TV and it's more of the same. Superheroes, comic book characters, and the sophomoric and silly antics of 20 somethings written by sophomoric 20 somethings for 20 somethings.
The casting of movies and television ooze with political correctness. Stories are no longer cast with actors who would be most proficient for that role. Instead, actors are cast to fill diversity requirements to meet some unwritten diversity quota.
Even one of my favorite magazines-Entertainment Weekly-has begun to lose my interest. When I first became a subscriber 20 years ago, the magazine took a serious approach at all aspects of the entertainment world. Today the magazine is all about superheroes, comic books, ComicCon and an editorial policy aimed at people under the age of 25.
The music scene has also changed, and not always for the better. Listen to the top 20 songs and all you will hear is slow and moderate tempo music. Gone are the rockers like "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "I Saw Her Standing There," or one of the up temp jams by Chuck Berry or Little Richard. Hip hop, rap and EDM dominate the charts, all of them done by artists with identical voices and singing styles.
Maybe a growing sense of cultural alienation and detachment is inevitable.As the years mount, so does my distance from the youth that shapes and dominates our culture. In truth, 2 generations separate me from this under 30 group. The old cliché says time marches on, and as it does, it moves past the older generation and doesn't look back. It also means I do not have to follow if I dislike the direction on which they're headed.
Saturday, January 20, 2018
THE NEXT GREAT POPULATION SHIFT
As we approach the end of the second decade of the 21st century, we may be witnessing the beginning of a trend that could reshape the human population of our planet. Not since the "out of Africa" migration a million years ago have humans undergone such a species altering shift in population patterns,
Caucasians have been the dominant species for approximately the last ten thousand years. Virtually every major event during this time span, both good and bad, has been the result of Caucasian culture.
Greece, Rome, the Renaissance, the industrial revolution, the rise of farming, the rise of cities, the creation of the first real democracy in America can all be attributed to Caucasians. And yes, wars and brutal regimes are part of that legacy. The modern world as we know it, including the USA, has its roots in western European culture, be it science, medicine, the arts, religion, etc.. It now appears that this dominance may be on the wane and headed for complete dissolution.
The demographic numbers tell the story. When John F. Kennedy took office in January of 1961, the United States was 80% white. Today it is 65% white, and experts predict that by the middle of this century the US will be 45% white. For the first time in our history the white population would no longer be in the majority.
Over in Europe the shift is even more pronounced. People of English descent are actually a minority in London. The mayor of that city is a Muslim of Middle Eastern descent. The most popular boy's name in England the last two years is Mohammed. Mohammed is also the most popular name of newborn males in Holland.
In Italy, the population growth among Italians has fallen right off the table, an interesting irony for a country that is the capital of worldwide Catholicism, a religion that is firmly opposed to birth control. Experts predict that by 2080, Italians will be a minority in their own country, with 52% of the population comprised of Africans and Middle Easterners.
Throughout other regions of Europe, like Germany and Scandinavia, Middle Easterners and Africans dominate large swathes of the major cities.
As European and American birthrates either stagnate or plummet, the birthrates in the Middle East and Africa soar, as millions of their citizens migrate to the west. These numbers and trends may not only foretell the end of Caucasian dominance and influence in the world, but also its total demise.
These sorts of shifts in the human population occur at a glacial pace. It won't happen in the next hundred years, but perhaps within the next thousand years. In the far future, Caucasians may be reduced to a barely perceptible minority, or perhaps because of low birthrates and inter breeding, the race may cease to exist entirely.
Whether such events would have a positive or negative effect on the human race no one can predict. What one can predict is a future generation looking back at the 21st century as the turning point for a new phase of the human experience.
Caucasians have been the dominant species for approximately the last ten thousand years. Virtually every major event during this time span, both good and bad, has been the result of Caucasian culture.
Greece, Rome, the Renaissance, the industrial revolution, the rise of farming, the rise of cities, the creation of the first real democracy in America can all be attributed to Caucasians. And yes, wars and brutal regimes are part of that legacy. The modern world as we know it, including the USA, has its roots in western European culture, be it science, medicine, the arts, religion, etc.. It now appears that this dominance may be on the wane and headed for complete dissolution.
The demographic numbers tell the story. When John F. Kennedy took office in January of 1961, the United States was 80% white. Today it is 65% white, and experts predict that by the middle of this century the US will be 45% white. For the first time in our history the white population would no longer be in the majority.
Over in Europe the shift is even more pronounced. People of English descent are actually a minority in London. The mayor of that city is a Muslim of Middle Eastern descent. The most popular boy's name in England the last two years is Mohammed. Mohammed is also the most popular name of newborn males in Holland.
In Italy, the population growth among Italians has fallen right off the table, an interesting irony for a country that is the capital of worldwide Catholicism, a religion that is firmly opposed to birth control. Experts predict that by 2080, Italians will be a minority in their own country, with 52% of the population comprised of Africans and Middle Easterners.
Throughout other regions of Europe, like Germany and Scandinavia, Middle Easterners and Africans dominate large swathes of the major cities.
As European and American birthrates either stagnate or plummet, the birthrates in the Middle East and Africa soar, as millions of their citizens migrate to the west. These numbers and trends may not only foretell the end of Caucasian dominance and influence in the world, but also its total demise.
These sorts of shifts in the human population occur at a glacial pace. It won't happen in the next hundred years, but perhaps within the next thousand years. In the far future, Caucasians may be reduced to a barely perceptible minority, or perhaps because of low birthrates and inter breeding, the race may cease to exist entirely.
Whether such events would have a positive or negative effect on the human race no one can predict. What one can predict is a future generation looking back at the 21st century as the turning point for a new phase of the human experience.
Saturday, August 19, 2017
THE FALLACY OF RACE PRIDE
We can all agree on one thing: The violence and killing in Charlottesville, Virginia by a neo-Nazi suspect named James Alex Fields was a horrific and barbaric act by someone totally bereft of moral principles. Beyond that, Americans have chosen sides and have engaged in a shouting match over who is right and who is wrong; who is victim and who is victimizer.
The crux of the problem, as it has been for over 200 years in this country is race. Everyone praising their race, while denigrating other races. The real truth is that they are all wrong. No race is inherently superior or inferior to another race. The underlying factor in all of this racial strife is the fallacious concept of race pride. That is the root cause.
People who bask in race pride invariably suffer from low self-esteem. In order to nurture any sense of pride, they must turn to the accomplishments of others of their own race in order to feel good about themselves.
For example, I am a white man.Other than Barack Obama, every US president has been white. Bill Gates is white, Steve Jobs and Henry Ford were white .Jonas Salk, the doctor responsible for the eradication of polio with the Salk vaccine, was white. Elvis was white. White supremists might say those are the reasons to take pride in the white race. I say; Bullshit! All those great people I mentioned have nothing to do with me. I didn't find a cure for polio, or develop personal computers or smart phones, and I certainly was never president.
The only thing we have a right to take pride in is our own accomplishments and achievements, and the victories over our own personal struggles. Just as I would be wrong to feel ladened with guilt over the crimes by white men like John Wayne Gacy or Adolph Hitler, I would be equally foolish to take pride in things I had absolutely nothing to do with.
Race pride is the sanctuary of those who have nothing else to take pride in. That is the real truth behind the fallacy of race pride.
The crux of the problem, as it has been for over 200 years in this country is race. Everyone praising their race, while denigrating other races. The real truth is that they are all wrong. No race is inherently superior or inferior to another race. The underlying factor in all of this racial strife is the fallacious concept of race pride. That is the root cause.
People who bask in race pride invariably suffer from low self-esteem. In order to nurture any sense of pride, they must turn to the accomplishments of others of their own race in order to feel good about themselves.
For example, I am a white man.Other than Barack Obama, every US president has been white. Bill Gates is white, Steve Jobs and Henry Ford were white .Jonas Salk, the doctor responsible for the eradication of polio with the Salk vaccine, was white. Elvis was white. White supremists might say those are the reasons to take pride in the white race. I say; Bullshit! All those great people I mentioned have nothing to do with me. I didn't find a cure for polio, or develop personal computers or smart phones, and I certainly was never president.
The only thing we have a right to take pride in is our own accomplishments and achievements, and the victories over our own personal struggles. Just as I would be wrong to feel ladened with guilt over the crimes by white men like John Wayne Gacy or Adolph Hitler, I would be equally foolish to take pride in things I had absolutely nothing to do with.
Race pride is the sanctuary of those who have nothing else to take pride in. That is the real truth behind the fallacy of race pride.
Saturday, July 29, 2017
AT WAR WITH OURSELVES
There was a time when the United States was simply one nation. We were just Americans. One for all, all for one. One nation under God. No matter where their country of origin, once the immigrants arrived on our shores they became "Americans." Yes, because we are human, we have been tainted by racism and religious bigotry, but overall, our country has achieved greatness because of our cohesion.
Sadly, that cohesion has deteriorated, and the impetus for its destruction has been the growth of the Federal welfare state. It started in the 1930's with Social Security and unemployment insurance. It accelerated in the 1960's with President Johnson's Great Society, which gave us Medicare, Medicaid, Aid to Dependent Children. Today the government will pay for your college, your rent, your kid's school lunch, birth control, abortions, gender reassignment and a host of other services.
What the government has done in essence is given the American people a proclamation: We have billions of dollars to give away. Whichever group shouts, screams, yells and hollers the loudest and longest will get the most money. That's when we began to multiply and divide, as various groups fought one another to receive the handouts. This dicing and slicing of the population received a title.PRESSURE GROUP WARFARE.
No longer are we one people. Now it is whites vs. blacks. vs. Hispanics vs, students vs. seniors vs. straights vs. LGBT vs. union members vs. non-union members vs.handicapped, ad nauseum. The government has pitted citizen against citizen, each group crying out, "Our group deserves it more than your group! Screw you! Give us the money!"
The Civil War split this country into two. Pressure group warfare has split us into an infinite number of pieces, and like Humpty Dumpty, those pieces may not be able to be put back together again.
The government has bought the soul of America. It is time for us to refund the money and regain the spirit that brought us greatness.
Sadly, that cohesion has deteriorated, and the impetus for its destruction has been the growth of the Federal welfare state. It started in the 1930's with Social Security and unemployment insurance. It accelerated in the 1960's with President Johnson's Great Society, which gave us Medicare, Medicaid, Aid to Dependent Children. Today the government will pay for your college, your rent, your kid's school lunch, birth control, abortions, gender reassignment and a host of other services.
What the government has done in essence is given the American people a proclamation: We have billions of dollars to give away. Whichever group shouts, screams, yells and hollers the loudest and longest will get the most money. That's when we began to multiply and divide, as various groups fought one another to receive the handouts. This dicing and slicing of the population received a title.PRESSURE GROUP WARFARE.
No longer are we one people. Now it is whites vs. blacks. vs. Hispanics vs, students vs. seniors vs. straights vs. LGBT vs. union members vs. non-union members vs.handicapped, ad nauseum. The government has pitted citizen against citizen, each group crying out, "Our group deserves it more than your group! Screw you! Give us the money!"
The Civil War split this country into two. Pressure group warfare has split us into an infinite number of pieces, and like Humpty Dumpty, those pieces may not be able to be put back together again.
The government has bought the soul of America. It is time for us to refund the money and regain the spirit that brought us greatness.
Sunday, July 16, 2017
ELECTION HACKING OR PUBLIC SERVICE?
The so-called scandal that has been dogging Donald Trump centers around the Trump's campaign staff's alleged collusion with the Russians to interfere with the outcome of the presidential election. The most recent allegations involve Donald Trump, Jr. and his meeting with a group of Russians for the purpose of receiving damning information about Hillary Clinton. Commentators in the media are saying that this is the scandal that could finally bring down the Trump presidency. After all, how dare a presidential candidate meet with a foreign power to effect election results.
But wait! There is another take on this situation that has not been discussed. If a presidential candidate--regardless of who it is--has damaging information about another candidate--regardless of who it is--should they not make it public? If a candidate for president of the United States has engaged in illegal, immoral or unethical behavior, the voters have a right to know. To have knowledge of such behavior and not disclose it, should itself be a crime. Anyone possessing knowledge of a candidate's illegal, immoral or unethical behavior has a civic and moral obligation to disclose this information to the voters of this country. To withhold it would be a moral lapse and potentially damaging to our nation.
Thus, it could be easily argued that the Trump Jr's. meeting with the Russians had the potential to be of public service. Has it turned out, the Russians had no damaging evidence against Clinton. But if they did, why would obtaining this evidence have constituted a scandal and crime? To attack Trump for attempting to obtain and release incriminating evidence would be the political equivalent of shooting the messenger.
But wait! There is another take on this situation that has not been discussed. If a presidential candidate--regardless of who it is--has damaging information about another candidate--regardless of who it is--should they not make it public? If a candidate for president of the United States has engaged in illegal, immoral or unethical behavior, the voters have a right to know. To have knowledge of such behavior and not disclose it, should itself be a crime. Anyone possessing knowledge of a candidate's illegal, immoral or unethical behavior has a civic and moral obligation to disclose this information to the voters of this country. To withhold it would be a moral lapse and potentially damaging to our nation.
Thus, it could be easily argued that the Trump Jr's. meeting with the Russians had the potential to be of public service. Has it turned out, the Russians had no damaging evidence against Clinton. But if they did, why would obtaining this evidence have constituted a scandal and crime? To attack Trump for attempting to obtain and release incriminating evidence would be the political equivalent of shooting the messenger.
Sunday, June 25, 2017
WHY GOD? WHY RELIGION?
Why do human beings almost universally believe in a Supreme Being (or Beings), and why do we have organized religions?
Those are two aspects of human existence that have been part of our makeup for tens of thousands of years, and because of this, we take these two constructs for granted in the same way we take the moon and sun for granted. It just is. We don't really think about them. In relation to our lives, they have always been there and will always be there.
How do we know early humans held some version of religious belief? In France, the Lascaux Palaeothic cave paintings depicted mystical rituals that were performed to insure future hunting success, a clear indicator that homo sapiens believed in mystical powers that controlled their lives. Also, archeological digs unearthed the remains of bodies that were buried with ceremonial trinkets and tools, another indicator in a belief in an afterlife.
So what compelled homo sapiens to devise these rituals? What purpose did they serve? What needs were satisfied? In order to find the answers, we must transport ourselves to the Palaeothic period. Humans began to populate Europe around 100,000 BC. It was the ice age, and life was hard, brutish and short. Hunger and deprivation were the norm. One can imagine a clan of 20 or 30 hunter-gathers sitting around a fire in a long, cold, harsh night. They would tell stories to pass the time, questioning the bewildering world around them. These were nomadic clans with no conception of science or technology, or the workings of nature.They battled cold, snow, ice, rain, drought, floods and wild beasts. And lacking the basic scientific knowledge to figure out the world they inhabited, these prehistoric minds formulated their own explanations. This is how the myths and legends originated. Every natural phenomenon had its own special god or spirit overseer: There was a god of rain; god of fire, and of the sun and moon, droughts, floods hunting, planting,etc.. To please these gods meant bountiful hunting, good weather, protection from predators. Displeasing these gods meant floods, hunger, eclipses of the sun and moon, and disease. Inventing these various gods gave order to the chaotic lives of early humans. I
These stories were told and retold and embellished as they were past down from generation to generation. By assigning a higher power to every aspect of nature, pre-historic humans were able to assemble their lives and environment into an orderly, and to some degree, predictable mode. Now everything happened for a reason, and if they followed a certain code of behavior, they possessed the potential to intervene and alter natural events. This is where religion comes into play.
Over thousands of years a code of conduct was gradually constructed for the sole purpose of appeasing and pacifying the gods in an effort to bring about good fortune.Follow the rules, and the gods would reward them; disobey the rules, and the gods would bring down punishments, like plagues, floods, droughts and infestation.
Eventually these beliefs were codified into precise rules, with specific tribe members--usually elders- to oversee their enforcement and to act as the earthly representitives of the gods.Therein lies the roots of organized religion, replete with special ceremonies, sacrifices, and earthly envoys to act as guardians.
Why would home sapiens find it necessary to concoct explanations for things they cannot prove? Best selling author and psychologist, Michael Shermer, has a theory that supplies the answer. His theory puts forth two concepts: patternicity and agenticity.
He says that over thousands of years the human brain became wired to discern patterns regarding the world around them. The more patterns early humans could find, the greater their chances for survival. For example, fifty thousand years ago humans were primarily hunters, In order to increase their success as hunters, they learned to take notice of the migration habits of certain animals; what time certain animals gathered at a watering hole; which animals were nocturnal, and which animals hunted only in daylight.
When humans morphed into farmers they had to take notice of weather patterns to determine the best time of year to plant certain crops.
Agenticity refers to the powers that devise and control these patterns.Because early humans lacked any knowledge of scientific principles, they created gods to be the agents of these diverse patterns.
There is yet one more reason for the creation of gods and religion: Death. Surely pre-historic humans must have stared at their deceased comrades and wondered what happens to humans when they die.One thing we know for certain that is hardwired into our brains:the fight for survival. No rationale person wants to die. We all hold a secret wish to live forever, even though we also realize we cannot escape from the inevitability of our own demise.
It is not difficult to imagine ancient humans pondering death, what it means, and what happens after we die.Nor is it difficult to understand why they would have concocted scenarios about an afterlife. After all, who wants to believe that death means the end of everything? So depending on what religion was celebrated and what region of the planet ancient humans lived, they all had their own unique vision of the afterlife.It might be called heaven, or paradise, or the happy hunting grounds, It may entail a trip down the River Styx, or reincarnation into another life form, but the one common denominator in all of these scenarios is the belief in life after death. In fact, humans want so desperately an eternal life that they even accept the Judeo-Christian belief in Hell. Imagine. We want an afterlife so badly, we are willing to embrace an eternity of unspeakable pain,suffering and horror beyond human comprehension. At least we won't be dead.
That is the crux for a belief in a Supreme Being or God. It provides order in a chaotic world and holds the promise of eternal life. However irrational and illogical these beliefs may be, they have helped humans for eons make sense of their lives and the world around them,.
We, in a sense,are adults who still behave like children. We refuse to relinquish the belief in a Santa Claus, that ageless spirit who spans the centuries, who knows all and sees all, who rewards the good and punishes the bad. And like children, we are taken in by fairytales and myths because they are the panacea for a sometimes bewildering and dangerous world.
Let's be honest.. How fabulous would it be to spend an eternity at the North Pole, interacting with Santa and his elves?
Those are two aspects of human existence that have been part of our makeup for tens of thousands of years, and because of this, we take these two constructs for granted in the same way we take the moon and sun for granted. It just is. We don't really think about them. In relation to our lives, they have always been there and will always be there.
How do we know early humans held some version of religious belief? In France, the Lascaux Palaeothic cave paintings depicted mystical rituals that were performed to insure future hunting success, a clear indicator that homo sapiens believed in mystical powers that controlled their lives. Also, archeological digs unearthed the remains of bodies that were buried with ceremonial trinkets and tools, another indicator in a belief in an afterlife.
So what compelled homo sapiens to devise these rituals? What purpose did they serve? What needs were satisfied? In order to find the answers, we must transport ourselves to the Palaeothic period. Humans began to populate Europe around 100,000 BC. It was the ice age, and life was hard, brutish and short. Hunger and deprivation were the norm. One can imagine a clan of 20 or 30 hunter-gathers sitting around a fire in a long, cold, harsh night. They would tell stories to pass the time, questioning the bewildering world around them. These were nomadic clans with no conception of science or technology, or the workings of nature.They battled cold, snow, ice, rain, drought, floods and wild beasts. And lacking the basic scientific knowledge to figure out the world they inhabited, these prehistoric minds formulated their own explanations. This is how the myths and legends originated. Every natural phenomenon had its own special god or spirit overseer: There was a god of rain; god of fire, and of the sun and moon, droughts, floods hunting, planting,etc.. To please these gods meant bountiful hunting, good weather, protection from predators. Displeasing these gods meant floods, hunger, eclipses of the sun and moon, and disease. Inventing these various gods gave order to the chaotic lives of early humans. I
These stories were told and retold and embellished as they were past down from generation to generation. By assigning a higher power to every aspect of nature, pre-historic humans were able to assemble their lives and environment into an orderly, and to some degree, predictable mode. Now everything happened for a reason, and if they followed a certain code of behavior, they possessed the potential to intervene and alter natural events. This is where religion comes into play.
Over thousands of years a code of conduct was gradually constructed for the sole purpose of appeasing and pacifying the gods in an effort to bring about good fortune.Follow the rules, and the gods would reward them; disobey the rules, and the gods would bring down punishments, like plagues, floods, droughts and infestation.
Eventually these beliefs were codified into precise rules, with specific tribe members--usually elders- to oversee their enforcement and to act as the earthly representitives of the gods.Therein lies the roots of organized religion, replete with special ceremonies, sacrifices, and earthly envoys to act as guardians.
Why would home sapiens find it necessary to concoct explanations for things they cannot prove? Best selling author and psychologist, Michael Shermer, has a theory that supplies the answer. His theory puts forth two concepts: patternicity and agenticity.
He says that over thousands of years the human brain became wired to discern patterns regarding the world around them. The more patterns early humans could find, the greater their chances for survival. For example, fifty thousand years ago humans were primarily hunters, In order to increase their success as hunters, they learned to take notice of the migration habits of certain animals; what time certain animals gathered at a watering hole; which animals were nocturnal, and which animals hunted only in daylight.
When humans morphed into farmers they had to take notice of weather patterns to determine the best time of year to plant certain crops.
Agenticity refers to the powers that devise and control these patterns.Because early humans lacked any knowledge of scientific principles, they created gods to be the agents of these diverse patterns.
There is yet one more reason for the creation of gods and religion: Death. Surely pre-historic humans must have stared at their deceased comrades and wondered what happens to humans when they die.One thing we know for certain that is hardwired into our brains:the fight for survival. No rationale person wants to die. We all hold a secret wish to live forever, even though we also realize we cannot escape from the inevitability of our own demise.
It is not difficult to imagine ancient humans pondering death, what it means, and what happens after we die.Nor is it difficult to understand why they would have concocted scenarios about an afterlife. After all, who wants to believe that death means the end of everything? So depending on what religion was celebrated and what region of the planet ancient humans lived, they all had their own unique vision of the afterlife.It might be called heaven, or paradise, or the happy hunting grounds, It may entail a trip down the River Styx, or reincarnation into another life form, but the one common denominator in all of these scenarios is the belief in life after death. In fact, humans want so desperately an eternal life that they even accept the Judeo-Christian belief in Hell. Imagine. We want an afterlife so badly, we are willing to embrace an eternity of unspeakable pain,suffering and horror beyond human comprehension. At least we won't be dead.
That is the crux for a belief in a Supreme Being or God. It provides order in a chaotic world and holds the promise of eternal life. However irrational and illogical these beliefs may be, they have helped humans for eons make sense of their lives and the world around them,.
We, in a sense,are adults who still behave like children. We refuse to relinquish the belief in a Santa Claus, that ageless spirit who spans the centuries, who knows all and sees all, who rewards the good and punishes the bad. And like children, we are taken in by fairytales and myths because they are the panacea for a sometimes bewildering and dangerous world.
Let's be honest.. How fabulous would it be to spend an eternity at the North Pole, interacting with Santa and his elves?
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