Post #4 The Disconnect Block #3

Block  3         The disconnect between the nature of life within each individual
                       and the moderating nature of the mind is at the root of all conflicts
                       within the individual.  It is also at the root of the conflicts within
                       morality, politics, religion, economics, and government.

Back in the dim mists of history, when Man first realized he was not the strongest creature in a world where only the strong survived, the seeds of today's conflicts were planted.  Banding together to defeat stronger creatures (or other bands of men) was a rational decision to survive a brutal world.

They probably did not realize, or care, that their pure individual freedom would end when they joined that group for protection.  None of us today would decide any differently.

As time passed, the human mind continued to aid the survival of the species.  Tools were created, group organization and verbal languages were formed, and written language allowed us to pass knowledge from generation to generation.

Modern inventions and conveniences could never be created and mass-produced by one individual alone, and must be produced by organized groups working in tandem.

The benefits of the group cannot be overstated, but still, the disconnect remains between the life instinct of the individual and the demands of the group.

In a perfect world, with perfect morality, we could all do as we wished, and we would not wish to abuse others.  We would not need a group to protect us from others, or from the world around us.

The real world, however, is a messy, dangerous hodgepodge of individuals and groups, each with conflicting egos, goals, needs, and wants, and all vying for supremacy.

By nature, each of us wants his own way.  By nature, each of us wants the freedom to choose our own faith, our own path, our own code of morality, and our own goals is life.  Each of us wants to be protected from outside forces that could control our lives.

Too much individual freedom leads to anarchy.  Too much control leads to oppression.  And how to balance the two is the problem.