Both. We have a strong tendency to wrap our thinking in emotional conclusion and that can fail either way: towards excessive 'do-good'ing or towards stupid wars.
This post was edited by JakobA the unAmerican. at May 29, 2017 10:33 PM MDT
My first instinct was to say "blood hungry" because in the recent past I've felt most alive when I'm enraged. I'm starting to mellow out a bit in the past year though, and get back to my kinder self and I like that , lots. So it's a tie. Any emotion is better than being apathetic for me now. Cos I said so. I spent one year just being numb and that was no good! :)
I do believe being kind is better for our mental health and spirit in general. we don't always do what's best for us, but when we do, it's a really calm and beautiful feeling. :)
apathy has been something I was trying to reach but never succeded in reaching. the feeling of being numb can be quite horrible, but I don't think it's exactly the same as apathy. and I don't think one can ever really achieve compelete apathy..
Hmmm, I would say both. Our emotions are what make us human. Everyone has the same range from rage and anger to kindness and love. Some are more leaning towards one end than the other, like Hilter.
The killing and wars have been around for millennia. That hasn't changed. What has changed is our ability to help each other. Look at what happened during Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, and Matthew. People from around the USA came together to help each other. Different orginizations around the USA have many programs that help people world wide and locally. My dad's restraunt provides several meals for the workers of a few local non-profits in our area. The work they do there is amazing!
Hmm, it could also be how one views the world. Do they see the good, such as people coming together to help each other during disaster, feeding the homeless, providing gifts to children around the world (Operation Christmas Child), or do they only see the bad, such as the many terrorist attacks in Europe, war mongering leaders like North Korea, or violence in our streets like Chicago. It could go either way.
yes, exactly, warring has been a thing since the dawn of man, and remains present, don't you think that means it's much more instinctive and natural to us?
I just think that violence is the default state, while civility and kindness are contigent. thus, the latter could easily disappear at any moment, but the former will remain as it's in our blood, in our nature.. and we keep coming back to it.
if one would argue over which is more beneficial to us as a species, that's a different thing.
Let me rephrase. I didn't mean that the kindness was a new thing, I meant that we have developed new and improved ways to spread our kindness like we never could before.
I think that for the majority of people, violence isn't always the default answer.
I agree, violence isn't the default answer to most people.. in a modern society, where we've been re-programmed by years of civilization.
I was talking more about the the nature of it, if people were stripped of modernity and the means of a civil life, don't they retreat to that default state of savagery?
just to be clear, I am with you in that kindness and civility are better solutions to how our lives function as humans in our modern day. but every now and then, it's pretty clear to me that violence is the default.. cause we go back to it so easily.. like it never left, just got subdued.
JakobA the unAmerican. 