Someone To Blame

When things go wrong; when troubles are everywhere and we have no one to blame but ourselves, for most, they can’t take that responsibility. So they turn their fear of taking blame unto themselves into fear of those who are different. There’s always a scapegoat; usually someone who questions the norm. There’s always someone who can be accused and persecuted whether outright or subtly and we have all at some point taken advantage of that fact.
It can’t be denied that it is in human nature to fear change. People see progression as something to strive for, though when it actually presents itself they are wary. Accepting change means risking failure or worse. Most people won’t admit this; they would rather fight it quietly then risk being encouraged to embrace it. We would live as we have always lived, accept what we have always learned, and never reach for more.
Progression is necessary; whether desired or not it will always continue. The fear is not something we often identify in ourselves; instead we waste away in the past rather than look towards the future. While the world continues to turn and technology improves; while life goes on around us; we all wallow in memories of a past which is ‘better’ than the present. No one can see hope for the future; rather we rationalize our fear with our visions of destruction.
A question frequently asked is: “Why are people willing to fight and kill for a God that encourages nonviolence and ‘love thy neighbor’?” The answer, it would seem, once again comes down to fear. Our religion, the very foundation on which many base their morals and values, has to be the only truth. If not, what is left to believe? What is the meaning? This brings us to another- perhaps the most significant- human fear: the unknown. When we’re children we fear the dark; we see shapes that we can’t identify. To a child’s developing brain that dark could hold any fearsome beast or terror that the mind can imagine. Then we grow up, and we realize those shapes really are just everyday things and that’s something we understand. Most people think as we grow older the fear leaves us. That’s just false hope; the fear of the unknown morphs and grows into a form that is less recognizable but much more dangerous.
In a way, humans spend their whole lives trying to cheat death. We look both ways when we cross the street. We take our vitamins and schedule regular checkups. We eat all those foods that promise to lower our cholesterol and prevent heart disease. What does it all come down to? We die anyway. It could happen tomorrow; or next week; or in a hundred years. In any case we’re dead and we wasted the time we had to live trying to alleviate our fears of death. We dedicated our lives to religion, explained the unexplainable and searched for some sign that we were right all along. That sign, if it came, was our minds working overtime to turn a meaningless occurrence into an excuse to fight wars for our religion. In that way we have cheated death, or at least cheated endings. If there is existence after the concept of death there really is no death, is there?
Not to say that there’s no good that comes from religion. In many cases it leads to people bettering their lives. The problem with that though is that it’s not necessarily for the right reasons. When it is preached to one that in order to save one’s soul, one must treat others with respect and caring, what can be expected? That person will then try to do just that. It’s not out of the goodness of their heart; it’s out of a desire that stems from fear. The desire in question is to prove worthiness of happiness in life and after death. Karma is a perfect example; do good things and it will come back to you. Not do good things because it’s the right thing to do; do it because it’ll help you, even if that ‘help’ is just the feeling of knowing that this makes you a good person. There is competitiveness to it; if you can convince yourself that you are better than those around you, you feel accomplished and powerful.
Power is another complex idea; another reason that wars are fought; another explanation given to excuse almost anything. We compete to hold the power. There are two sides to the idea of power. Is it a natural instinct, the urge to be ‘on top’? Or is it a concept we’ve created, another way of making ourselves feel better? Both sides can be argued. In the animal kingdom, which humanity stems from, and which mirrors the basic needs of humans, there is a hierarchy. There is always a leader, one who controls and dominates the pack or the herd. The reasoning for this is physical. Power equals strength, and strength equals the ability to survive. Being the head of the hierarchy means being on top of the food chain. This offers a good amount of protection. There is safety in being powerful.
Naturally, the reason for power in modern life is much less based on survival. True, the powerful live a better quality of life, but that fight doesn’t come into it; it is less power that determines improvement but material worth. This can be explained by one simple difference: the animal world is every being for itself. For humans in power, there is an expectation of responsibility; not necessarily to the happiness of those who are in your control, but more to the necessity of keeping the system running smoothly. Of course this comes down to making sure that you stay in control of the less powerful but that responsibility is clearly there. It is known that basic survival instincts still exist in beings that don’t rely on them to stay alive, hence why power is so important. It can be said that this instinct is the foundation for the current human desire for power, a concept that has grown to fit human needs above and beyond the instincts, leaving only a faint connection to the idea of survival.
There is no real winner in the game of life; or rather the game of power. It shifts constantly. This can be demonstrated by something as simple as the dynamics of a group of children; at a young age the hierarchy is generally decided by who has the most expensive toys or the most candy to share. As these same children grow the more attractive or personable rise to the top. As awkward and unsure adolescents grow into understanding of themselves, the “popular” kids are seen as shallow and spoiled and the balance shifts in the favor of those with confidence and goals. Finally, the less intelligent are weeded out and the talented are on top.
The shifting of power can be seen on a long term basis as well. Before civilization developed, the physically strong were all powerful. Then, slowly those who could ensure survival in others gained the power. This is where religion starts; the pagan healers and midwives gained the faith of others and with that came respect and power. Then, the balance shifted. Organized religion came into the picture and people latched onto it. People were desperate for guidance and someone to lead them, and that’s what they found. Another important thing to note is that before this, women generally were in charge. When organized religion started, men saw the opportunity to slip into the role of leaders and led people to forget their backgrounds and believe whole-heartedly in what they were told. Women with power became feared, and practitioners of the pagan belief systems were persecuted. This carries on even to today. Many Americans will tell you that those who practice pagan religions are devil-worshippers; although the devil is a Christian idea. Many people don’t realize that many holiday traditions we enjoy today stem from ancient beliefs covered up by the stories of the birth of Christ. Ask a random Christian why Christmas is celebrated around a tree and chances are they won’t know that originally the Yule tree was a symbol of life- a pine tree doesn’t die in the winter, rather lives on through dark times. Also, chances are they won’t be able to tell you the basis behind Santa Claus; not a farfetched story of a saint called Nicholas, but a representation of winter defeating summer, to be suppressed until the next year.
This is not, by all means, a full account of the history of religion or the thoughts of humans. Many people have different beliefs, which are just as legitimate, and many people are fully aware of the history of holiday traditions. It’s simply an example of how power shifts, and is really no more substantial than the air around us.