Pruning

I have always been of the opinion that according to natural selection, nature really screwed up with humans. In every ecology on this planet, there is a system of checks and balances, predator versus prey, populations thinned out according to available food supplies, etc, etc. Once that success story of all primates, the human, got a foothold, all bets were off. Over time, mankind overcame all resistance, subduing those creatures that could prey upon him, becoming capable of even totally altering his environment, until he was able to spread across the globe with no competition or control other than the overwhelming power of the elements and disease to keep his numbers in check. However, a second look has me rethinking this.

Imagine if you will what the population of the human race on this planet would be if it were not for the wars we have fought, if there had never been a genocide, a world war, a holocaust. Imagine that every one of those people that had perished in all those conflicts instead went on to procreate. Had we suffered losses only to pandemics, famines, and natural disasters, the impact on population would have not been nearly as significant as the deaths suffered at our own hands. Thus, it seems on closer examination, nature DID install a mechanism to at least slow our ability to reproduce. Let's call it the WAR gene.

This gene, this wiring in our brains that has remained with us throughout our evolution, has maintained within us a strong tendency towards aggression, be that by the gang banger in the hood, or the Texas borne silver-spoon fed rich kid power puppet residing in the White House. You cut off someone in traffic, unintentionally or otherwise, and chances are good he'll go ballistic and start an automotive war right there on the pavement. Look at a gang of young teens the wrong way in the wrong neighborhood and you can get dead real quick. The Iraqi's are proving just how violent an entire culture can become given the freedom and ability to exercise their demons. It has never been unusual for men of any culture to assault the people closest to them, their wives, and even vice versa. Boxing and other violent sports are still perfectly acceptable ideas of sport in the "civilized" world. There is a trial wrapping up right now in my locality involving 6 people and a dog getting killed over a misappropriated X-Box video game console. Now, you tell me, what better control could there be for an animal that has the capability to wipe out every other species on this planet? Seems Mother Nature at least tried to instill some fail-safe while we were evolving into the monsters we have become.

Yes, it would be nice to imagine a world devoid of all this violence, this mindless warfare, this horror that we as a species have inflicted on our home and the wild life that has survived us so far. However, removing this propensity for violence alone would not solve our problems. No, we would also have to have within us a heightened sense of empathy, and understanding of the intricate symbiosis that is woven into the fabric of all life. We tread heavily where ever we go, and we cannot continue to do this and have any hope of not ending up extinct on the surface of a paved-over planet, the air unbreathable, the water all poison, not a green thing to be seen anywhere. So, even though I must conclude that nature did her best when natural selection selected the human to reign supreme, she could not account for the power of intellect, which combined with aggression, has made us simply capable of violating every natural law laid down before us. Yes, ultimately, we WILL be kept in check, finally, forever, but quite possibly not without taking every other living thing down with us. I raise my glass to you, Gaia, as I mourn your passing, even as I witness my own. Better luck next time around.