Are we the weakest link? (part II)

We in North America consider ourselves to be the leading edge of civilization. We do not face many of the problems that plague the rest of the world. Famine, pestilence, high infant mortality and civil war are included in the list that we regard as 'third world problems'. While large swaths of the world's population struggle with to feed themselves, the rest of us are worrying about where we can find gluten-free baked goods and what the best tasting lactose-free milk replacement is. I find myself embarrassed when I am presented by news broadcasts about the problem of obesity in our schools followed immediately by reports that we may have to face higher turkey prices around Christmas because some poultry producer had to destroy a few thousand sick birds. Our first world problems dominate the media, day after day. Why?
Simple. These are the problems that have an effect on our daily lives. They are issues that most of us can relate to. Now and then we are reminded that there are less fortunate in the world, Once in a while a bunch of wealthy artists decide that they can do the third world a service and sing them a Christmas song. Sure they raise a bunch of cash. Sure they bring the plight of the rest of the world back into the news for a week or two. Unfortunately, most of us focus on the song, not the message. The money raised buys less than one glass of clean water for each person living in the drought ridden villages around the world.

Brazzaville, capital city of The Republic of the Congo

Compare New Year's resolutions between us and them. In Toronto, Canada, recently ranked the "Best Place in the World to Live", How many people swore they were going to eat healthier and exercise more, this year? In Brazzaville, capital city of The Republic of the Congo, Africa's poorest country, how many wished for anything other than something to eat, today. The developed countries of the world are so consumed with their own "problems" that we marginalize everyone else. Even within our culturally progressive countries the separation between those with and those without is becoming a canyon, not a rift. We make a special effort to sweep the real issues of our own society into the alleys and corners where we can ignore them. Homelessness, poverty, racial oppression and class segregation are just as real here as in the underdeveloped countries.

Lets take a walk through a U.N. meeting and shake some hands. Never having actually done that, I am only guessing, but I would expect that very few of the folks at that meeting are going to look like me. The different hues to our skin, the shape of our eyes, the colour and texture of our hair, the list goes on. Interestingly, and maybe a little graphically, if I were to skin all these folks, I would be hard pressed to put them back into the same groups I found them in. There are few physical differences that are more than skin deep to help separate the people in that room. These people are biologically the same.  Everyone in the room is the same species, even the same subspecies. There is nothing to biologically separate them. Every difference they have is either a result of minor differences in skin colour, placement of fatty tissue or even just different barbers.When taken in this context one would assume that the only reason the U.N. meets is so all these fine people can have a beer and watch the Super Bowl. There cannot be any possible reason for everyone in the room to not get along with the person next to them. HA! I have grown up to understand that you can't put more than two Caucasian males, that grew up in the same neighborhood, in a room together for more than fifteen minutes without them finding something to argue about. Five minutes if you give them each a beer. In our world today we have targeted nearly every physical difference we have. We fight over who has the best soccer team. How can we possibly agree on who has the best god? Does it matter?
Why can't I sit in a pub with an Atheist, a Muslim and a Catholic without us shooting each other. Why should it make any difference who prays and which direction they face to do it? Ideals are something that people are pretty passionate about. We don't make fun of a guys wife, at least not to his face. You know you're going to get punched. Why the hell would you make fun of his ideals. That will likely get you shot. Make sense? We really are no different than the person next to us. We might look a little different and we might believe in different things, but when it comes down to it, we all just want to live happy, productive lives without the fear of getting shot, blown up or starving to death.

It is about time that the population of this planet came to the realization that we are beginning to create exactly the conditions that Charles Darwin noted while studying the Galapagos Finches. Darwin recognized that, as the population grew,  what theoretically began as a single species, evolved into approximately 15 different species, in order to survive. There was not enough food to support the growing population. Some of the birds had experienced a mutation in their genetic code causing a slightly different beak shape or thickness. These small variations in beak design allowed certain segments of the population to exploit food sources that the others could not. A beak well designed for cracking small seeds is not the best shape for stripping the flesh from large fruits. Other beaks are better for breaking into large, hard nuts and some are more adept at digging under the bark of trees to get at the juicy grubs beneath. As some members of our species are forced to live in conditions that limit the availability of water, if not given the choice to relocate to better conditions, those that have a greater drought tolerance will survive and adapt while the rest will move or die. Some segments of our population have easy access to food sources that are different from the foods available to their neighbors. As we continue to isolate groups with specialized environments and food sources we are creating the perfect conditions for natural selection to begin to favour those that have adapted to their environment. In time those adaptations will physically separate one population from another. Initially this will appear as a simple sub-species, but eventually, if the conditions persist, profound adaptations could give rise to a new species, a whole new Homo. Sound crazy? It has happened before. We call ourselves Homo sapiens, but this is not entirely correct. We are Homo sapiens sapiens, a subspecies of Homo sapiens. We had another member not that long ago, Homo sapiens neanderthalensis. Just like your cousin Robert being called Rob, we affectionally refer to neanderthalensis as Neanderthal. If you met a Neanderthal today he would still be the same species as you, just a sub-species.(Some scientists believe that Neanderthals are a separate species, but this is still under debate.)

Homo habilis

Now, imagine showing up for meeting. A pretty primate at the door hands you a badge reading, "Hi My Species Is Homo Sapiens" and an agenda titled, "Semi-Millennial Homo Genus Steering Committee Meeting". You enter the room and sit at the board table. You look around and read the other badges. H. erectus, H. ergaster, H. habilis. These guys look very different than you and for a very good reason, they are. If this meeting was to turn into a brawl, it would be quite understandable. The characters in this room are completely different species and are not likely to get along. If you were in that fight I bet you would expect the rest of your species to have your back. The only ones fighting next to you would be people of the same class and colour and religion because you treated the rest of our species like crap. They weren't the same as you. they had different coloured skin, they believed something you did not, they were beneath you. Wish you could start over?

The evolution of our species from where we are today to a healthy, long lived, accomplished society where we all "live in peace and harmony" is not going to be easy. John Wayne was quoted saying, "Life is hard. It's even harder if you're stupid." Treating your fellow H. sapiens sapiens as anything other than an equal is stupid. The homeless, black guy sitting in your alley is not there by choice. There is nothing in his DNA that prevents him from being the first black Prime Minister. Only the little choices along the way, the opportunities presented, society's stigmas and sometimes luck have put him in that alley and not you. If you were lying on cardboard, wrapped in newspaper, I bet you would appreciate a little kindness and understanding. If you were born in The Republic of the Congo and struggling to find enough food to get through the day, I bet you would appreciate a little kindness and understanding. The difficulties faced by the underdeveloped countries of the world cannot be solved by just a little kindness but understanding goes a long way. Learning about the troubles faced by others gives you a perspective, maybe even a little tolerance.

By starting in our own neighborhood we can begin to spread acceptance and tolerance. Eventually we may get to a place where we can set aside even the ideological differences and work together to ensure that all members of our species have access to clean water, good food and an environment to thrive in. For Homo sapiens sapiens to continue to evolve and improve as a species and not become the next dead branch on the tree of life we need to come together and end the intolerance, discrimination and oppression that is now so prevalent in our societies.

The following quote is erroneously attributed to Charles Darwin. Although he never said it or penned it, it is no less insightful. "In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed." To choose not to work together just because of a few differences would be, well, stupid.