Eons of Evolution and We are Still Dumb Animals

WE ARE DUMB ANIMALS.

Evolution is not the same as change, and eons of evolution didn’t change us. We are still wild, scared, nervous mammals. We scream at the dark because we can’t remember what happened to the light.

We are dumb. We Repeat ourselves despite ourselves. We say we will learn but we don’t have the will. We have the capacity but not the courage.

We say we won’t forget and then live in our amnesia. The cycle is always the same:

• Innocent people are killed and we are shocked

• We ask how this happened

• We try to understand why this happened

• Experts speculate and pontificate, politicians sympathize, communities struggle to find solace

• The media leaves, CNN goes back to regular coverage of celebrity rehab, and the cycle starts anew

Laws don’t change. Society doesn’t change. We build walls and make excuses and blame others and then, quietly, eerily, we forget.

We are dumb, empty, scared animals. We are a species of victims and pallbearers. We are what we deserve.

No, we are not without hope. We can do better – and sometimes we do, despite ourselves. We left the cave, we built towns and cities, we improved our health and welfare and have demonstrated flashes of growing beyond the bounds of our imaginations.

And this, perhaps, is what’s so sad – that we have the ability to advance but won’t take the steps.

If 20 more dead children, more funerals, more families shattered won’t convince us to change, then nothing will. We will repeat the cycle, over and over, expelling so many tears that, over time, I fear we will no longer call it crying.

We scream at the dark because we forgot that we, all of us, are the light.

Dumb, sad, shameful animals – pray for us, too.