ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS HUMANITY
Have we ever thought, as we theoretically be called 'humans', what does the above title mean? Some of us might not even wonder of that, pondering that it is meaningless and a waste of time to be preoccupied with such foolish queries of philosophical interest. However, my personal view to this is that, exactly because of the fact we are human beings, we should be aware of what humanity means, in order to be at a position to acknowledge our personal boundaries of behavior and, therefore, act responsibly according to these.
At some point, I came across a picture on the internet with the above title written on it and i tried to decipher its meaning. So, there are two options according to my own view. Firstly, does it mean that humanity did not ever exist in reality, but only in fairytales? Or, maybe, may it possibly mean that humanity indeed existed in the past, where people did not live in luxuries, in some societies at certain parts of the world, where people cared for the others and lived harmonically? This ambiguity obviously cannot be solved from the one time to another. A lot of research should be conducted , much effort should be done, and of course thought is the major feature in order to define the origins of that complex word 'humanity'.
As far as the first option is concerned, some
people may support that humanity did not exist in the past, does not exist
today and therefore will not exist in the future. This may be considered as a
very pessimistic and farfetched opinion. But there are reasons which support
this, and they should be mentioned. Specifically, people are by their nature
wild and tough beings, that they only care for their own personal benefits and
happiness. The latter, is in most occasions defined by these people as the
satisfaction of material needs, rather than of spiritual ones. These people's
primary aim is to become rich and famous, as well as to be acknowledged of that
by others. They do not usually wish to accomplish anything in their life, as
they possess already everything they want. In reality, though, they lack of
sentiments. They may have a huge amount of money, they may be lavish, and
however, they are poor in their heart. They do not have a sense of empathy for other
people; they just express their sympathy, they pretend to feel sorry for them,
also regarding them as they are in lower position than themselves. Values such
as morality, dignity and love leave them indifferent as they cannot understand
them, because they consider them unreal. Dalai Lama has said “Love and
compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot
survive”. Thus, it is predictable that these creatures, not even people, do not
know what humanity means, and yet, they feel happy. How does it this happen?
Maybe they feel happily stupid. People who do not consist of sentiments are
plain animals. Maybe, it is unbearable and we have to accept that there are
amoral beings among us whose main goal is to destroy the other, regarding them
as their enemy and not as a person who coexists with them. How can humanity be
developed and enhanced in such situations of hatred and mere competition
between people? As Plato has claimed in his Republic, “Troubles of the states
and of humanity itself, as far people’s relationships are concerned, will
continue to exist until philosophers become kings or kings become philosophers
of the world. Only if political power and philosophy are into the hands of the
same person will the problems between societies be solved once and forever”. I
do passionately agree with Plato’s views, but I doubt if they can be
implemented today, in 21 first century, where politicians are corrupted by the
wealth, they make foolish promises that will never accomplish to people who
elect them.
Consequently, it is not at all
illogical to be claimed by pessimistic people but at the same time realists
that humanity only exists in fairytales, because life as it is has indicated
that people, as needs grow up, they tend to ask for more and, in order to
acquire them, they forget their moral restraints and they do not hesitate to
deceive the other and behave arrogantly. On the contrary, at the fairytales,
which are stories addressed to children, although there is always a villain, the
person who helps eagerly other people and symbolizes the goodness is the one
that wins and everybody is happy at the end.
However, is
our criticism over this subtle theme very strong? Or again we look at it
through a highly realistic view? If we want to find out the truth we have to
face it whatsoever.
It should be
clear, today, that humanity is not a trend as many of us think, a fashion,
which at a certain period of time is on, while at another time is considered
passé. I feel the need to mention that, because it is observed that there are
some among us who adjust their behaviors according to the people they every
time face. To make it more specific, a large number of people tend to protect
only the members of their family or their relevants , friends ,or people they
are familiar with and they like to protect. This is not humanity. Although the
intentions of those deeds are love and affection, which are prerequisites of
humanity, this behavior cannot be called humanity. Thus, why this behavior is
not theoretically humane? Because, people who exactly have the opportunity to
reject other groups of people without having specific reasons of doing so,
automatically they do not respect neither them nor the principles of human
rights. Humanity is when all people care for other people ( not only for their
closely related persons) and they show their care both with deeds and words.
The aforementioned view is closely linked with the theory of racism too, on the
grounds that these people can also express their antipathy in a more direct way
in order to show both their disapproval of those minorities and their will to
be excluded from the society.
As far as the
second option is concerned, it is not difficult to admit that humanity indeed
exists today, in the 21 first century, in certain regions. The striking finding
is that people of mainly developing countries are those who support mostly the
definition of the word “human”. People
who live in the third- world countries are human beings that care for each
other. Although the situations they face there are adverse and hostile due to
the poverty and the lack of basic resources, such as water, food, medication
and clothing, these people have developed true sentiments of love and
care. The developing third- world
countries paradoxically are developed
–full of values and true people and sentiments- countries, because it is not
the state of wealth which determines the life of those people but what really
counts is the state of people’s personalities themselves. I know many people
would contradict this opinion, claiming that people who lack of
basic supplies (they live in dirty houses, they do not have clothes to wear,
they do not have access to education, and so many more things) they do not know
what feelings to develop. But they have learnt something very important: to
appreciate the little things they have and be grateful for that, be grateful
and happy for the fact they have each other, their children and that they live.
