In the nucleus of our being we are animals, with all the characteristic qualities that go with that. It is not just an image of the past, but an actuality of the present. We can all shout that we are people. But none of us can rightfully claim that we are less animal now than when we were before civilisation tethered us on a short leash. In an extreme situation that threatens our safety, the leash is not strong enough to save us from our reactions: we are like cornered animals. When we are desperate, we are worse than animals in the wild. That is why we have more reason to fear each other than other animals. We are probably the only species that can scare itself! Through the media we watch the forms of human violence everywhere in the world: day after day, hour after hour. Human violence is more extreme than the violence between wild animals.

Habitually we have taken-for-granted that civilised people don’t say or do uncivilised things. But that is questionable when we learn how well-spoken, well-educated people can design and make terrifying weapons to kill each other more efficiently.
Perhaps this might be the right time to seriously consider if civilisation really works in favour of our survival. If we assume that life on Earth has a particular purpose and is therefore a meaningful phenomenon, we must conclude that life can only play a functional role in a greater process, lying outside the periphery of our perception. Such an assumption is the main source of our religious beliefs. It seems to me that the main task of everything living on the planet is the preservation of its own existence: individually, racially and as sort.
Since no one can be sure of knowing the ‘greater’ truth of it all, we’re a little scared. Who knows, there just could be some kind of deity who has total control and may be experimenting with different forms of life on Earth; like a spoiled brat, wanting to be constantly praised, admired and worshipped by its own creations.
There may be many people too scared not to believe in the idea of a personified deity that has to be obeyed to earn favours: like a good harvest, a profitable future, winning a battle or a fertile woman to bless us all with more children etc. As such, religion is a psychological aid to keep us on ‘the straight and narrow.’ It is also used to convince the gullible that they will be richly rewarded after their demise, if they fulfill the rules and obey what the self-appointed servants of their deity tell them. Those who refuse to let themselves be ruled and curtailed by any kind of deity are ordered to be severely punished.
This deity-concept, deeply rooted in programming and conditioning over millennia, has brought about more confusion, slavery and bloodshed than enlightenment and freedom. Is religion a psychological aid to help us in our deep-rooted fear for what we do not know? Is it something that keeps us hoping? Has it made us live in harmony with ourselves and each other? The fear for a universe without a deity, where everything has come about by chance, is perhaps too deeply rooted in the collective memory of our species.
Long ago, we set something in motion that became irreversible and no power in the universe could change it. This ongoing process has developed at an astounding speed into something threatening, not only for our species, but for all the other forms of life on Earth. We call that inevitable process technology, and everything on Earth is affected by it. We have become addicted to it and have a love-hate relationship with it. Now we are completely dependent on it for our survival. Seeing all that, how are we responding? When it gets really out of hand and we can’t see a way out, life will be more dangerous. The churches, temples, synagogues and mosques will be filled; believers will be praying, motivated by fear and hope in a rapidly changing world with more complexity and complication every day.
There is a disturbing division between those who want particular measures to be taken and those who do not. Who will be the guilty and who the innocent? Whom can we blame in the name of whatever is being worshipped? The ‘Wild West’ is not far away, and never before have there been there so many people who own a weapon. With the growth of that phenomenon, the collective fear increases, inevitably turning into collective anger with all its horrible consequences. Whether we like it or not, we are all part of it.
What can be done to prevent the worst? Nothing! It may be best to go with the facts of life, preparing ourselves physically and psychologically. We may learn to survive in a world that will never be the same again. Many of us will remain insecure, angry and suspicious. The ‘ordinary’ people no longer know what they can safely think and talk about without risking their lives.
Our house is on fire. Shall we awaken those who are asleep? Or swiftly move on to save our own skins?