As I watch my daughter who is lying asleep next to me, I don't think anything. I think of how beautiful she is. giant lips, still suckling on an invisible tit. Beautiful, closed eyes. She is everything to me right now. I am so glad she is beautiful.
What It Is To Be Human, Part 1-
Deciding Whether to be Good or Bad
The number one thing that sets us apart from the animals (as far as we know) is the ability to have a conscience. Now, is this conscience "real"? Or, is it just an idea that we have formed in our heads (we humans are very good at doing that)? Take such ideas as the economy, mercy, and (dare I say) God. Is the conscience merely a construct of the human mind. It is true that we do good things to make ourselves feel better. But is this good feeling a result of religion? Religion tells that doing good things gives us a greater stake in heaven, right? So it makes us feel like we're putting a down payment on a mansion.
Do we do things just for the sake of doing well?
You will often hear someone say that. "Why did you do it?" they are being hard-pressed to ask. And the answer is, "I thought it was the right thing to do, " or, "For the sake of the good." Could it be that they are just making a down payment on a mansion?
And what is the disgust we feel after so many wrong decisions have outweighed the majority? Yeah, people will fudge the system for their own benefit. People lie and cheat, they back stab other people and some will even kill for their personal gain. This is ordinary, run of the mill stuff.
But what makes us hate it?
If it really is survival of the fittest, then we should be honoring those individuals who lie, cheat, and steal for their own gain. After all, it takes guts to be that morally corrupt.
But what is morals?
A friend of mine recently told me I was a racist. "Oh really?" I say, "And why is that?" You see, the word "racist" has been thrown around so many times that it has essentially lost its meaning. People are racist now without even knowing it. There are racist thoughts in their mind, little black overtones or sections of the unconscious brain to which we cannot know. And these sections, or so called prejudices, come out in the most subtle of ways.
This is what people would tell you. This is why people would have you think I am a racist.
I think that if people are examining others that closely that maybe they have a little prejudice of their own.
And yet here she is, crying about racism, when all she wants is a little attention. All she's ever wanted is a little attention. "What can I do to attract to attention to myself?" she asks. "What is it about me that sets me apart from other people?" She looks in the mirror and sees that she is black. Nevermind that this has nothing to do with her personality, the essence of who she really is, yet we have made it so.
"Even though I am white, (I have been raised with "white" ideals and values. I have grown up surrounded by whites and in the same economic class as many whites) I will claim this "blackness" so as to appear different from everybody else so as to attract attention." This is the whole reason she calls me a racist, to appear good in comparison.
You see, we humans with our constant desire for self-approval, love to label. We will call things "good" and "bad." We will call things "ugly," "cheap," "dirty," or "disgusting," just to make ourselves feel better. Because, if we label those things that are not a part of us as bad, then it is the only logical conclusion that we are good.
And what is Vogue? What is vanity? What is this sense of self? Are the animals aware of their identity? ... (to be continued)
