Monday 26 January 2009

Survival instincts.

After reading a book about a boy shooting his high school bullies.

In a conflict between moral and instinctive behaviour, instincs always win. Morals are taught and imposed by society, instincts exist in the depths of our genetic memories. It doesn't have to be a fight for your life, maybe just lifestyle, status in a group, not losing your face in front of strangers. Would you lie to your boss to keep your job? Would you backstab a pal not to be excluded? Would you hit someone who would mock you?

It doesn't matter how full of the sense of right and wrong you think you are, when pushed too far, confronted with potentially threatening situation, scared, angry, depressed we will do anything to survive.  Reach deep enough beneath the shiny black and white surface of acquired morals and behold the grey egoistic instinct of self preservation. It helps us deal with basic dangers that appeal to this egoistic basic beast.

Action and reaction. Do and win, ponder and die. Win and feel satisfied, lose and feel bad. Deep inside we are all simple creatures.

How moral is it anyway to impose group morality on everyone, if everybody's sense of right and wrong is slightly different, shaped on the greyness of your individual survival instincts..?

Sunday 11 January 2009

Who wants to live forever?

After watching a teenage vampire movie 'Twilight'.

Well, would it not be great to live forever, not be afraid of the certain uncertanity of death, be strong, fast and make your own morals?

Well... but you would also
  • have no birthdays
  • have no favourite local pub cause you would get suspicious looks after 30 years
  • have no friends to get happy drunk on their birthdays cause they would all die
  • probably wouldn't enjoy alcohol anyway
  • or weed
  • or sex
  • or internet which is mostly about drunk/stoned people getting laid in interesting ways
  • get stuck in your late teens (like in a movie) and have to go through the last year of high school over and over again like once wasn't bad enough
  • get really pale and unhealthy looking and have to endure jokes about looking like living dead
  • get obsessed with Ann Rice books
  • be unable to travel abroad (security checks)
  • be unable to go to the cinema to see vampire movies (too many clues)
  • be unable to taste anything but blood and it's a pretty boring taste
Forever.

I'll pass. And you my imaginary reader..?