Our collective destructive tendencies have continuously threatened our survival, from the earliest recorded wars and empires, to the ecological crisis we face today.
Yet we continue to avoid confronting this dark side of our nature.
We choose instead fleeting superficial solutions like planting trees without addressing the root causes of deforestation and hollow commitments like buying electric vehicles without reducing overall carbon footprint.
We need to confront this dark side and it’s devastating consequences to save our planet. The time for evasive denial is long past.
I do not know where people get the idea that humans are naturally good and that our harmful tendencies are mere exceptions. This is a reassuring narrative we’ve perpetuated for a long time. This myth has been debunked by extensive research in psychology, sociology, and anthropology.
"This image shows a plaque marking the site where the famous Stanford Prison Experiment was conducted. The point of this experiment was to study the psychological effects of students becoming either a prisoner or a prison guard. The students easily adapted to their roles, with the "prison guards" inflicting mental and physical abuse to the "helpless prisoners." The amount of harassment and torture occurring in the experiment is why it was abruptly ended after only six days." Source: Wikimedia Commons. Click on the image to enlarge.
|
The Stanford prison experiment, where students were randomly assigned the roles of prisoners and guards, highlights how easily ordinary individuals can descend into sadistic behavior when given unchecked power. Similarly, the Milgram experiment by Stanley Milgram in 1961 reveals the alarming extent to which people will follow orders from authority figures, even if it means inflicting harm on others.
"Our darkest impulses are not the exception but the rule, and they have been unleashed time and again throughout history."
These experiments, among many others, shatter the Humanists’ illusion of inherent human goodness, revealing a more complex and troubling truth about our nature. They reveal that the capacity for cruelty and destruction is an integral part of the human psyche. Our darkest impulses are not the exception but the rule, and they have been unleashed time and again throughout history.
The Holocaust from 1933 to 1945, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Rwandan genocide of 1994, the Crusades, and even the Gukurahundi massacres in my country — all of these events and many more are reminders that our capacity for destruction is limitless when we allow our dark side to dominate.
And it’s not just these big-ticket atrocities, either. We’ve got people torturing each other in prisons, and discriminating against each other just because of some dumb reason like skin color or religion.
Now, why must we confront this dark side to save the planet? The answer lies in the center of our ecological crisis. Climate change, deforestation, pollution, and species extinction are all symptoms of a deeper disease – our disconnection from the natural world and our failure to recognize the integral value of other beings and the ecosystems they inhabit. This disconnection is a direct result of our refusal to confront the darker aspects of our nature.
We are only able to justify our destructive actions by denying the existence of our dark side. We convince ourselves that our actions are necessary, that they’re for the greater good, or that they’re merely an unavoidable byproduct of progress. But this self-deception is a luxury we can no longer afford.
The consequences of our inaction are dire. The current rate of species extinction is estimated to be 100 to 1,000 times higher than the natural rate. The world’s forests are being cleared at an alarming rate, with the Amazon rainforest alone losing 17% of its forest cover in just 50 years. And climate change, perhaps the most pressing issue of our time, is rapidly spiraling out of control, with the past decade being the warmest on record.
Our failure to confront the dark side of human nature has also led to the erosion of our democratic institutions and the rise of authoritarian regimes. As we’re increasingly unable to cope with the consequences of our actions, we’re more likely to turn to strongmen, like former US president and presidential candidate Donald Trump, and dictators who promise to restore order and stability, no matter the cost. This is a recipe for disaster, as history has shown time and again that unchecked power leads to unimaginable horrors.
So what can we do to confront the dark side of human nature and save the planet? First and foremost, we must acknowledge its existence and recognize its power. We must stop pretending that our destructive tendencies are mere aberrations and instead confront the fact that they’re an integral part of our psyche. This requires a willingness to explore the parts of ourselves we’d rather keep hidden.
This process will not be easy. It will require courage, honesty, and a willingness to confront the most uncomfortable aspects of ourselves. But it’s a journey we must take, both individually and collectively. We must create spaces where people feel safe to explore their darker impulses, where they can confront the parts of themselves they’d rather deny. We must also work to dismantle the systems and structures that allow our dark side to flourish, that reward greed, exploitation, and destruction.
Ultimately, the fate of our planet hangs in the balance. We can continue to deny the existence of our dark side, to pretend that our destructive tendencies are mere anomalies, and to watch as our planet crumbles around us. Or we can confront the darkness within ourselves, acknowledge its power, and work to create a world where our better angels can thrive.
A world where empathy and cooperation are valued above greed and destruction. A world where we recognize the importance of the natural world.
The time for denial is over. The time for courage and honesty is now. We must confront the dark side of human nature, not to indulge in pessimism or nihilism, but to transform ourselves and our world.
The future of our planet depends on it.
|
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kumbirai Thierry Nhamo is an independent social justice activist, writer, researcher, and social commentator. He is also a poet, a blogger (Zealous Thierry), and is currently studying Fabrication Engineering at a polytechnic in Zimbabwe.
|
