The human race has always fascinated me, and since I am a part of it, I suppose it should. We are strange and wonderful creatures, capable of such kind and generous acts, but also unspeakable evils. We are constantly in the pursuit of knowledge, yet we fear and sometimes even destroy what we don’t understand. But what makes us do these things? If one person is capable of committing despicable crimes, aren’t we all? And if one person can show love and friendliness to a complete stranger while expecting nothing in return, can’t everybody else?
Humans seem to be very good at disagreeing and falling out. Arguments, murders and even wars have started over a difference of opinion. For a long time I believed this was due to the fact that deep down, every person, myself included, was selfish. We all want what’s ours and a little more on top. If that means taking from somebody else then so be it.
We are all built the same, regardless of skin colour, religious belief or sexual orientation. So how is it that our views of the world and what we deem to be morally correct can differ so wildly? People spend so much time looking for the differences in each other but never stop to appreciate the similarities. Covid-19 has been a perfect example; instead of people uniting to eradicate a pandemic killing millions globally, we focussed on the ‘wear a mask’/’don’t wear a mask’ debate. It seems as though it is human nature to disagree with each other.
Is the motivation behind this solely to fight with those who do not share our views, or rather to support those who do share our views? I like to think it’s the latter, that we are not fighting just for the sake of fighting, but to support those who fight with us. Unfortunately, that often means losing sight of how damaging and costly it can be for others. If we took the time to evaluate our situations and look past the external differences, I think people would see that, emotionally, we are all the same. We value friendship above rivalries; kindness over selfishness; and love over hate. The motives behind people’s actions have been a source of intrigue for many years. Psychologists and philosophers from around the world have attempted to understand the mystery of the human mind, with so much still to learn. But one thing is for certain: we really are complex creatures.
COMPLEX CREATURES
