I have been on Quora regularly for about an year now. And I got into some interesting discussions, one of which has motivated the current post.
First, I must say that I'm not religious. I do not believe in any deities, and I do not believe that people have been created and assigned a specific role that they need to serve. I also do not believe that humans are "special" compared to other life forms. We are born with improved mental faculties, and physical abilities compared to some, and that's it.
So, the world's not fair. A hen that's hatched in a cage, with no option but to get killed by these huge monstrous species called humans, definitely has circumstances much worse than a lot of people. The hen didn't choose to be born like that, that's just how it is. The world is not fair.
And even among humans, a prince in a monarchy has a life that is much better than that of a unwanted child in a backward country. Or even in the same neighbourhood, a kid with caring parents has it much better than one with ill-tempered ones. I don't even have to talk about how hard life is for women. The world is not fair.
But people did not think like this in earlier times. Small groups of people came up with schemes to control larger groups of people. A king living in a castle, surrounded by knights in armour, told the people that it was God's will that the king rule the people. And opposers were executed by the king's soldiers.
The priest living in a mansion, funded by the kind and guarded by his soldiers, told the people that what the king said was true. There indeed was an invisible man in the sky who was all-powerful, who knew every little thing that everyone did. And he was going to torture them in hell, unless they followed all the rules that the priest had set. And it was God's will that some people were born into unfortunate circumstances, because they had sinned in a previous life, or their ancestors had sinned, or it was all a test and the best performers would be rewarded. And disbelievers were stoned and burnt by the believers.
And there were nobles, favored by the king, who got away with whatever they did. And feudal lords, favored by the nobles, who owned lands where workers slaved. And they got away with whatever they did. Then there were merchants, who owned trades and manipulated markets. And law enforcers, who cared only for their own gain.
So these small groups of people controlled much larger ones, with cunning schemes of tempting rewards and horrible pains. And what did the large groups do? Well, they believed in all that shit. That there was an invisible man in the sky. That he communicated exclusively with a bunch of priests. That some wimpy kid was chosen by the invisible man in the sky. That lands belonged to someone for no apparent reason. That there are rules that must be followed, which are arbitrarily set and always seem to favor the merchants. That some people are born to rule, and some are born to slave. That women had no role but to serve her man. That the stars hold their future and cats can cause their death.
These large groups of people who gave in to those unfair schemes, a lot of people call them victims, but I disagree. A grown man or woman has no excuse for being ignorant, for blindly believing in whatever someone else says. Each person is responsible for their own decisions.
But what of the generations that follow, the kin of this man and woman who submitted to others of their own will? Who agreed that they would slave their life away for promise of imaginary protection from the wrath of imaginary beings? What can a kid born into a backward family in a messed up society do?
The world is unfair.
Gullibility, ignorance, desire, and insecurities of people who lived decades and centuries ago have screwed up the lives of those that live today. A kid is born in the powerful nation with every resource he/she can want. A kid is born in a place where water cannot be found. There are some who are highly privileged, and others with none.
Do the privileged owe something to the under-privileged? Should they give it out to them? Or should the under-privileged fight for it themselves? And what about animals? Should we recognize that they were unfortunate to be born the way the are, and extend them the same care that we may owe to the less-privileged of humans?
Is there a duty that the privileged must dispense? Or should we all simply accept that the world is not fair and let the less-privileged fight their own battles?
First, I must say that I'm not religious. I do not believe in any deities, and I do not believe that people have been created and assigned a specific role that they need to serve. I also do not believe that humans are "special" compared to other life forms. We are born with improved mental faculties, and physical abilities compared to some, and that's it.
So, the world's not fair. A hen that's hatched in a cage, with no option but to get killed by these huge monstrous species called humans, definitely has circumstances much worse than a lot of people. The hen didn't choose to be born like that, that's just how it is. The world is not fair.
And even among humans, a prince in a monarchy has a life that is much better than that of a unwanted child in a backward country. Or even in the same neighbourhood, a kid with caring parents has it much better than one with ill-tempered ones. I don't even have to talk about how hard life is for women. The world is not fair.
But people did not think like this in earlier times. Small groups of people came up with schemes to control larger groups of people. A king living in a castle, surrounded by knights in armour, told the people that it was God's will that the king rule the people. And opposers were executed by the king's soldiers.
The priest living in a mansion, funded by the kind and guarded by his soldiers, told the people that what the king said was true. There indeed was an invisible man in the sky who was all-powerful, who knew every little thing that everyone did. And he was going to torture them in hell, unless they followed all the rules that the priest had set. And it was God's will that some people were born into unfortunate circumstances, because they had sinned in a previous life, or their ancestors had sinned, or it was all a test and the best performers would be rewarded. And disbelievers were stoned and burnt by the believers.
And there were nobles, favored by the king, who got away with whatever they did. And feudal lords, favored by the nobles, who owned lands where workers slaved. And they got away with whatever they did. Then there were merchants, who owned trades and manipulated markets. And law enforcers, who cared only for their own gain.
So these small groups of people controlled much larger ones, with cunning schemes of tempting rewards and horrible pains. And what did the large groups do? Well, they believed in all that shit. That there was an invisible man in the sky. That he communicated exclusively with a bunch of priests. That some wimpy kid was chosen by the invisible man in the sky. That lands belonged to someone for no apparent reason. That there are rules that must be followed, which are arbitrarily set and always seem to favor the merchants. That some people are born to rule, and some are born to slave. That women had no role but to serve her man. That the stars hold their future and cats can cause their death.
These large groups of people who gave in to those unfair schemes, a lot of people call them victims, but I disagree. A grown man or woman has no excuse for being ignorant, for blindly believing in whatever someone else says. Each person is responsible for their own decisions.
But what of the generations that follow, the kin of this man and woman who submitted to others of their own will? Who agreed that they would slave their life away for promise of imaginary protection from the wrath of imaginary beings? What can a kid born into a backward family in a messed up society do?
The world is unfair.
Gullibility, ignorance, desire, and insecurities of people who lived decades and centuries ago have screwed up the lives of those that live today. A kid is born in the powerful nation with every resource he/she can want. A kid is born in a place where water cannot be found. There are some who are highly privileged, and others with none.
Do the privileged owe something to the under-privileged? Should they give it out to them? Or should the under-privileged fight for it themselves? And what about animals? Should we recognize that they were unfortunate to be born the way the are, and extend them the same care that we may owe to the less-privileged of humans?
Is there a duty that the privileged must dispense? Or should we all simply accept that the world is not fair and let the less-privileged fight their own battles?
