A PIECE OF THOUGHT FROM JACK BRAGEN'S DESK

CARING FOR OTHERS MUST SURPASS “MY PEOPLE ONLY”

Jack Bragen

Today we still have all the subdivisions competing with one another and having loyalty only within one’s own group. There are the “conservatives” and the “liberals,” each only loyal to one’s own kind. There are subdivisions based on racial ancestry. Any possible grouping becomes a “tribe” for loyalty within the group. Now we have the 99 percent and we have the “tea party.” Bankers and executives have shown loyalty to themselves at the expense of everyone else by granting multi million dollar severance bonuses to each other with money intended to bail out the banks. The universal attitude seems to be: “I love my [family, group, subdivision…] and screw everyone else.”
The following discourse is merely an opinion, since I am not a “real” anthropologist. You could call it a layman’s attempt at science. However, I think you will find that these thoughts make a lot of sense.
Evolution has given people the instinct of protecting and promoting their tribe. For example, one might at first view bravery as a mistake of evolution, since it involves the willingness to sacrifice one’s own life. However, most bravery is tied to the preservation of others who are closely related and who are carrying many of the same genes. The instinct of bravery, then, helps tribes survive and pass down their genetic information. This is the same instinct that causes fighting for one’s country, although the instinct is modified from its original instinct of preserving the family unit. Countries that had “brave” soldiers fighting for them are still here, while any country that had people walking away from their duty of soldiering has long since perished, overridden by countries with people who had the willingness to fight. That does not make fighting a good thing. But it does explain how humans evolved to have the capacity for self-sacrifice. It is still a self serving instinct from an evolutionary standpoint.
Another example of the promotion of one’s own people is the loyalty to a church or to those who have the same religion. Generosity in a church is often limited to mostly helping those within the same denomination. While there are soup kitchens run by churches that don’t discriminate, when you’re talking about financially substantial assistance, the church chooses its own. Not to say churches are in the business of loaning money; however, individual members are.
The next step for the human species is to change the definition of “tribe” to include all people on our planet. It is only when all members of the human species are considered in the same tribal group, at least as far as our instincts are concerned, that we will see an end to the misery that plagues us: war, famine, disease.
True philanthropy, true kindness, and true assistance are given regardless of whether or not it will help promulgate the benefactor’s genetic information, official status, or prestige. To be a real giver or a truly kind person, the generosity isn’t limited to one’s own family unit, one’s own church, or one’s own race and ethnicity.
If one’s first instinct toward a stranger or random person is to be kind, then one is on the right track.

Blogger's Note:

This article does not change the fact that I am reform jewish and have not, will not join the military. Furthermore, it doesn't alter the fact that I am not a philanthropist. I am simply discussing things.