Blog #50--We All Have Flaws

A recent Sherman’s Lagoon cartoon, penned by Jim Toomey, stated it clearly. We all have flaws that prevent us from taking over the world. In the cartoon, Sherman is a great white shark, the most feared predator in the ocean. Sharks will eat most anything; great whites can and do eat humans on occasion. Yet, they don’t take over the ocean.

A shark’s motivation, like the rest of us, is to survive. Eating is its primary motive; some great whites have been known to travel thousands of miles in their relentless pursuit of nourishment. Sharks don’t have to be smart to survive, although they can learn complex strategies for luring prey. Their aggressiveness and rows of sharp, replaceable teeth are sufficient to scare anyone or anything in their territory.

The Balance of Nature prevents any one species from taking over the world, including humans. As soon as we think we are strong enough to dominate, our weaknesses guarantee setbacks. Sharks don’t produce as many offspring as most smaller fish, which helps maintain that balance. Human fishing and revenge killings keep shark populations down. Young sharks are prone to predation, including from larger sharks. Every species, including humans, has one or more fatal flaws that prevent it from rising above the rest of life on Earth.

There are some people in the world who think they can destroy all enemies with superior firepower. They produce weapons of mass destruction and either directly attack or indirectly lure others into wars they expect to win. They ignore the fact that every previous civilization on Earth has failed eventually. Great armies rise and fall like the tides, killing and being killed in vast numbers. After all, enemies/prey are at their best when their survival is at stake.

Humans have plenty of flaws that limit our efforts to prove superiority. We brag we are the smartest life forms on Earth, but we ignore the fact we are one of the weakest, if not the weakest, species on Earth physically. Only highly inbred pets produce offspring as prone to disease, genetic deformities and neurological disorders as do humans. When humans have finally met their ultimate destruction through wars, pestilence, pole shifts, meteor collisions, radiation poisoning or whatever, cock roaches and a few other hearty species will continue to survive.

Of course, most of us are in denial about all this. Humans appear as capable of deceiving ourselves as any other species on Earth. We come up with all sorts of excuses to prevent history from interfering with our present plans. We ignore the normal cycles of life we all experience while alive and end up repeating history. As a group, we follow those who are best at lying to us rather than natural leaders. Self-deception is another of our flaws.

Perfection is being ourselves. That means accepting both our assets and flaws and trying to make the best of things. Like Sherman the shark, we can’t take over the world despite our best efforts. James Michener states it eloquently in his book “Centennial:” “Only the rocks live forever.”

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