Normal?

Late April snow in Denver always feels like a shock.  Of course, it shouldn’t since snow is possible even in May.  But due to some nice warm weather we were ready for spring.  The deck furniture was uncovered, the umbrellas were out, trees were budding, anticipating all that spring warmth.  Instead, we got a few inches of cold snow.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the changing seasons.  Even the surprise snow is somehow part of the “real” world of weather.  That world has good and bad consequences, it’s normal.

Human activities, both good and bad, are probably also “normal”.  The ugliness that I believe is abnormal is violence.  How can humans cause other humans such misery and pain without some sense of remorse?  An easy answer is it’s evil, the devil, demons, something that is not human.

It does seem that a lot of political noise is encouraging violence.  When the people who are shouting about violence are called out, they say they are not encouraging violence, even though they are.  Eventually those people will drop all pretense and just state it plainly, violence is okay.  Why?  Violence is okay because it is directed at people who are not “normal humans”.  Dehumanizing our enemies is how we deal with the contradiction of harming our fellow humans.

The other reason is power.  To have control over other people seems like a common goal for humans.  There does seem to be a genetic need to be the top dog (whatever in the hell that means), and to dictate to others what they will think, how they will act, who they will fear.  Power!

Now we all know this is not everyone.  There is some percentage of our species that wants power, maybe it’s 10% or 70%, I don’t know; but it is not everyone.  Those of us who want power are obsessed by that need.  They will do, and have done, almost anything to quench that lust for power.  Killing your neighbor, not a problem, killing a few thousands evil ones, not a problem, lying about everything, not a problem—well, you can see the pattern.  The lust is uncontrollable.  The end justifies the means.

The odd thing to me is why the percentage of people who don’t want power follow these usually evil people.  I don’t have an answer for that.  At times I’ve thought it is because they are stupid.  Ignorance is a common factor in many human decisions about almost everything.  “I just didn’t realize it would end this way!”  “I guess I thought they would not go that far!”

I’m probably naïve, but I believe most people everywhere want basically the same thing.  A good life, with freedom to be what they want to be, live in peace, have an opportunity to succeed, to care for their family, have good health and wish no harm to anyone else.  I also believe most people are tolerant, forgiving, and caring.  Yes, my name is Pollyanna.

Whether that is the world or not, I will choose to live in the belief that those are the traits of most humans.  Too often the exceptions to those qualities end up being leaders.  Why the worst (occasionally it is the best) of us end up being leaders is a hard question to answer.  Fear, of course, is always a reason for picking the bully to lead the pack, but does it really make any sense?  Most bullies are little people who will only attack the weak, which usually ends of being that leader’s followers in the end.

On those few occasions when we picked the best of us to be leaders, it does not always work out.  A good leader wants to make things better.  Calmer, less chaos.  A good leader wants to help everyone, not just the few with power.  That becomes a threat to the power needy crowd.  Equality is an ugly concept in their world.  That good leader will always rub the power folks the wrong way and, therefore, they will attack, and attack, and attack; until that good leader is gone.

What should we do.  We need leaders, but we need to be more cautious about who we choose.  Respecting all people is the same as respecting ourselves.  Hate is the enemy of happiness.  Somehow, we must find a way to live together without violence and hate.  Those rather common human attributes are too often the driving force that keeps us from achieving the best as humans, love, goodness, tolerance, forgiveness, and common sense.

My mother always insisted that her children were to be polite and respectful.  Now that was not always the case (especially on my brother’s part), but she was consistent in her belief that those qualities were required of everyone.  My mother would say the commonsense thing to do would be to pick your leader based on who is polite and respectful.  Now she did not live in the social media world of anger and inappropriate language, but I would think she would still think it’s best to have leaders who are not jerks.

VOTE FOR ME, I’M NOT A JERK!