The Universal Skill Among Species

 

The lowest common denominator, a behavioural trait observed in many species.

"Intimidation." Observed in many mammals, the leader of the herd. Survival of the fittest? Not necessarily, the individual with the healthiest biological indicators, however not of the physical size and strength, is unlikely to be the successor through intimidation, to be the leader. In the natural world, this is "populism". As Charles Darwin observed, the survival of the fittest, future generations carry the genetic traits of both physical strength and abilities for intimidation. Social control.

As history shows us, careers, professions, have enabled many of our species to have multiple generations of comfort. This past century has showed the greatest amount of change, perhaps in all of human history. Therefore, careers and professions spanning multiple generations have become obsolete. No longer could a person aspire to be a sail maker, highly honed their skill, and pass their business on to their children. Harness and saddles were another highly developed and respected career. The career or profession which spanned multiple generations in the past has been replaced. Replaced by the need for multiple career changes. The decision to engage in higher education, possibly for a career that is obsolete before the higher learning is completed. The new career may endure a decade or two.

From this current point of view, a few observations. The first observation is that a highly developed personal skill of "intimidation". It is universally transferable throughout our species. Individuals with a highly tuned understanding, achieving a hold positions socially and economically and receive higher renumeration. In today's world, these people are sought after by multinational corporations specifically for these attributes, which result in corporate expansion, higher share value, higher dividends to shareholders.

The second observation, it's the same as the first except for one subtle difference. Today's highly successful global economy results from "The Three-Legged Stool". Colonialism, capitalism and Christianity. All three legs of this stool require high intimidation. So what is the one observable foundation of colonialism which has attained the highest sophistication? "Christianity", the single component of colonialism, which is the cohesion, the glue, of the entire social, geopolitical undertaking. Many centuries have developed psychological skills among clergy that keep social hierarchy. Clergy, as a career choice, becomes a career with the least probability of obsolescence. Over the centuries, clergy manage populism, coerce their followers by whatever means necessary. For colonialism is simply the spread of ideology managed by clergy, through acts of war and missionary outreach. There are only two paths, assimilation or genocide. Today we deal with, and expose, inaccurate historical records, hereditary scars. Current global efforts are for universal solidarity, fairness, of all members of our species. For example; there are no genetic or biological barriers to the indigenous individual from New Zealand, becoming our next “Einstein”.

Over the past centuries, there is a common thread among Western European societies. The common thread, highly refined by the Greeks and the Romans. "The Games". During our current era of "games", athletes have become the most highly paid of our culture. Charisma and intimidation, "the enforcer", a common denominator of today's team sports. It is common for us to observe sporting events nationally and internationally syndicated, where team players exhibit ritual to display their pride and solidarity to their religious affiliation. However, a social change is taking place. "Toxic behaviour", "toxic masculinity" are being revealed throughout the media to be the "predators". The previously unspoken boundaries and hereditary foundations of power are being exposed. Highly achieved careers are being shattered, chains of toxic predatory power revealed in the media, by victims observing other victims coming forward. A wave of unacceptable behaviour becoming clearly visible across many societies. "The old boys’ network", "the way we do things around here". The most obvious common thread throughout, the involvement of clergy. The de facto management organization of power and authority. "Everything happens for a reason." Perhaps in the "fake it before you make it" realm of social behaviour, clergy are the most highly refined social structure. The highly refined social structure for the hereditary dissemination of toxic behaviour and narcissism. Toxic behaviour and narcissism are close cousins, one cannot exist without the other. Colonialism and capitalism cannot exist unless society condones and perpetuates these behaviours.

Starting With Two

Photo by Jens Lelie on Unsplash

Breaking it down to just two, dividing people into two major categories. Those that are inquisitive, and striving for knowledge, those that find intimidation the most efficient approach. After all, being inquisitive and gaining knowledge requires basic skills learned in early childhood. It requires a concerted effort. As a species we have many more attributes than most of the other life forms on this biosphere. Therefore, because we can improve our survival skills throughout life, being inquisitive and keeping knowledge, being self-reliant, has many positive attributes. However, as we observe in many other species, physical power, intimidation, is the predominant normal. In many large mammals, the dominant male controls the social structure, and therefore keeps the dominant genetic lineage.

Perhaps, that our species has always had these two broad divisions. Our current time of global communication simply allows populism to find its echo chambers. The very personal identity, self-esteem and self-confidence, gravitate towards their echo silos. Alternative facts and fake news go viral. Perhaps it could be said that these extremely emotionally charged members of our society can upset democratic processes just through the spread of viral misinformation.

Homegrown terrorism, individuals super charged emotionally, emboldened by viral messages perhaps pushed to their breaking point, "well somebody has to do something, I guess I have to."

Can we trace this back to an earlier beginning? Perhaps. By this, I ponder causation for earlier beginning in individuals. Simply hereditary continuance. Yes, there are natural inherited attributes, brought to my attention that perhaps 50% of our adult persona. The remaining 50% is therefore available for us to nurture and develop. If this remaining 50% from the earliest age is channeled by parental guidance heavily slanted by social and cultural norms. It's the natural desire for parents to guide their children towards a life of social acceptance, and therefore the default outcome is conformity. A higher family social involvement in community, precipitates the natural tendency towards the cloning of behaviours. Whether this be accomplished through gentle encouragement, or intimidation, the young mind is shaped. There are many directions, two that come to mind are; religious teachings, group team sport participation. Perhaps most times both directions are being pursued. It is in this regard that I suggest the following. Both religious teachings, and group team sports are hierarchal and authoritarian by design. The young mind is conditioned to adhere to authority. By design hierarchal power and authority. Climb the ladder to success, be a leader, maybe you will eventually be at the top? Purity of the structure is foremost, individuals may be fallible however the structure may never be tarnished. This appears to be the trend in religious affiliations, sports teams, as well as academic institutions. Perhaps it may be fair to say that all human social groups constructed are infallible by nature, as maintained by populism, despite proven documented indiscretions.

Keep in mind that during the earliest impressionable years of the child, parental guidance is both the facilitator and the responsible agent for underdevelopment of natural skills. A strict and regimented path of development discourages two-way communication in both religious studies and team sports. It is all about the future goal of being on a winning team, and socially fitting in. It is for this reason that the underdevelopment of natural skills is endangered. In order for the young mind to develop their natural inquisitive nature, curiosity and self-identity. Here begins the contrast. The young mind left to discover and learn, with simple nurturing and guidance, develops a self-confidence and self-esteem based on discovery, learning and experience. A path through life begins. The previously mentioned direction is about conformity and adherence to authority.

Over the past years it is been my opinion that in the process of normal social interactions, shared knowledge and experiences requires none of the participants to assume a position of authority. If the social interaction is between people of similar inquisitive nature, and curiosity, then all participants will learn from the experience. However here becomes the divergence of social harmony. Social interactions, where one or more of the individuals come from a background of the hierarchal and authoritative path, friction and dysfunction are the highly probable interactions. The individuals from hierarchal and authoritative paths default in most cases to assuming their personal role as the authoritative individual. It is here suggested that an assumed authoritative role is driven by ego. Self-confidence is the close cousin of ego, knowledge and understanding and experience are seldom required. It's about posture. "Fake it till you make it." Why? Perhaps there is a very simple answer. And that answer is, when the inquisitive nature has been suppressed or oppressed, it simply never developed. An individual devoid of self-esteem and self-confidence because of self-development. When knowledge, experience and self-development skills are missing then domination and intimidation fills the void. Perhaps then populism is simply collections of echo chambers of those deprived of personal self-development through no fault of their own. They simply don't know any better. Those that realize this, simply conclude that they are so far behind that continuing their path of intimidation is their only option.

There is little doubt that we can conclude the following. Members of our species which are immersed in descendents of capitalist, colonialist and Christian societies have the highest dysfunctional social and economic overall status. Internal denial of narcissistic, toxic behaviours. Glorification of the social and political structure. Assimilation, genocide and intimidation repeated throughout the centuries. This is not a sustainable program of endeavour! Our future depends upon members of our society understanding that we must interrupt and break these hereditary social repetitive cycles. We must stop the rigid paths of development. We need to step back and allow for the young inquisitive mind to show possibilities of greatness and then nurture and guide for each young mind towards the possibility of being the best that it can be. Unfettered by tradition and cultural expectations. We create toxic behaviours in our society, because we as a society inhibited the development of any alternative life path. We as a society, have created the minds of those who are now outside of the social normal expectation, drug addicted, homeless. Home-grown terrorists were homemade, by hereditary ideology. It’s a “race to the bottom”, of elevating those most capable of management of power and authority. For it is these traditional and cultural expectations that have brought us to such a dysfunctional state of multiculturalism. Stop shaping the young minds to be a mirror of ourselves, or our parents and grandparents wanted of us to be.

Concentric Circles, our fate?

Throughout history, we have the archaeological evidence of many, many collapsed civilizations.

At in the past, there was a crumb of knowledge. That, for a community to achieve stable self sufficiency, a population of approximately three hundred fifty thousand. During our current era, this threshold sets into motion the internal commerce to self replicate with a notable lower need for outsourcing. The time to achieve this density throughout history varies, dependent upon the advancement of the technology of the era. 

Consider for a moment an analogy to the life cycle of a Cottonwood tree. Each year’s growth ring brings new social height to the species. Each growth ring represents the additional layer, considerably larger in displacement, to the previous layers. For example, a growth ring from the century mark would be considerable area displacement compared to a growth ring from the tenth year. During the later years of growth, the inner core declines, and core rot is the eventual near end life cycle. Eventually, the height and mass of the plant, the weakened core, and a high wind event will bring the tree down. The natural life cycle is completed. 

Perhaps a comparison of our human civilizations, past and present, can foreshadow the certainty that awaits. Let’s for a moment set an arbitrary threshold for internal commercial sustainability at a population of five hundred thousand, and an end point of civilization collapse at five thousand years. Internal core rot, perhaps beginning about the three thousand year mark. This is a threshold when the expansion and establishment of new outer growth declines, and the inner core has already declined and collapse because of infrastructure failure. Water, sewer, bridges and other public service infrastructure. The tax revenue collected from the reduced new outer ring is not sufficient for the repair and replacement of core infrastructure. Inflation has ballooned, civic government has ballooned, the entire population centre is top heavy with annual budget costs and trimming in recent decades, delaying the timely replacement of structures at the core. Technological advances of the time of this population area allow for people to retire at an earlier age and live decades longer. This then becomes the additional burden of civic government, along with yearly inflation, to fund from slower growth at the outer new growth areas.  

For further consideration we have observed that ice ages occur about every one hundred and twenty thousand years. There is geological evidence for three, and further evidence that there have been five in the earth’s past. During these natural event the sea level has changed by about one hundred and twenty meters, or over three hundred feet of fluctuation. Observing that life flourishes along coastlines, with this knowledge we know coastlines are in continual movement. Therefore, our civilizations of the past were oblivious to this knowledge, and decline because of natural displacement that sustained them in their era.

This was this morning’s thoughts, more to be expanded upon. Insight is paramount. 

In The Abscence of Nurture

Photo by Rebecca Campbell on Unsplash

Throughout the natural world we observe offspring being nurtured by parents, or the social community. In many species, this perpetuates the learned survival skills. Observe a subtle difference between parental nurturing, and establishment of conformity.

Nurturing will establish survival skills relevant to the surroundings. Conformity will establish behaviour that is peer acceptable. There is little or no acceptable deviation from conformity, because of individual experience and understanding. It is social group solidarity. For the individual to engage in behaviour outside the social conformity will cause negative consequences, regardless of the positive outcome from the deviation. "Self reliance" is discouraged, and chastised to maintain the authority of the group. It's as though, training a puppy, with a rolled up newspaper. Community pecking order establishes the authoritarian leader. Predominantly an alpha personality, maintains their rise to power, through intimidation. Logic and reason are the enemies of authoritarianism. Common western law is based on individuals judged by their peers. This is contradictory to most group dynamics. whereas, beta, as well as alpha personality types, elevate the most intimidating alpha to the position of leader. 

 When nurturing and inquisitive nature are discouraged and chastised, then directed with conformity, the natural development is truncated, and emotional scaring begins. It usually last for a lifetime. With insufficient knowledge and experience, an alternative path of understanding is unlikely. Therefore, toxic behaviour is intergenerational. It is sustained by dominant alpha ego. During the early developmental years; “the world is your oyster, be all that you can be”, then later, endless societal systematic intimidation to conform.