Are we really made of the same stuff?

Are we really made of the same stuff?

Here's what my dear friend Gene opined:

"Be careful when you say you are made from better stuff than them. We are all made from the same stuff. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses.  Some have more raw intelligence.  Some work harder than others. True mastery is when you play the hand you were dealt to the best of your ability and with appreciation for just getting the opportunity to play.

No one is better than anyone or anything. Some are just more distracted.  Some feel the need to convince themselves of a false reality.  No one can understand 100% of what is going on. Some get closer to 99.99%. Some stop midway and embrace false conclusions. There is no absolute conclusion to find. There is absolute love.

Convince yourself that you can never be convinced.  Fall in love with not needing to know. Embrace the mystery. 

This is my humble opinion.

Gene"

Once again I find myself in disagreement with the view expressed by my friend Gene (I suppose the view is temporary as he had said earlier in another piece that he was not married to any view).

Words have a way of meaning to whatever the reader/speaker takes them to mean, especially when the literalness is involved.

If an individual takes the time to read about the brain, dabble into reading about neurosciences, linguistics, and cognitive psychology, and observe closely human behavior, I think he would not be so ready to conclude that humans are made of the same stuff, regardless of how attractive, appealing, and democratic such a view may hold. 

1)  I think those who subscribe to egalitarianism in Man overlook certain glaring realities. While humans share basic drives for food, sex, shelter, power, love, esteem, and self-actualization, it is the degrees of achievements in the satisfaction of these drives explain the differences among men and give rise to my assertion that humans are not really made of the same stuff. The differences can be due to the organic structure of the brains involved and the exercise of willpower (persistence and courage are some of the manifestations).

The existence of men like Newton, Einstein, Hawking, Shakespeare at one end of the spectrum and of creatures like Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Stacy, Ted Bundy, Hitler, and the three assholes I unfortunately know personally at the other end of the spectrum convinced me that the brains of these individuals are different from the norm in certain areas. A mere mortal, given unlimited time and training, cannot produce the works similar to those accomplished by Newton, Einstein, Hawking, and Shakespeare. Even at a mundane level like writing a poem, if a human does not have poetic sensibilities and is not endowed with linguistic skills and is not blessed with an ear for music and rhythm, he cannot simply write a poem worth a damn, no matter how hard he tries. Not everybody can write poetry. Thus, not everybody is made of the same stuff. Not everybody can be a true polyglot either. I have seen that with my own eyes. I know at least three Vietnamese dudes who barely can express themselves in English in spite of going to an English-speaking university and living in an English-speaking environment for over 30 years. They have deaf ears. Their brains cannot register fully another language. So please don't tell me we are made of the same stuff. 

2) Gene said, "No one is better than anyone or anything." Really??? So Obama, a bi-racial kid growing up in modest circumstances, by the force of his will-power and determination, education, cunning seizure of timing, and persuasiveness and oratory, became the first "black" President of the United States, is not better than a white redneck meth abuser? Unbridled egalitarianism overlooks intrinsic differences and outward achievements or lack thereof of humans. Even egalitarianism does not really exist in a court of law. A wealthy man has better legal protection than a pauper. Egalitarianism is being bandied about by mind mongers to deceive the gullible and embraced by the untalented in order for them to be able to sleep at night. But when the sun rises in the morning, reality stares at the untalented in the face, making them blink in shame and sorrow. 

A man is better than a "thing", "anything", because a "thing" is not endowed with consciousness. A thing does not replicate itself, unlike a man.

3) Gene also said, "There is absolute love". That was what I used to think, too, but not anymore. Love by parents for offsprings MAY be absolute. All other loves are conditional, depending largely on the worthiness of the beloved. This is a hard and unpleasant reality that most humans don't want to face. It is difficult to love the unloveable. 

4) Yes, I embrace the mystery with my eyes wide open.

Thus spake Wissai
July 7, 2013.



Roberto Wissai/NKBa'