Hope Negative? Why humans r violent

patio34

I thought this little poem purports a lot about the damage that hope in UNreality can do and why there are "bad" humans.

At the point where hope and reason part,
lies the spot where madness gets a start.
Hope to make the world kinder and free--
but flowers of hope root in reality.

No peaceful bed exists for lamb or lion,
unless on some world out beyond Orion.
Do not instruct the owls to spare the mice.
Owls acting as owls must is not a vice.

Storms do not respond to heartless pleas.
All the words of men can't calm the seas.
Nature--always beneficial and cruel--
won't change for a wise man or a fool.

Mankind shares all Nature's imperfections,
clearly visible to casual inspections.
Resisting betterment is the human trait.
The ideal of utopia is our tragic fate

From the Book of Counted Sorrows (penned by Dean Koontz, of all people!)

This is my take on it:

At the point where hope and reason part,
lies the spot where madness gets a start.

It's "mad" to have hopes that are simply wishes

Hope to make the world kinder and free--
but flowers of hope root in reality.

It's useless to have hopes that simply cannot come true or that have no basis in fact or grounds for belief.

No peaceful bed exists for lamb or lion,
unless on some world out beyond Orion.
Do not instruct the owls to spare the mice.
Owls acting as owls must is not a vice.

The peace between animals has been shown to never have occurred, from the tiniest virus and parasite to the mighty dinosaurs. Nature's way is that there are prey and there are predators.

Storms do not respond to heartless pleas.
All the words of men can't calm the seas.
Nature--always beneficial and cruel--
won't change for a wise man or a fool.

Mankind shares all Nature's imperfections,
clearly visible to casual inspections.
Resisting betterment is the human trait.
The ideal of utopia is our tragic fate

Some humans are "bad" and predatory. Thinking someday that paradise will be the condition of earth is tragic because it stops us from dealing with the world as it is and getting the happiness that we can. What I mean is something like if someone told you you were going to inherit a billion dollars at age 50, 60, or 70, everything in between will be diminished somewhat because you're waiting for the big event. But what if it never was going to come? If a person keeps comparing this life to a utopia, then they're inherently dissatisfied with this life, which, imo, is the only chance they get. It's as Paul says "If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are most to be pitied of all men."

My two cents,

Pat

DanTheMan

...Someone's cryin' Lord, Kumbaya...

lol

Yes violence and conflict are part of our genetic makeup as humans, and history is largely a tale of violence and conflict among groups of humans, and how this conflict between groups is the fuel that keeps the fires of innovation and invention burning. Innovations and inventions which have become so monstrously and cleverly destructive that they have reached the point of being a threat to the very future of life on our little planet.

Darwin was probably right, and that makes me very sad, cuz I'm such a hopeless romantic.

peacefulpete

Yes Darwin was right. We are the products of a log history of conflict. However we are also a product of a long history of social interaction and cooperation. We as a result of this complex history possess the mental tools to choose what kind of behavior is appropriate in a given situation. It is true that the baser instincts to threaten when threatened rise to the surface readily but clear use of our more rational powers can keep the worst in check. What is needed IS mass hope and positive thinking so that the first collective reaction is a desire for peace. It is a lie that evolution reduces humans to brutish thugs doomed to beat each other to extinction, even in our primitive past that type of creature would never have survived.

patio34

Really good points Dan and Pete!

Pete, I concur that brutish thugs isn't ALL we are, but it's definintely part of the human race. And there are predatory behaviors prevalent more in some individuals than others!

I liked what Dennis Kucinich said about "conscious evolution," meaning now that we have more intelligence that we can affect our evolution in positive ways. On second thought, it sounds like eugenics, and I don't think that worked out!

Pat

Markfromcali

Instead of hope in some kind of positive affirmation for the future, it makes sense to just be aware of that possibility of peace. Peace is an abstract concept, when you just have some image of peace, then it has been limited to that idea. Peace is not dependent on particular forms, its a matter of the dynamic, how it all interacts. So I'd say its not a matter of everyone needing to believe in something, whether its hope or some other way of thinking - but a sort of collective intelligence.

patio34

Well put, Mark. I think all these aspects are true inasmuch as humans, because of their intelligence, are very diverse. Survival of our species will be a very strong determinant I think in not letting things go too far---I hope!

Pat

DanTheMan

What I mean is something like if someone told you you were going to inherit a billion dollars at age 50, 60, or 70, everything in between will be diminished somewhat because you're waiting for the big event. But what if it never was going to come? If a person keeps comparing this life to a utopia, then they're inherently dissatisfied with this life

Insightful.

I keep waiting for my ship to come in LOL

Really though, I don't enjoy life much, and don't know if I ever will. Too much baggage.

You seem to have a good take on things Patio, and I enjoy your posts.

Cassiline

What I mean is something like if someone told you you were going to inherit a billion dollars at age 50, 60, or 70, everything in between will be diminished somewhat because you're waiting for the big event. But what if it never was going to come? If a person keeps comparing this life to a utopia, then they're inherently dissatisfied with this life, which, imo, is the only chance they get.

You mean kinda like the broken promises of poloticians? They IMO affect quality of life more so than empty dreams.

Cassi

patio34

Hi Cassi,

What a good application of that! I was thinking of religious promises, but you're right---people in power cause a lot of disappointment and pain too.

Pat

frankiespeakin

I have hope for human kind because they have made it this far up the evolutionary chain to this form of consciousness so I feel there may be disaters and huge segments of the population may disapear but some how I intuitively feel we as a race will leave this planet and seed large portions of the universe.

It is just a guess but it seems somewhat probable.

Hope Negative? Why humans r violent

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