Are we humans basically, intrinsically
flawed? I think not. I think we are human, just as birds are
birds, trees are trees, and whales are whales — beings like unto
ourselves, in other words, bound by our own true nature. Part of that
nature demands, as it does of every form of life, that we reproduce.
Another part calls upon us to seek, and to wonder. When we look up at
the stars, we do more than yawn or marvel: we want to know what it is
we’re seeing, how it came to be here, and what might one day become
of it all. In the same way, we look into ourselves. That we sometimes
draw erroneous conclusions proves no flaw; rather, it teaches us that
some lessons take a thousand years to learn. I do not lament,
therefore, the limits of my senses; I seek, instead, the depths of my
perception. The more I see, and the better I understand, the less
likely I am to do harm to others and undermine myself with fear. It
is a long road. I know this through experience. The same holds for
our entire race. We are not here to assume the worst. We are here to
live and learn. That, too, is our nature. Barbers and surgeons no
longer bleed their patients. Someday, if we survive, I think we will
say the same of our crusades, our inquisitions, and our wars. And
when we do, I think we might also say, “Like us, our ancestors
finally understood that our work is here,
and our life is now. Love.”
