selfish bastards

SELFISH BASTARDS
Every pertinent article comments contains some form or another of the statement that people are selfish bastards. Yet, we keep getting statements such as it is advantageous to trade, or it is immoral to attack first or something similar. If people are indeedily doodily bastard coated bastards with creamy bastard filling ( not mine-stolen from TV’s “Scrubs” ) than it follows that they won’t always do the right thing. They won’t always trade instead of attack. They won’t always stay on the defensive. They won’t always refrain from eating each other during famines. When I bring these things up, half of you turn your head in shame, dramatically place the back of your hand to your forehead and declare that you are suffering from an attack of the vapors. Stop being a pussy, Nancy. These are the realities of life outside of the Oil Age. I grant you that more often than not, trade rather than war is the norm. And I grant you that 99% of the time cannibalism is not practiced. And not everyone engages in preemptive strikes to steal a potential enemies resources before being attacked themselves. But the only reason for that is that bad behavior is not beneficial at the time.
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Everyone constantly performs cost benefit analysis before making any decision. If they are rewarded by good behavior, they will act as good as gold. If they can be rewarded for bad behavior, that is what they will do. Even acting properly without immediate feedback is subject to this. Either they want to get into heaven or karma will reward them for good behavior. Even the non-religious act as if their behavior will be paid back in kind. I don’t argue that good behavior isn’t the desired state of affairs. I’m saying that human nature will always prevail and we are a selfish bunch. And why not? It is a survival mechanism, programmed into our DNA. When the individual is rewarded by sacrificing for the group, that is why it happens. Not because they care for others in the group but because they care for themselves. Even good behavior for family is outside our control. We act by instinct, not moral superiority. And don’t think I’m being nihilistic. I’m being paranoid and negative, but realistic. We gladly bury our face in the popcorn bowl as we watch grizzlies or tigers catch their prey and start tearing them apart as they are still alive and suffering. The predators have no other need than survival. And despite the superiority attitude we bring about ourselves, we are still naked apes. We act on survival. Morality is how we justify sacrificing for the common good, but it is also how we justify normally bad behavior ( smiting the godless heathen, pacifying the lesser races, bringing democracy to the Muslim fanatics, saving others from their own leader, bringing capitalism to the communists, etc. )
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Are we being totally blind by our upbringing? Are we ignorant enough that we can’t see past the propaganda? A lot of man years go into programming us to act according to the groups interest. Again, it is a survival mechanism. The group keeps us alive. But we also have to acknowledge those in the group who benefit for themselves. Is it imperative that males are bribed and/or forced to support their offspring. Of course. Do plenty of females take advantage of that and break up the family for financial gain? Of course. Does support of the geriatrics benefit the whole group? Of course. They teach wisdom and storehouse knowledge. Free babysitters and teachers, and they don’t eat much. Has a huge pampered class of welfare recipients used this historic necessity to live their last years by golf courses in Florida? Of course. Does trade benefit everyone, increasing luxury and being a support mechanism for localized disaster? Sure. Do tribes go to war anyway when they think they can steal more than trade will bring? Duh.
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We have to act like we all want to get along. Trade and peace benefit us. But we always have to prepare for being turned on. As soon as it benefits your former friend, they will become your enemy. This is simply common sense, and it is a shame that our pampered lifestyles have blinded us to it. Of course we’ve been able to ( mostly ) live peacefully together. We’ve had a surplus of resources. Had. Past tense. Even if nine times out of ten trade rather than war prevails, you had better be ready for war. That ten percent will bite you in the ass.
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