Actual Freedom Library

Peter: ‘Humanity’ is usually discussed in terms of it being an actual grouping of people. This is despite the fact that there are so many on the planet that it would be physically impossible for every one to meet, that the species is so culturally diverse and vastly spread out, and that there is no one person or ‘entity’ in charge. It makes you wonder how it all works so well, really. Humanity as a group is an idea, a mere fanciful concept, not a fact. The obvious fact, evident to those not in denial, is that there are 6 billion humans on the planet, all individually fighting each other for survival. When humans do group together in any type of collective, be it family, tribe, religious or ethnic groupings, they then gather strength of numbers in order to fight other groups for survival. The idea of a collective humanity is a myth, a belief.

Humanity, as a quality or condition, is founded on humans having common attributes, the prime of which is that human beings are ‘feeling’ beings (usually described as having a heart or soul). Humans are intensely proud of their ability to feel, in complete denial of the fact that the source of these feelings is the animal survival instinct that is inherently programmed in the species. The two prime emotions are sorrow, an ability to suffer even to the extent of feeling it is good to suffer, and malice as evidenced by the passion with which humans fight for ‘rights’ and ‘beliefs’ – even to the extent of killing others or sacrificing their lives for them. The prime and most notable activity of Humanity are the continuous and horrendous wars that human beings have waged against each other throughout history, and this century has been by far the bloodiest yet. The idea or concept of Humanity is a bit like the idea of Civilization – people will forever wait in vain hope for it to bring even a semblance of peace to the world. The only way for peace to be actualized is the elimination of malice and sorrow – the root instinctual animal emotions that give rise to the very feelings that humans hold so dear. Only the ending of Humanity, as we know it, will bring peace to this verdant planet, and the extinction of Humanity will only occur incrementally, individual by individual, as each person takes on the task. This is the next challenge facing each of us – and the time is ripe.