NATURAL HUMANS

Darshan Chande has a point (see “Comments”). I briefly defined a bad person as one who succeeds at the cost of good people, but I didn’t define what a good person is. I shall try to do so now.

My friend, if we were all monks, there would be neither good humans nor bad ones, since the word “monk” seems to imply celibacy. You can’t have it both ways; if we act according to Nature, celibacy is quite unnatural. I apologize if you meant some other kind of monk. Regardless; whatever we are to become must begin where we are now. It would be a disaster if the millions of humans in my city suddenly decided to hunt and forage. We are, many of us, not in a position to just live in Nature. We’re not equipped with the skills (for example) to build our own shelters or obtain our own food, nor with the physical fitness needed to do so successfully. I agree with you that a good person should honor Nature, but let’s not be blind to the fact that not all that is natural is good. Sociopaths (bad people) so far as I know, occur naturally. Should they therefore be encouraged to act according to their natures? Ironically, they themselves don’t respect Nature or anything else.

Good people don’t need commandments to tell them how to behave, but I’ll list my personal 13 commandments here again for instructive purposes. Good people know these (or very similar) things “naturally.”

1. Do no harm. Not even with words. (Raise your voice, your hand, to no one) If you accidentally cause harm, apologize frankly and seek to repair the damage.
2. Support human rights everywhere (for you, too, are human).
3. Help or please someone else for no gain at all every day.
4. Do not betray the trust of another.
5. Pair-bond with sincerity and respect.
6. Don’t take more than you need. Of anything.
7. Celebrate your curiosity and reason; they are the gift of mind; our greatest gift.
8. In your work, be in harmony with your principles.
9. Practice thankfulness, kindness, and joy.
10. Redeem the Earth.
11. Sing, dance, and/or speak in unison with others.
12. Practice mercy.
13. Don’t judge someone without knowing them.

If you live in a home built by experts in construction, and use a computer to communicate, and use gas-fueled vehicles to move about your city, by your own standard you are not a good person; I don’t believe that’s true. The fact that you realize an inherent respect for Nature argues otherwise. Still, I wouldn't suggest that you discard your clothing, fashion yourself a spear, and attack the nearest hot-dog vendor (don't forget we are natural carnivores). If it were that easy, I’d have done it myself long ago.

Just as our pets have been bred into forms that never existed in the wild, so have we. How do you propose we actually become this Natural Human you consider good, given that for us all to become monks would end the race?