Watch us evolve... It won't take that long...

We can see in every generation our roots. Just as we can see embryonic stages reticent of our special ancestors. Children and teens show us the way.

We were pack hunters not herd animals. There were alphas. Children played. Adolescents competed with one another. The strong mated as they chose, the weak had limited options. But, we were different. Our strength could be varied. We began devising different ways to hunt. The individual that could throw a rock the furthest may not have been the individual that could throw with the most accuracy. However, simple competitions could resolve rank.

And then we shifted. The pack became the tribe. A tribe generally has 2 leaders. Although a chief may make the ultimate decision, most seek the advice of a wise woman or shaman. Roles start being assigned. Those roles still have a hierarchy. The tribe generally prefers the best hunter to the best gatherer. However, as hunting moves from innate ability or talent to skill, it becomes an occupation. Individuals arise that take on tasks for the whole tribe. Weapon quality varies by the maker and the tribe benefits from well equipped hunters.

And so professions arose. Humans stopped moving. Farming and raising of livestock allow us to settle. The tribe becomes a village. A village may have one leader, but generally it does not. Elders are respected for their knowledge and so are cared for. Trades form. Metalworking, masonry, carpentry; these can only be sustained while food is plentiful. Commerce must begin. It becomes nearly impossible to designate an alpha. The blacksmith's forge allows the plow. The plow allows the harvest. The harvest allows the blacksmith to eat. Just as evolution always had, we filled niches. Now, those niches were among ourselves. A new ecosystem built on top of the existing one composed entirely of 1 species.

However, no resource is unlimited and the need to hunt has been replaced with the need to protect. It is easier to take than to grow and so another niche arises. Super predators arose: pillagers. The need for alphas returned. However, pillaging is not sustainable. The enemy will only be at the gates every once in a while. The professional soldier is not necessary at first. The blacksmith makes weapons, a basket weaver turns fletcher, a carpenter becomes a bowyer. The fighters are often praised and success is often rewarded just as it had been in the pack, but a town guard is not promoted to high ruler. The pillagers are not always defeated. From time to time the take control and demand tribute. However, a dictator can not be sustained by a village, that requires a town or city.

For better or worse, we continued to specialize.

One hell of a week...

I usually remain abstract. After all, this blog goes under the heading "Random Thoughts" not "Random Events", but I felt the need to write. 1 week ago, I went through "voluntary sterilization".

I know. That phrase alone could cause someone to walk away. Vasectomy seems to lack any connotation related to atrocities performed in the last century.

I did not discuss or even indicate to many that it was planned. In truth, reproduction is not something I discuss often with anyone other than my wife. The idea that I was not going to have children seemed to inspire disbelief very often.

Based on the indication of medical professionals, I should be healed with the next few days. Throughout my life I have healed remarkably quickly. My immune system is a little overactive in some respects and youth does offer the benefit of accelerated rehabilitation.

That being said, I do find myself wondering if this is changing. Part of that is simply random discussions about aging I seem to stumble upon. Part of it is simply knowing that time effects all things (that experience it). The end result is a little bit of uncertainty and a little bit more resolve.

I tend to feel that humans go through stages. This concept was much more popular in bygone eras. We unfortunately tied it to numbers somewhere along the way and so many rebelled against it. In cultures much less focused on time, it is still the prevailing wisdom from what I have been led to believe. I think that many people find the transition between these phases difficult. After all, we have given up many of the ceremonies used to mark them. Commencement has never held the same weight as graduation. We do not maintain any secular coming of age ceremonies. We no longer transition to the role of elder or matriarch with a marked event.

And so, we still change our role but we don't note it outwardly. In my case, I feel that the time of planning has ended. The time of viewing things as means to an end has passed. I did not purchase a starter home. I do not own an "interim" car. I do not have an "interim" job. Now is the time of doing one's life work. I have never been one to put things off or wait for a more opportune time. But, I have always looked forward and prepared. At this time, the plans are laid. It is the time of implementation. The only outward ceremony will be this blog. There is no title to confer, no passing of torches or laurels.

In truth, nothing has changed. A slight shift in an electrical impulse. The bridging of a neuron perhaps. A thought. An idea. A background process indicating that the time is now. A change in perspective towards the present. A slight reminder that we must all live for the moment.

The players converge...

It is time. It is far past time. I am never going to claim that there are easy answers or that I have the answers. The battle has been going on for centuries. It is not a battle of epic forces. It is not a battle between an ancient tyrannical order and the populous. That would be far too simple. It is a battle of the human spirit.

Power has continued to shift from group to group throughout our history. There is not some strange Illuminati that has been able to maintain it for millennia. Some dynasties have lasted longer than others, but in the end we are humans and can be thrust from power or gain it.

We now stand in the center of the empire. An empire of abstracts. Although many will disagree, we have created a system wherein privilege is synonymous with wealth and wealth can be obtained.

Here is where the battle lines form. Some would read the statement above and assume I was saying the playing field was level. Those individuals clearly have not read my other blogs but the possibility of acquisition is not a reflection of probability.

If anyone wishes to know how likely it is for a child from the ghetto to accumulate power, I leave you to the math. Calculate events such as NBA, NFL, and MLB contracts awarded by income bracket or neighborhood, winning lottery tickets based on former socioeconomic group, record contracts that went platinum compared to familial income, etc. You will find ridiculously low odds, but you will not find division by zero.

By and large, your socioeconomic status at the end of your parents will be the same as your own. This has been true from the dawn of time. If it is slightly less true in the United States in the 21st century, it is an indication of how far we have come.

Yet, here we are assuming that a very small segment of the population has the power and always has. Only the first part is true. We also assume that those with power are corrupt and must be dethroned. This is part based on the first assumption. Whether or not power does actually corrupt, the simple fact is that in any group there will be individuals that are corrupt. If you took those at opposite sides of the economic system and switched them, you would have an initial period of great upheaval some positive, some negative. This would be followed by leveling out and eventually a situation that was basically the same as the current situation.

And this is where we arrive at the ultimate confrontation. Does each of us seek more power? Do we have a particular limit on how much power we seek? If given the power, how easily would we relinquish it? And can we say the same of future generations? If we were to actually be able to choose a group of people that did not seek power, would they be able to wield it successfully? If we gave the power to those that did not seek it and they could wield it well, would we have to find another group when they began to retire? Would they be able to look upon their children and wish a worse life for them than they currently have?

This is, unfortunately, the set of hypotheticals we are actually investigating. If you actually believe that it is possible to find said group of people, simply extend the scenario to the next generation. The simple truth is that for better or worse humans have always been either predators or prey. Those who would relinquish their power will never acquire any. My fellow predators were able to fight back the other predators and provide a safe place for those that would prey.

Yes, I referred to myself as a predator. Choosing not to hunt and/or kill does not make one prey, it simply indicates an intelligent predator. Homo sapiens have never been a prey animal. We are consider a "super predator" and one of the most successful species this plant has ever seen.

And so, it is time. It is time for those who wish to overthrow power to choose. They must choose leaders. They must choose the predators they feel comfortable unleashing. This will not be the final struggle. This will just be a power shift. Human nature will guarantee that over time another power shift will be necessary. All predators will eventually hunt.

They can choose to be a random collection of individuals. They can choose to fight a battle without commanders. In a word, they can choose to accomplish nothing.

In the interim, we will stand by. Those that are part of the system and successful. Those that have not forgotten where they came from. Those who love this country and are grateful for our successes. Those who realize that success can not be won unless it is won honestly. Those who realize that we have what the current power base wants. We will await a call to act. We who yield the swords will protect you with our lives, but we also have a lot to lose. We have no interest in losing it unless we think it will make a difference.

We are harsh. We are pragmatic. We are not some sort of strange middle ground that has no thoughts on the subject. We do not lack belief. We believe that the system has merit. We believe it can be improved. We will not just throw it away. If you wish to have us on your side, just let us know what side you are on.