Every now and then, or more accurately, every day or so, I toy with the idea that everything I believe is completely wrong. If during my bouts with doubt, I am actually right that I am wrong, then things must be exactly the way they seem to be, and I have wasted my lifetime in an effort to find a pony in this pile of dung.
- What if we really do live in a world governed by the laws of nature that we, in our magnificent wisdom, we have divined?
- What if we really are nothing more than craven beasts who’s natural instinct is to lie, cheat, intimidate and kill in order to maximize our personal gain?
- What if our ignoble minds are actually nothing more than imperfect biological computers that do no more than calculate sums and differences of pain and pleasure?
- What if it is true that our ruthless actions, guided by our avaricious minds, can only be curbed by giving ourselves over to some higher authority: A God, or gods, malevolent or beneficent despots, or a book of rules?
- What if, in the genetic lottery, some of us are simply destined for greatness and others for ignominy, and we are each fated to be smart or stupid, happy or sad, good or evil, handsome or ugly, strong or weak, predators or victims, fat or thin, straight or gay, and our fate will be outed in the course of time?
- What if those of us who are on the losing end of the genetic lottery must simply make the most of what we are by choosing to work on ourselves to become smarter, stronger, more cunning, more amicable, happier, prettier, thinner, more good by toiling endlessly to perfect our imperfections?
- What if, in a perpetual game of “Let’s Make a Deal”, all love, friendship, altruism, loyalty, and charity are contingent upon personal gain, so that wherever and whenever we think we see these traits, we need only dig a bit deeper to find the craven beast disguised within?
- What if the fact of life is that we are surrounded by enemies and our only defense is a strong offense, and that we must gird our loins and build our ramparts in concentric circles around our nation, our state, our community, our family, and ultimately, our self.
- What if life really is a bitch: You are born, you struggle, and then you die, unless you have given over your mind and spirit to God, or gods, or despots, who promise to usher you into a better place so long as you’ve followed their rules?
- What if, in our magnificent wisdom, these things are actually true and we must therefore accept that it is foolishness to imagine that we might overthrow these “laws” to make a better world?
If I were a betting man I wouldn’t bet on these things being right. It seems to me that human race would have long ago gone the way of dinosaurs were these things so. But if I am right that I am wrong, then I would still not throw away my shovel,
Now excuse me while I get back to shoveling this dung. There must be a pony in here somewhere!
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