Capitalism, america's bread and butter, competitive markets, survival of the fittest. These were ideas I grew up believing were the reasons why america had progressed so far, why we had so much wealth, why our sports teams were better, why we won our wars....I grew up believing that through free competition our species progressed, opposable thumbs, speech and all that. When I grew older, I thought it was a sad truth about existence. I thought it was a fundamental aspect of this world that reinforced my love of religion, which became a drive to "rise above" this world "the dark one" had spoiled. Slowly, however, as I grew and continued to observe, I saw the fruits of competition for what it is. I now see that it is a lie. They say the winners of wars write our history, so of course we have been taught this. We could not help but be indoctrinated.
Competition is not sustainable. You see it in business, you see it in politics, you see it in instituitionalized religion, you see it playgrounds with bullies, you see it petri dishes...at some point, there must be a level of cooperation for sustainability to be achieved or the winner eventually loses. This was a hidden truth from me, until I started meditating on sustaining practices.
This is were it goes deep, and it gets deeper the longer you learn and ponder. This realization that we are so intertwined with our world soon follows these contemplations, and then deeper it goes. Humility, love of others, respecting nature, helping the weak...the list of sustainable practices sound like all sorts of religious teachings.
Ghandi was right in saying that the answers to all of humanity's problems can be found in the christian gospels. This is esteemed as profound since he was a follower of hinduism. I personally, take great and profound meaning in the phrase: "the meek will inherit the earth." In the given context, that seems to me be a statement in agreement with Darwin.
It's still difficult for me, mostly because I was one of those who is good at winning, to wrap my mind around all this. So really, man, in a wonderful twist of fate, I have to get used to being bad at something I am trying. Relearning how to cooperate instead of compete. Share knowledge, share resources, help everyone excel..I'm not saying every kid gets a trophy for the soccer game. I'm saying every kid needs to be allowed to share the full potential of their talents so everyone can win, cooperatively.
