MINDLESS MUSINGS

Carl Jung called it our shadow. George Lucas called it the Darkside. We all have it, whether we choose to accept it or not. Anger, hatred, greed, fear…the lot. Side by side with love, kindness, courage and compassion. Those selfish scammers are one side of the same coin, or maybe one of those dice with multiple sides is a better description (polyhedral?). The cooperators, the leaders, the followers, the swindlers, the adventurers, cowards, fighters, thinkers, morons etc. we are descendants of all of them.

Survival of the fittest is a ruthless determiner of whether the next generation makes it or not. If the competition is improving, you better be sure your offspring does the same. The successful species were the ones that adapted most effectively to the environment. Evolution is a lot more complicated than it first appears, so I will keep my foray brief. The idea that species genetically altered in the name of maximum efficiency in terms of survival and reproduction resulted in the venom, fangs, claws, poison, camouflage. However, it also shaped a species behaviour. A single lion would instinctively reject any notion of attacking a full-grown elephant. A pack would need to be extremely desperate to make the attempt – King of the Jungle title be damned! Pick your battles wisely and get to pass on your strong + smart genes.

Regardless of the genetic evolution theory, my informal egghead theory continues; learn – improve – pass it on. Most species, humans included, concluded that working in packs was a good idea. So ‘survival of the fittest’ was not just a matter of who could genetically mutate more effectively. It was also heavily determined by how you optimized the gifts you were given and a ‘pack’ of wolves is much more formidable than a lone one.

“If you want to go fast, go alone.

If you want to go far, go together”

African proverb

Now comes the ugly all too human twist, self-interest. Shitting on your own pack for your own personal gain is a distinctly human trait. Our self-awareness and superior intellect have a distinct flaw – knowledge of our mortality and an ego that sees itself as separate from the whole.

Scar from “The Lion King” is the perfect embodiment of this self-serving bastardry (animals- yes not even hyenas- don’t engage in this type of treachery). The pride holds power over the domain and is confident of the continuation of this situation. At this fledgling stage most of the pride is still in survival mode and remain steadfast to the group. A few probably grasped the soundness of their circumstances but understand that the solidarity of the group is crucial to its strength. A little bit of pilfering for themselves and their closest (you get we’re talking about humans now, right?) and dearest but risking the unity of the group for higher standing was a dumb idea.

Scheming and disloyalty erode trust and will ultimately weaken the tribe from within. The self-serving nature of those extremely unique individuals was so focused on gain that the potential risks were negligible.

Those initial successful tribes spawned the original blueprint for what would eventually be persons diagnosed as psychopathic, sociopathic or narcissistic. The difference being that those ancient avaricious assholes were taking a much bigger gamble for a much smaller prize – but of course, the game was only just beginning.

The dawn of survival of the fittest within the tribe (a distinctly human flaw) was now a go.  –  these villains were willing to fuck the whole operation for some extra status in a tribe that was under constant threat. They too have multiplied and evolved; and walk among us today. Those genes have filtered through to us because like it or not a lot of those pricks were successful.