So, I was going to write this very smart article, bashing all my fellow humans for the stupidity that they exhibit each day, perpetually. Like the dude that parked his F150 in front of my house, blocking not only the zebra passing, but also the bike stand and an advertising signpost for the same restaurant they went to eat in - having literally (sic!) 10 open parking spots available for their deformed penis replacement.
And how I was angry!
I was about to buy some rotten eggs (pretty sure I could get them somewhere) and squash them into the ventilator system. I'm a pretty calm dude, but sometimes... Then I paused.
The question I wanted to write about today was about behavior that I want to eradicate from humanity, if I could. And though I see so much suffering, stupidity, egoism, greed, etc., and very little hope for the world my daughter will grow up in, the answer - after giving it a weekend of thought - is:
None.
You might not agree, but I believe that we need the negative. We need the bad to remind us what is good. We need that (fill in insults here) human being that does everything for their own and nobody else's sake to remind us that we are not like that. That we can be different.
It's an ecosystem.
Those who studied biology and familiar know this. Even those pesky insects that bother us all the time have their place in our environment, and though mosquitos are incredibly... insistent... our, the humans' life would be in jeopardy without them. They suck, and we have to suck it up. (God or whatever forgive for this pun, as true as it may be.)
It's backwards.
Deleting behavior does not bring any progress. Sure enough, many times that I hear humans speak I wish for a F2, then a "Delete", and the ultimate "Ctrl+Alt+Delete". We all do, or at least I wish we do, because it's that confrontation with the "other" that helps us determine who we are.
But who am I?
That is a question that really scares me to pose. I have the feeling that an increasing number of humans has no idea. That I, playing Socrates, could make worlds crumble with very few, even superficial questions. That they just follow a stream of shorts and news and clips, defining themselves through others. No, not teenagers who genetically are programmed to discover that question in their own ways. But adults. Supposedly mature creatures. Those who the teenagers rely on to have figured out their values, their believes, their stances.
The side doesn't matter.
Just be able to say why. What is your core value? What do you hold dearest? What is the conviction that you think would make the world the best place? And for those who have children: What is the place you want your child to live in?
It's never about forbidding or eliminating behaviors. You can't say/do this and that. It's about knowing who we are well enough to stand up for what we believe is good for humanity, and against what we believe is bad.
Don't be like me.
Be better.
That's what I try to tell myself frequently. Because I can always do better. I'm pretty awesome as I am, I won't deny that, and yet every morning I wake up and think that there is more potential in me. More to live up to, mostly for my daughter. And the (insert a lot of swear words) behavior of some people helps me a lot with that, not because I righteously intervene and burn a F150 for a dopamine rush, but because I don't. I know their behavior is wrong, but I take it as an example to be better.
I can change the world.
By writing this. By teaching my child to embrace the negative, learn from it and be better. By living it in front of my community. Showing that it's possible to live differently, to not fall into the seductive comfort of superficiality, the echo chambers, the toxic positivity.
Will I change the world?
Someone's, I hope. At least mine. If it rubs off on Lily, that would be the jackpot. Does it have to impact of on the rest of my community? Not really. There's a reason that they're my community. We're not strong through conformity, but controversy, and we're defined by how we handle that.
Okay. That felt good. But if I had a gun to my head, this would be the three behaviors to scrap from humanity:
- Males not sitting down to pee in a shared toilet. It's disgusting, you leave pee everywhere even if you try to clean up, and it's better for your prostate to sit down.
- Blaming. Just take the responsibility for your actions, yes, we screw up, learn from it and move on.
- Chewing with the mouth open. That's a very personal one. Something my grandpa was very keen on, so I guess I'm just propagating values here. I could come up with arguments, sure enough.
What are your thoughts about this topic? Please feel free to engage in any original way, including dropping links to your posts on similar topics. I'm happy to read (and curate) any quality content that is not created by LLM/AI.
Post written for the #weekend-engagement by @galenkp inviting us to answer selected questions in the Weekend Experiences community each week.
This is my response to:
What three behaviours do you wish you could eradicate from humanity and why?
Thank you for reading!