In A General Theory of Love, the authors expressed their concern that, as poor nurturing and neglect increases, and as access to knowledge, particularly technology (which is becoming increasingly toxic and addictive) continues to open up, a neglected child may become a very dangerous adult, with an 'educated' brain but with the survival part constantly switched on, rendering him very reactive to stress or perceived danger but quite without empathy.
He may be a danger to humanity if that 'educated' mind is not tempered by the emotional intelligence and concern for others that loving nurture, good nutrition, and thus a well-balanced brain, would bring.
The authors posit that new generations, raised in this way and coming to adulthood and gaining positions of influence and power, may present a very credible danger to the well-being and future of mankind.
We live on an earth which presents and has always presented obvious danger, from the early sabre-toothed tiger to today’s war-mongering hoodlums, east and west. So it is a good thing we still have an intact survival mechanism housed in our limbic brain, in spite of the fact that we do not have literal beasts at our shoulder.
But we are contemplating on-going and developing danger as man himself ‘develops’. And so we may already have other beasts to fend off, and much more deadly ones. I regard the food and pharmaceutical industries (not to mention governments openly funded by lobbyists from these industries AND who turn a blind eye to bad eating habits and a resultant deterioration in society's health) as belonging in this menagerie.
Ultimately, though, I am hopeful that the 'first aid' I have outlined here may no longer be necessary in the end because we will have come to a a natural, wise and great 'reset'. With our bodies and minds functioning well, many. of our huge and various societal issues may not only adjust naturally but may be seen, too, as temporary symptoms pointing us to simple and humane solutions. We may even find a new, more self-sufficient, way of governance!
Comments