3 ways our antiquated instincts are failing us (part 3 of 4) – Instincts have fractured us as a species

So far in this series we’ve discussed how the introduction of agriculture into the human timeline 12,000 years ago flung human beings into such a rapid period of growth that it outpaced the ability for our instincts to evolve, causing many of them to become misleading, or at best, flawed. Consequently, we’re seeing increased stress, anxiety, depression, and conflict.

This article focuses on how our instincts can drive us apart.

Let’s discuss how our instinctual tendencies toward imitation, loyalty, fear, resentment, jealousy, rivalry, aggression, revenge, and denial can cause us to work against each other.

In the last article I suggested that “Imitation has become the driving force in a competition with each other for status,” in relation to material consumption.

Pushing this idea further, we need to recognize that imitation is a natural part of connecting as human beings.

Healthy relationships with friends, family, coworkers, partners and influencers should reinforce positive growth, accountability, productivity and self-confidence. And we should offer the same to others. This is the good side of imitation.

The dark side of imitation appears when our actions result from loyalties to those who lead us down destructive, controlling and/or divisive^(def) paths. Here are a few examples:

• Abusive or unfit parents whose children bully other children at school
• Self-obsessed business leaders who harass and demean certain colleagues while mentoring others
• All, and let me repeat this… ALL Politicians who espouse hatred, divide nations, leverage power for personal gain and cronyism^(def), and the like
• Religious icons who preach and instigate intolerance and violence toward members of differing belief systems or social groups
• Media outlets who spin stories for entertainment, virality^(def), and opinion promotion, while claiming to present real news and facts
• Celebrities who flaunt their status and ‘perfection’ to impressionable fans who mimic the unrealistic attitudes and actions of their idols

When our loyalties fall into the hands of those who promote destructive and misleading behavior, it’s a recipe for disaster which breeds more stress and conflict. It wraps us deeper into the cycle of fear that suppresses us, and reinforces inequalities and social divides.

Tribal loyalty has resulted in mass irrationality in our modern times.

Our early ancestors sought community and tribes to provide companionship, division of labor, and protection from threats, notably during the Paleolithic period (3.3 million – 12,000 years ago).¹

Modern humans belong to many ‘tribes’: nationalities, cultures, races, political parties, school cliques, coworker groups, fan bases, religious organizations, friends, families, etc.

Loyalty to multiple tribes can cause conflicts both within ourselves and against others.

On an individual level, we all respond to our personal conflicts in different ways as we mentally and physically process them. However, the existence of these conflicts undoubtedly contributes to increased levels stress and anxiety for all, and for many, depression. Personal conflicts and their ramifications^(def) do not set us up for success.

We have over 7 billion personal conflicts going on at all times and it leads to divides when tribes of people who share similar personal conflicts collide with others.

Tribal conflicts kick our instinctual inclinations toward resentment, jealousy, rivalry, aggression, revenge, and denial into overdrive. Rationality goes out the window and divisions solidify.

We’ve turned evolution on its head by allowing ego and greed to become the fittest traits. The most physically healthy, mentally balanced, gifted and nurturing have been surpassed by those who extort, steal, cheat, lie, manipulate and abuse their way to the top.

We’ve elevated a relative few men (and waaaaay fewer women) to the level of Gods, leaving little room for pondering the existence of, or having reverence for, God the creator.

Religion itself has been weaponized repeatedly against humanity, by other humans, for the sake of pushing personal agendas, reinforcing rivalries, and maximizing profits.

It’s no longer about what’s right and what’s wrong… It’s become an ongoing debate about who’s right and who’s wrong.

Spirituality is exceptional and extraordinarily virtuous so long as there’s a moral code that respects human life, and stewardship toward one another and this beautiful world we live in. However, leveraging a belief system to influence devoted, and often innocent, followers for nefarious purposes is utter blasphemy.

We wage war (signs of which didn’t show up in the human record until around 10,000 years ago²) so that a few men can reap the profits, while countless soldiers and civilians are left to suffer.

Worst of all, our systems degrade masses of people subjecting them to cycles of poverty and inequality reinforced by poor education, abusive home environments, limited to no access to resources, unsanitary living and work conditions, and so much more.

Two wrongs don’t make a right, but that’s become a way to defend our tribal values and divisions. “Well your people did it, so my people can too!” or, “Your people did that bad thing that one time, so you have no right to comment on what my people are doing now!” or, “My people should retaliate against your people because your people retaliated against us!” This is completely illogical thinking reinforced by bogus equivocations^(def) and denials of fault. It’s become yet another destructive cycle perpetually reinforcing its own existence. Irrationality persists.

If we think we’re involved with the “winning side,” then we’ve already lost, because the fact is that there are no real sides, and NOBODY is winning.

It’s all complete and utter hypocrisy on a massive and contrived^(def) scale, across the spectrum of humanity.

To sum it up…

The only problems we face in this world (barring most natural disasters) are the ones we create for ourselves.

“Well hey, well that's the way it is”… right?
- Tupac Shakur, “Changes” (1998)

Bullshit!! That’s the laziest and all too common excuse. Tupac knew this.

We’re here together for a reason and it takes all of us to make it work.

We need to agree on something, just something, to get the ball rolling. Here are some ideas:

• It’s not enough to be a loyal religious follower, when we remain silent about sexual abuse or terrorism. It’s protecting conflict and divisions.
• It’s not enough to be a loyal Caucasian, when I’m allowing the persecution of other races. It’s protecting conflict and divisions.
• It’s not enough that we irreverently protect and remain loyal to our tribes, when we’re destroying our equals.

If we can start agreeing on little things, then little by little we’ll cultivate the ground upon which we heal and unite toward a brighter future.

The final article will discuss what we can gain from understanding the toll that our antiquated instincts can take on us, and what we can do with that moving forward.

Thank you for reading!

ALL articles in this series:
3 ways our antiquated instincts are killing us (part 1 of 4) - Intro + Fear & Stress
3 ways our antiquated instincts are killing us (part 2 of 4) - Instincts can lead us astray
3 ways our antiquated instincts are killing us (part 3 of 4) - Instincts have fractured us as a species
3 ways our antiquated instincts are killing us (part 4 of 4) - A horizon of incredible opportunity

#humanity #instinct #bettertogether

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