Weird thoughts and equality

[chrismac]

It's pretty late here and I've had this weird thought in my head which surfaces from time to time, so tonight seemed as good a time as any to spit it out:

 

Have you ever thought about how we all pretty much start out as equals; just a bunch of infants parked like cars in a lot at the maternity ward. All about the same size, with pretty much the same thoughts - disorganized and utterly undeveloped though they may be. Sexuality isn't an issue, nor, really are our looks. We all speak the same language.

 

Fast forward a few years, and differences develop. As our bodies and minds mature, traits inherited as well as behaviors learned in our environment begin to take hold. On the physical side, some grow taller, faster, larger. Some show a spark of intelligence beyond their peers. Self perception grows, encouraged by parents, teachers, and society in general which tells us we are "better" or "worse", and the pecking order begins.

 

As adults, we carry this perception of ourselves everywhere. It defines us. When I meet someone who is so totally different from me (I don't think in terms of "better" or "worse" - for instance, I could think Steven Hawking is far "better" than me in an extremely profound sense), especially physically different, such as 6'4" tall, extremely good looking, packing awesome muscle and a nice tan - I think about the two of us side by side in that maternity ward. Who could tell just by looking at the babies what they'd turn out to look like later? Same goes for celebrities, sports stars, CEOs, etc.

 

Much later, if we're fortunate to live that long, we go back to being more the same. At age 94, it will be hard to distinguish most of us apart. You probably wouldn't be able to guess if I was once a mountain climber, librarian, male escort, or even bodybuilder. Certainly by 104 you won't be able to tell. We all end up as dust at some point.

 

What is the nature of competition? Which attributes will best serve us at the final quarter of our lives? Who will really care that we were "once" great at something, or just pretty good? Few actually do things or become so famous that they become immortal. Name more than 1 person who lived between 3700-3600 B.C. from memory.

 

The point? Nothing really. It just reminds me personally of the qualities people (individuals) possess that really makes them unique and fascinating.

 

It's usually the things that, God willing and our minds intact, we'll still have at the end of our days.

[Will]

Just now I read your post straight through without stopping, clicked on "Reply" without stopping, and started this post without stopping. Usually that's not a good idea. Usually it's far better if I let my thoughts set for a bit until the flavors meld and they firm up. Indeed, I might have more to say on this subject later today, but for the moment I just wanted to thank you for it and to encourage you to keep writing. (Speaking technically and professionally, I sincerely hope that you keep a daily journal, as you have a real gift with words and it would be a shame not to develop it. Forgive me if that sounds presumptuous and patronizing, but I'd rather err on the side of encouraging than discouraging. There's a Schoolmarm in me.)

 

Now that I stop to gather my thoughts for the next paragraph, I see that I started all this too soon. It needs to marinate for the day. But I'm going to post this little thank-you anyhow, just to say, "Thanks."

[Rod Hagen]

>Now that I stop to gather my thoughts for the next

>paragraph, I see that I started all this too soon. It needs

>to marinate for the day.

 

Sorry to pull an Ethan, but I think you mean "marinade".

[Boston Guy]

Nope.

 

A marinade is what something marinates in.

 

Although I suppose it could happen, I think it's unlikely we'll see Will mixing up verbs and nouns. :-)

 

BG

[Rod Hagen]

ooops, you're right.

[catnip]

Those aren't weird thoughts at all, maybe a bit nocturnal, but it's a worthwhile contemplation. Inequalities are a predicament of life: some thrive, some survive and some die. Though I think they are present in some ways at the beginnings and ends of life, too. Medical advances have greatly curtailed infant mortality and child deaths, but only a few hundred years ago it was common for mothers to bear lots of children, with the assumption that only a percentage of them would be lucky/healthy/strong enough to make it to adulthood. At the other end, there can be huge differences in life spans and in attitudes about aging. I know people in their 80's and 90's who work, travel, are artists, play sports, and say that they still feel like they're 25 (maybe not physically, but definitely psychically). Then there are people who are ready to throw in the towel, or worse, lose their health or mind at 70. I agree that differences between people are much more noticeable from adolescence to middle age, though.

 

The challenge is in balancing the fact that we all live in community and need to reconcile the fact inequalities exist with the fact that survival also depends on how strongly a community functions together. How evolved a community is can be measured in how well it manages not letting inequalities of its members cause it harm. The bad economy right now is a symptom of the inequality of wealth and, more so, the unequal access to wealth and to information given to a few (i.e., Dick Cheney's golfing buddies). In the gay community there are all kinds of inequalities and their corresponding trade offs. Handsome escorts with the promise of hot sex are balanced by more-monied (usually) johns who bring the promise of financial security. When I was paid to have sex back in college, the fact that someone was helping me out by taking care of me financially made me attracted, and grateful, to them in a way that would not have occurred had we met in another situation. Lesbians and gay men have found that, for the gay community to be stronger politically and socially, they have to get past their differences (probably a better word than inequality here, but I think the principle is similar) and use each other's strengths to function more strongly as a group.

 

For me, the two main things that bring comfort when I think how unfair inequality is are the relationships I have in my life that give me support and love despite all of my own perceived shortcomings, and the drive to seek out the things that inspire passion in me, whether it is in art, work, or play. When I'm passionately involved in something or someone, I don't need as much to see myself in comparison with anyone else, since my absorption makes thoughts of comparison irrelevant.

[bluenix]

I tend not to think of aging as a continuum, because formation and deterioration strike me as independent processes.

 

And I would argue that individuation does not, as you seem to aver, dissipate with age. The physical changes accompanying old age befall everyone, but in the absence of disease or injury what makes a man himself remains intact. Character, intelligence or the lack thereof, fundamental physical attributes, etc.

 

Your observations of infants, adults and the elderly prove only that appearances are superficial and lack predictive certainty. Or, you can't judge a book by its cover.

 

Immortality (such a charming human pretension) is something else altogether. And equality has nothing to do with anything you wrote here.

 

I claim.

 

>Name more than 1 person who lived

>between 3700-3600 B.C. from memory.

 

Isn't that Pre-Bronze Age? Which means pre-writing, which in turn means no can do?

 

Good post. Carry on.

[chrismac]

>>Name more than 1 person who lived

>>between 3700-3600 B.C. from memory.

>

>Isn't that Pre-Bronze Age? Which means pre-writing, which in

>turn means no can do?

 

Chinese caligraphy originated just over 6000 years ago.

 

>Good post. Carry on.

 

Thanks!

 

 

:-)