EPIPHANY OF THE DAY

 PASSWORDS

Although the claims abound, I’m not sure that it is the economy, specifically inflation, that has America teetering on the edge of anarchy. A simple anecdotal observation is that, on my trips to our local Walmart, the baskets I see driven by folks with MAGA hats or Confederate flag decals are filled with Mountain Dews, bottled water, and snacks.

Seems that there is something else troubling us. It may be that technology is outpacing our evolutionary adeptness. As a “near” Baby Boomer, I am distressed with passwords. The demand for them has become so ubiquitous and complex that I sometimes verge on the edge of despair. The ultimate, and sometimes most circuitous demands are those required to pay a bill online.

I can’t help but feel that if a someone wishes to hack into my account and pay my bill, what the hell?

So passwords exasperate me. But I don’t blame Joe Biden for them.

But wait. Suppose, just suppose, that I suffered a fall and woke with a penchant for watching Fox “news” ten hours a day on the television.

And suppose that for a majority of those ten hours, the pundits thereon preached an incessant stream of claims that Joe Biden was, in fact, the inventor and dictator of passwords.

Day after day the message lands. Joe Biden equals passwords. The word "password" sends me into an apoplectic frenzy like the character in the old "Niagra Falls" routine.

Would I then join The Cult?

Jeez, I hope not but the jury might offer a different opinion.

Oh, wait, can’t mention the word “jury.” That’s a current obsession on Fox.

EPIPHANY OF THE DAY

 TRIBAL INSTINCTS

We wonder what is happening to America. Civility as we once knew it has not only disappeared in politics, but it is now considered a weakness.

If one accepts the idea currently circulated among scientists and academics that evolutionary psychology is the main determinant of our actions, (and I know what a hard intellectual pill this is to swallow) the answer becomes clearer.

Some postulate that what we call a movement toward morality is not a spiritual movement, but rather a long process of socio-economic tradeoffs.

• We won’t raid your village if you don’t raid ours.
• I won’t try to kill you if you won’t try to kill me.
• We will trade goods with you for mutual gain.
• We will agree to use artificial objects, i.e., money for exchange instead of direct and laborious bartering.
• We will agree to live in peaceful harmony in cities to facilitate life’s needs and make life easier.
• Etc.

Accepting that, what we now see is simply a reversion to a more primitive, tribal state of evolution, spurred by fake news outlets and social media.

• Danger is everywhere.
• We must band together as a tribe for survival.
• The Tribe is the most sacred of all entities.
• We must destroy all who threaten the tribe.
• We must forget personal peace and pleasure to protect the tribe.
• We will develop a spiritual belief system to control large populations withing the tribe.
• Our leaders must offer strength, not goodness.

Kind of begins to make sense, doesn’t it?

An Alarming Epiphany

 AN ALARMING EPIPHANY

After working my way through Steven Plinker’s “Blank Slate” and following his recommendation to “The Nurture Assumption” by Judith Rich Harris, I’ve come to the unsettling conclusion that our actions depend, for the most part, on evolutionary psychology. Exhaustive research finds no demonstrable impact by the home. It explains so much, like how the military can turn average young people into raging warriors with a few weeks of manipulation. More alarmingly, it explains why people I once knew as caring, compassionate, and thoughtful individuals now embrace a culture of hatred, violence, and cult obedience.

We don’t have to take people forward, just help them step backwards toward the evolutionary psychology of tribalism, xenophobia, and violence. Going back is a much easier task than going forward. What we call moral improvement or the advance of civilization consists of difficult and slippery reciprocal agreements:

• We won’t attack your village if you won’t attack ours.
• We'll leave your property alone if you leave ours alone.
• We won't try to kill you if you don't try to kill us.

We achieve harmony not through some quest for righteousness but through actions that move us away from our primitive nature and toward a stable environment. Unsettling, but enlightening.