Sustainability's New Underpinnings

According to noted primatologist Robert Sapolsky, supported by the pioneering work of Jane Goodall and Frans de Waal, the past two decades have seen a complete revolution in our understanding of human nature. Yes, I said "human nature," not just apes, baboons and chimpanzees. What we have learned is still sinking in, and we know that new knowledge can take generations to become integrated into human cultures.

To put it briefly, by studying other primates we have learned that humans are not nearly as unique as we had believed. Non-human primates have been shown to transmit culture to their children and future generations, and to have that culture perpetuated and possibly expand to other tribes. Non-human primates are aware that other individuals in their tribe have their own thought processes and identities. Non-human primates have empathy and the potential for great kindness. Non-human primates are capable of incredible visual-spatial memory, complex negotiations, and the performance of intricate tasks, even the acquisition of sign language. And, we have learned that non-human primates are capable of enormous viciousness and even orchestrated warfare. As we have looked into the eyes of our primate cousins, we have seen ourselves.

The most powerful lesson in these similarities between humans and apes is that much of our human intellectual world is window-dressing for our primate drives and needs. Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs may acknowledge the importance of basic needs such as food, shelter and water, and mating, but may have grossly exaggerated the importance of "self-actualization." Indeed, most of what we call our career, social status and self-identity may be more based upon the social orders and rivalries we see in other primates than in any unique dimension of human-ness. To be sure, there are orders of magnitude greater complexity in our communications, technologies and social structures, but not any major differences in kind.

What does this teach us about sustainability? What could our "ape-ness" possibly show that we didn't already know? First, our current understanding of non-human primates shows us that humans are a species are not terribly unique. Second, non-human primates show us that we are not nearly as altruistic and democratic as we like to think. Individual gain and power are always present in human motivation regardless of the spirituality and altruism we want others to see in our actions. We still want to be seen as dominant over others and as attractive to the gender we are attracted to. We still will do almost anything to be accepted by our peers. We still crave a family and/or tribe and will do anything to help it survive and prosper.

Motivation to live sustainably is there, in our primate genes. The problem is that without understanding our primate nature, we have created cultures and expectations that undermine our sustainability while seeming to support it. While humans crave simplicity, we also are drawn to complexity in all imaginable forms. We create vast complexities in social structure, technology, ideology and religion that keep us entertained and occupied - but can easily lead us to extremes, competition and conflict. It is in our nature to monkey with everything at our disposal. In the process, we invent and create. Our egos convince us that we know everything we need to know, so we are constantly reinventing ourselves and our realities, barely aware of the constant human-created gauntlet of unintended consequences we face in our individual and collective lives.

Sustainability, at some point, requires observing reality rather than constantly inventing new realities and mobilizing exciting solutions stimulating our imaginations and our fantasies of fame, power and wealth. At some point, there are ecological limits to our growth and to our predilections for complexity and consuming stuff. With global climate change and the increasing domestication of humans in cities and corporate workplaces, we long ago passed the thresh hold of non-sustainability. Overpopulation has resulted in increased exploitation of precious resources and cheap labor at the same time that literacy and education have created cultures ever more adept at creating more and more complexity and distraction. Human urge to have children has declined in educated cultures, and depression has manifested in huge proportions.

Overcomplexity has propelled addictions, including over-consumption of consumer goods. We have tinkered with our environment and our foods in ways that cause illness and obesity. Our lives become more and more technologically driven and sedentary, while we exercise compulsively in order to feel human. Of course, there are simple things that we can all do to reverse many of these threats. The good news is that we have everything we need to live more fulfilled and stimulating lives. And it is time to return to our living ecosystems here on this wonderful planet. It is time to recognize our primate nature and work on developing cultures that support and sustain us rather than overstimulating and overstressing us.

Find me on Facebook, LinkedIn or at www.divineprimates.com if you would like to learn more about my work.

The Role of Overpopulation in Global Climate Change

Today is Blog Action Day, with a focus on Global Climate Change. There is so much to write about regarding Global Climate Change, which is already resulting in massive destruction to the ecosystems upon which we depend for food, water and other necessities. This time, however, I want to focus on the role of human overpopulation as a key factor in the human contribution to this global crisis.

A few days ago, I attended a panel discussion on Global Climate Change at the Society of Environmental Journalists (http://www.sej.org) conference in Madison, Wisconsin. I also attended a talk by Al Gore on the same topic, updating us about the fact that Global Climate Change is here, and having devastating impacts already. The panel on overpopulation included Prof. Paul Ehrlich, who has been writing about population for decades. It is unfortunate that so little attention is being paid to population issues in the media, apparently because it is such a sensitive topic - and virtually taboo because of the dogmas of particular religions.

Yet, human overpopulation is one of the key causes of the stresses we are placing upon our planetary resources that are leading to global climate change. We will not likely be able to control our destructive consumption and cycles of famine and war until overpopulation eases its constant pressure on planetary resources. To encourage population increases in this era is obviously irrational and in abrogation of the common sense any divine being would have conferred upon our species.

However, through lack of support for family planning and individual control over family size, many organizations around the world are actively sabotaging human efforts to live in balance with our natural world. Through direct social incentives and mandates to produce more children, these organizations promote cultural values found in ancient texts as if we are living thousands of years ago, when, indeed, the planet could easily absorb millions of additional humans. As a result, our species and our planet are further endangered and sound efforts to address global climate change and other global ecological crises such as mass extinctions are thwarted.

It does not matter why people and organizations choose to sabotage efforts to allow the human race to live in peace and prosperity on this planet. Some religious leaders look at today's situation and adapt to the world we live in today, honoring the wisdom of our ancient texts and choosing not to repeat the tragedies of which they repeatedly warn. Yet, others hold onto and re-create the ancient biblical conflicts and disasters, seemingly doomed to repeat the past rather than create a better future. I, for one, fail to see the morality in dooming our species to untold suffering. For the sake of our species, these actions and the attitudes that support them must change.

Do Ideologies Make Sustainability Impossible?

I wanted to share some thoughts about why we humans need to let go of our ideologies and theologies in order to live sustainably on this planet. I don't mean that we should ban political parties and religions, but that we should have cultural norms that teach the need for people to avoid getting stuck in extreme thought loops that lead to obsession, and even paranoia, with narrow concepts that distract us from our most important challenges as a species.

For example, there are many news stories, pundits and celebrities that attract our attention. However, while we can believe what we want, we don't need to re-enact a given story or historical account over and over and over so much that we lose perspective in our real lives. We don't need to stalk celebrities. We don't need to inflict our religious or political dogmas upon other people. Even if we see it to be "common sense" or "absolutely obvious," there is more than one acceptable way to think.

In times when different people and groups were relatively isolated from each other and were not in constant contact, there was less harm in engaging in rants and obsessional thinking. Yet, as humans, we rely upon our cultures and social relationships to contain our collective understanding of our relationship to each other and to the world around us. As one country or culture comes into contact with another, there is a clash of cultures and attempts to accommodate or synthesize cultural adjustments to allow mutual peace and productivity. Where cultures get stuck in rigid thinking patterns, conflicts become more inevitable and more severe.

As our world has shrunk and the contact points between very different cultures have become seemingly infinite, there need to evolve new patterns and rules so that everyone has opportunity to participate peacefully and no one group demands the power to control what everyone else thinks. Today, our cultures are hamstrung, rather than being liberated or empowered, by layers and layers of cultural ideologies and expectations that were created hundreds or thousands of years ago to reflect very different circumstances that are no longer present today. In that tribal past, tolerance was not expected and occasional violence and wars were.

Because global cooperation is now required for our very survival, a new global culture must form that respects diverse local cultures rather than barely tolerating them. Taking a systems approach, rather than continuing in our post-colonialist approaches to less technologically advanced countries and cultures, we see that our quest for common ground is obscured by theological and ideological concepts and cultures. Beneath these things that separate human groups and pit us against each other, there is a common ground, indeed.

We are all primates, human animals with physical, cultural and emotional needs in common. By returning to these basics, we empower negotiations and cooperation instead of bullying and brinksmanship. By getting stuck in ideological and theological concepts that were meant to explain and comfort, rather than radicalize and destroy our sense of boundaries and cooperation, we undermine our very survival. Little is more irrational and self-destructive than war and hatred, but these have been a regular feature of human existence for thousands of years.

"Divine Primates," as a concept, as a book project and as an educational tool, is a look at the human animal. We humans are found throughout the planet, in groupings that have distinct histories and cultures. Let's look at what we all have in common, not just with other humans, but even with many other species with whom we share this complex, inter-related set of ecosystems we call "earth." It is fear and envy that cause us to forget our human compassion and lose all sense of proportion in relating to other groups, nations, religions and cultures. With immense ecological and geopolitical crises threatening to erupt into war, famine and ecological collapse, we must eventually get back to basics and learn to live peacefully with others and yet defend ourselves when that is not an option.

To the extent that ideologies and theologies tend to spread like thought viruses and infect human populations, we need to lessen their impact and inoculate young people with knowledge of their dangers. Infected individuals lose their sense of proportion and easily become rigid, paranoid and radicalized, replacing their rational values with obsession and a need to control other people. Convinced that the end of the world is approaching unless competing ideas are obliterated, humans have repeatedly brought immense tragedy upon themselves for no real reason - other than our primate nature.

The rage of paranoid minds, manipulated by greedy, power-hungry sociopaths and fools, is a powerful destructive tool in primate cultures. Yet, we human primates also have the power to step back and look at situations from a distance, with a larger perspective. Where obsession would otherwise govern, causing escalating cycles of mistrust, hatred and violence, we have the power to insert wisdom. Currently, our culture has become almost devoid of meaning as we obsess about power, posessions and prestige. It is not coincidental that there is a rise in anti-intellectualism and fundamentalism, which threaten to cause increased conflict and contention. Will enough people choose the path of reflection and wisdom, or will our chattering monkey minds demand revenge and purification? What do you think?

Racist Code Words and Images Must Be Discussed

There are those who claim that the recent New York Post cartoon depicting the author of the "stimulus bill" as a chimpanzee is not racist. Drawing that cartoon may not have been an act of racism, but publishing it could not be seen otherwise. On the same day that our Attorney General complains that Americans are cowards in their refusal to deal with racism, there could not be a better example to prove him right.

Racist code words and images are powerful tools for resisting rational thought processes and clinging to old patterns of racism and bigotry. It is high time that these derogatory cultural obscenities be addressed directly and effectively. We can not afford to ignore the enculturation of racism through these primitive devices.

However, besides the obvious racism in the use of these code words (e.g., monkey or ape) and images, there is a more subtle problem. In allowing these words and images to remain associated with racism effectively removes important words and concepts from acceptable discourse. As long as we harbor racism in the association of black people with monkeys, we will be uncomfortable talking about primates in polite company - and certainly around black people.

It is entirely possible that the primate images associated with racism have been one of the reasons Darwin's theory of evolution has remained unpopular among large segments of the white populations. Think about it! White people who think that humans were created by God may have trouble associating themselves as primates, but they apparently don't have trouble associating black people as primates! Is this racism? You betcha!

Further, perhaps the notion of humans being created as divine beings is responsible for the bloated egos our species exhibits in dealing with our destruction of earth's climate and resources. If so, then we need to be able to talk about our primate nature in order to increase awareness that we are just another species on this planet - as special species, but nevertheless one of several species of primates that call this planet home.

This blog and blogger are not insensitive to the historic use of primate imagery by delusional racists. However, the path to sustainable living may require us to get this "monkey" off of our backs because it contributes to our reluctance to acknowledge our basic human primate nature. I apologize for being blunt, but any rational assessment of the situation would find that "Black" people are no closer to non-human primates than are "White" people. It is ridiculous that we have accepted racist imagery and code words into our culture.

In fact, many apes and monkeys far more closely resemble "White" people than "Black" people. In general, the hair of nonhuman primates (which is sometimes even reddish) is far closer to that of "White" people than it is to that of "Black" people, for example. So, we all need to get beyond the perception of monkey and ape as racist code words. We need those words and concepts in our language because they help us to understand our common origins and human nature.

The delusional racist imagery of African people somehow being closer to apes or monkeys may have entered our culture, but it is false, pernicious and must be exposed and replaced by rational imagery. While it may thus be uncomfortable at first, for some people of various ancestries to work with the Divine Primates imagery, it may be vital to our survival. This may be a necessary step in the process of reclaiming human nature from the history of ignorance and ego that has led us to believe that humans are divided into races, and that any humans could be so superior to other humans or other species that they no longer need to respect the planet we live on, and to work to live sustainably within the ecosystem constraints of planet earth.

Indeed, racism may be one of the major reasons our culture has spun out of control. The discomfort with our primate nature, from the days of Darwin to the present time, may have caused human culture to deny evolution, justify racism, and to collude in attitudes indicating that humans are not really even animals. As comforting as these attitudes may be for some, we are seeing their disastrous impacts in our culture today. The advertising and marketing industries are well aware of how to entice us into desiring, and spending money on, things we don't need. This is why many advertising jobs go to people with degrees in psychology and even anthropology!

It is time to reclaim our species from those who would make monkeys out of us, whether that means politicians who get us worked up about meaningless ideologies, religious leaders that convince us that ours is the only "right" way to live, media outlets that thrive on keeping old bigotries alive, and folks who make tons of money manipulating us into lifestyles that support their own greed, but which do not support the sustainability of our planet.

Black people are not apes or monkeys -- any more than white people or red people or yellow people. The entire rainbow of humans are primates, and not nearly as divine as we'd like to believe.

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Earon S. Davis, J.D., M.P.H. is a writer, teacher, policy analyst and media advisor located in Evanston, IL. He was not one of those considered by ex-Governor Rod Blagojevich for appointment to the US Senate and has never offered to raise money for the politician he now affectionately refers to as "Ex-Rod". Earon is working on a project to create awareness that humans are a species of primates -- http://www.divineprimates.com

Moving Beyond Our Consumerist Culture

Sure, we would all like to solve our sustainability problems and live in a world of peace and prosperity. But how do we figure out how to get there? We need to change our culture to emphasize our values for compassion and patience, for long-term benefits over immediate gratification. Can we think beyond our consumerist culture? Beyond the chatter of social and peer pressure? Beyond the needs and expectations of our families and children? Beyond our "needs" for comfort items and status symbols? Beyond our status as people highly privileged to live in the wealthy US? Beyond our need to see ourselves as intelligent and competent? Possibly, but I doubt that we will solve our looming problems by thinking in the same short-term, judgmental, greedy, selfish ways that created our crises in the first place. Are there new ways of thinking?

Warning: this essay will challenge your sense that someone is in control of the human race. Please stop reading if you can not cope with the concept that the human species is brilliant, but entirely clueless about how to live peacefully or sustainably on this planet. Watch a scary movie or go shopping if you need to distract yourself from this reality. . . . . Okay, they're gone now. The adults can talk.

Divine Primates: Hope for Our Stressed-Out Species is a controversial look at who's minding the store - who is guiding and protecting the human species. Many of us would like to think that God is looking out for us. Others believe that our governments are taking care of things, or perhaps the super-rich are managing the human race through some kind of conspiracy or kabal or secret society or trilateral commission. Indeed, even such paranoid fantasies can be immensely reassuring to us, far preferable to the realization that we are a planet full of wonderfully creative, curious primates who have little notion of what we are doing.

And yet, the human species is immensely intelligent, talented, diverse and hopeful. We've just never really cooperated on a global level. We have not yet figured out how to eliminate the ancient patterns of fundamentalism and ideology that divide humans and threaten peace and sustainability in the process. We have principles and rules, like Earth Charter, and the United Nations, but we do not yet trust them. Some religions still oppose population control, stuck in ancient realities that called for expanding our populations to better compete with other religions. Our political and economic ideologies fuel nationalist and consumerist frenzies and resource consumption that threaten our environment with devastation, deforestation, wars, extinctions and famine.

We can do better. We must do better. But we need to step outside of the strange, dysfunctional cultures that have evolved over the centuries to serve short-term theocratic, corporate and political interests and desires. What may have worked in an age of smoke signals and provincialism will not work in an age of globalization, cell phones and the Internet. We need to better understand the nature of human beings and redirect our energies from engaging consumerism and status over to better engaging in humanitarian and long-term efforts to serve and protect humanity and the rest of our natural systems on this planet. In this process, we will evolve further from fundamentalist, exclusive religions over to more open and diverse spiritualities through which all people, including atheists, can find acceptance and community.

A new humanity is evolving. The common goal is partnership and cooperation. This will lead to solutions that allow for equity and sustainability - not just maintaining highly wasteful standards of living for the most wealthy. We will find ways to lead good and free lives. Life is not about "stuff" but about working together towards a sustainable future.

Introduction to Divine Primates

Following is a narrative introduction to my book project. Please send comments and inquiries to me at divineprimates@aol.com. If you are involved with sustainability issues, please help bring this to the attention of other leaders in the movement. Note: This is extremely long for a blog entry, but is published here to provide background for the concept.

Divine Primates:

Help for Our Stressed-Out Species

by Earon S. Davis, J.D., M.P.H., L.C.M.T.Copyright 2007-8 Earon S. Davis

Introduction

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I viewed my fellow man not as a
fallen angel, but as a risen ape.

-- Desmond Morris, Author,

The Naked Ape

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I love the human race.

Over the past 57 years, I have had a lot of different experiences. I've faced serious challenges and I've had my successes and my losses. I've witnessed the process of birth and I've witnessed the process of death. I've lived through some turbulent times and times of peace. I've served in many roles, having degrees in sociology, law and public health, having been a stay-at-home Dad, environmental advocate, writer, and consultant and now massage therapist and student of traditional wisdom, spiritual and healing practices.

Out of all of my experiences, I think that being a parent changed my life the most. It was quite a transition going from being a working class Chicago kid to becoming a lawyer. But becoming a parent eventually led me to see life in an entirely different way. I grew to love my children more than I'd thought possible, so much so, that I was able to allow them room to grow and to find their own paths.

After experiencing that process, I did not want to return to the complex, conflict-driven world of advocacy and law. I was drawn, instead, to the healing arts. I needed to become more familiar with the human race. And, in the field of bodywork, one does get to know people, on a level that is anything but superficial.

I'm not sure how this book became mine to write, but there was a gradual process through which I came to claim it, and nobody objected, so I eventually let it emerge, with the support and encouragement of my wise partner, Martha. But I know that it is an accumulation of all of my life experiences, that it is not about being an "expert" in any given area, and that it comes predominantly from a place of love and concern.

Writing about one's own species is a complex responsibility. Since I am an independent person, not entrenched in any of our human institutions, and able to say what I want without fear of offending people, I am also free to see what I see. I have always been that way. In a class or a meeting, I would be the one who asked the "good questions" that were difficult to answer. I always looked for the key to understanding any particular issue or concern, while others wrestled with getting things done.

And what I see in our society, after years of trying to resolve environmental and other issues, is a culture that has lost its grounding and is too full of itself to understand when it is moving in disastrous directions. Even when those directions become difficult to deny, as with global warming, we seem incapable of developing consensus and implementing solutions. I see a culture that is massively stressed, self-involved and distracted from the basic priorities of life.

While I might define myself as politically "progressive," I perceive much the same problems as do "conservatives." Like the vast majority of Americans, I am troubled by drug use and addiction, by violence and entitlement, by the concept of rights without responsibilities. I am troubled by child abuse, sexual promiscuity and by aspects of abortion. I am concerned about the sexualization of our media and popular culture.

What I do not share is the view that our problems can be solved by a "free market" economy, nor by privatizing military and civil justice functions, nor by authoritarian censorship and "zero tolerance" policies that expel students for taking an aspirin or for hugging each other, nor by laws that eliminate our basic freedoms, nor by policies that facilitate people's earning great sums of money without working for it, nor to shifting more burdens onto the poor and disadvantaged in our country or in other nations.

My thesis, in this book, is that we, the human race, have become increasingly distracted by our accomplishments, our technologies, our power, and even our shame and fears. We need to acknowledge our human primate nature and begin the process of rebalancing and prioritizing our lives and our culture so that we can be proper stewards of our own species and our own planet.

This book is not about scholarship. Although I have acquired a great deal of information in my life, what is most important to me is the experience of living. I have been a lawyer, with a masters degree in public health; a consultant and project manager; government employee; advocate; writer; newsletter editor and a nonprofit organization executive. I've had a book and many articles published and have testified before Congress. I have raised three children as a stay-at-home Dad. I am currently working as a massage therapist and integrative bodywork specialist, and I have studied a number of wisdom, faith and healing traditions.

To most people, this combination of skills and professions may seem a bit odd. And I admit that I've always thought in ways that were a little "different." Growing up, I would often hear from my Dad, "Earon, you think too much. Why do you always try to figure things out? I just know what I have to do and I do it."

In public school in Chicago, I wasn't a very good student, but I didn't get into any real trouble. I was usually one of the first to understand a new concept that a teacher would introduce. The teacher would briefly explain something to the confused faces around the class, and I would listen and easily make sense out of it. Then I'd be ready for more, but we'd soon be back to the routine lessons that bored me to death.

I wasn't a particularly bright child, in the estimation of my parents and most of my teachers, and I was tall and left-handed. Nobody could figure out why I was left-handed, nor why anyone would want to be, but they all knew that my Dad was six foot four. My grades were mediocre and I was identified as an "underachiever." Today, I would be diagnosed with learning disabilities, but we couldn't afford learning disabilities in my working class Chicago neighborhood back in the 1950's. We all did the best we could, with whatever we had.

My Dad was a construction electrician, who had served in the Army in WWII, and my Mom was a housewife who had dropped out of high school. My grandparents immigrated to the US with their parents (one came on his own), when they were children, and my two grandfathers became a cab driver (for more than 50 years) and an independent painting contractor (who never learned to read or write). None of my immediate relatives was among the most successful or educated people in their respective families, but they worked hard and did their best.

I continue to be baffled by the fact that I, and my three brothers, each graduated from college and graduate school, without major financial help from our family. We each seemed driven by traditional values and a desire to learn, rather than an obsession with becoming wealthy. Among us, my brothers and I earned two law degrees, Masters degrees in Sociology, Biology and Public Health and an MBA from Dartmouth.

So began my journey. I later came to realize that my family pet, a border collie named Ginger, had played a major role in my upbringing. That amazing dog kept us kids out of trouble and herded us to where we were supposed to be. Ginger was my introduction to our animal kingdom, to the partnerships we have with other species. That experience taught me that wisdom and instinct are not necessarily different. In fact, perhaps wisdom is merely instinct that works.

It didn't matter whether Ginger protected us because it was her instinct, or some high level cognitive ability, because the result was the same. The fact that parents care for their children is not because humans have high order intelligence. I have learned in life that most of what we do and value in life has more to do with our nature than with our cognitive abilities to think things through; that our technologies and intellectual lives, no matter how much they impress us, are window dressing for our basic human nature.

This book is not directed at the debate between "nature" and "nurture," which I believe to be a misleading question, driven more by alliteration than by common sense. To be sure, the way we are treated in life has a great deal to do with how our nature manifests. We can be peaceful and loving when our life experiences are peaceful and loving, and we can be violent and hateful when our life experiences are violent and hateful. My basic point is that over 90% of "who we are" as human beings is deeply influenced by our nature (and by nurture) and less influenced by the intellectual constructs of our conscious minds.

An important part of our nature is to get carried away with ourselves and our accomplishments. We are so impressed with the tall buildings and intricate technologies we create that we increasingly act as if we were all-knowing and all-powerful. We create more and more complex social, philosophical, technological, economic and political systems.

It is a shame that few people seem to read all of the bible these days, including "fundamentalists". The tower of Babel is the perfect cautionary tale for our culture. Arrogance and technology combined to build a ridiculously tall structure for no reason other than to prove that humans were all-knowing. As a result, people became specialized to such an extent that they could no longer communicate with each other. The result was collapse and dispersion. Duh? And, by the way, religion, science and politicians didn't prevent this collapse.

Just as much as it is our human nature to care for our families, it is in our nature to tinker with our world, whether to attain wealth and power, or just to see what we can do. When we struggle for survival, we can create brilliant solutions to resource problems and food storage. At such times, we do not have the luxury of building irrelevant, or marginally useful, technologies. However, when we have time on our hands, and there are vast accumulations of wealth and power, we can easily get carried away, often by building huge things (e.g., palaces, pyramids and very tall buildings) and technologies (e.g., cell phones with digital cameras, remote controls, high definition TV, ad infinitum) that we don't really need.

The Question: So, how can the human race find a balance that allows us to live in a more sustainable manner? This book attempts to answer that very important question, but not by pointing out specific solutions. The key to understanding our problems is to understand ourselves, both individually and collectively. Albert Einstein once said that we can not solve our problems by thinking in the same way that created them. Thus, if our problems were caused by false assumptions, we won't be able to solve them until we uncover, examine and correct those assumptions. The challenge, then, is to identify the patterns of thought that set the stage for our problems, and the behavior patterns that bring them to fruition, and to do so while we are still able to make changes that will solve or ameliorate the problem.

I do not claim that any of the ideas expressed in this book are unique, but will limit the use of footnotes and chapter references because each source carries its own baggage and preconceptions. I would like these assembled ideas to be weighed on their own merits, in a common sense manner, as a story about the human race, rather than as any sort of political, ethical or intellectual "movement," dissertation or thread, not that I would mind being associated with the likes of Charles Darwin, Margaret Mead, Samuel Clemens, Daniel Quinn, Frans de Waal or Desmond Morris.

I am an American and I do not mean to imply that my observations and ideas are equally applicable to other cultures and other peoples around the world. I would like Americans to accept responsibility for the leadership role we have in our own country, as well as this world, and of the mess we are making of things. At times in this book, I do attempt to apportion responsibility for some of the problems in American institutions and belief systems. However, I recognize that we have all participated in the development of these problems and I see the analysis herein as serving to guide us in creating new solutions rather than focusing on blame and recrimination.

This book, and its author, are influenced by all of the very same aspects of human nature we all face. For this reason, I want to clearly state that I do not pretend to have all of the answers to our national and global problems and that I am not offering specific solutions. Instead, I am offering a different way to think about these problems, especially in observing that our problems are problems of human beings, not machines. Thus, our solutions must be consistent with our nature, and cognizant of the competing physiological, cultural and psychological traits and values we must deal with.

Today, we often think that our problems stem from the differences between men and women, the differences between religions and the differences between the various cultures and nations. To be sure, these have historically been the flash points of conflict. However, what I am offering is that all of these differences are merely symptoms of an overarching problem.

The problem is that we are attempting to abandon human nature in favor of intellectual constructs (e.g., a rational, corporate, technological society). As a result, we appear to be assuming that a free market economy, or some other "invisible hand" can result in collective decisions that are in the best long term interests of the survival of our nation and of the human race. This assumption is preposterous. It assumes that we will always have sufficient time and information to collectively change our behavior before we do anything that would cause permanent damage to our biosphere. And yet, we appear incapable of stopping the global warming processes that are already causing catastrophic climate change.

Designing an engineering solution to an engineering problem is one thing. However, designing a solution to a human, cultural problem will always require far more than science and engineering. We humans are a peculiar lot, indeed. We have traits, abilities and consciousness that give us incredible creativity and adaptability. Yet, we don't consistently follow logic and we are capable of doing things that are clearly opposed to our self interest, and even threaten the sustainability of our culture and planet.
Many of our individual and collective choices are governed by our unconscious minds, which may have more in common with apes out on a limb than with any omniscient beings of pure light and reason. We choose flawed leaders and insist on following them. We get into pathological patterns of behavior and can't stop. And yet we have the ability to show amazing courage and faith, acknowledging our mistakes and moving forward with incredible skill and persistence to create and implement solutions. What is the source of this genius? It comes from our awareness as humans, from our nature as what I call "Divine Primates."

Parts I and II of this book explore human nature. The parallels between human nature and primate nature are so obvious that they speak for themselves. They reveal much of who we are, as a species, and why we are often unable to find collective solutions to problems on a small scale, let alone a global scale. There is consideration of the roles of the institutions in our culture in perpetuating or triggering the unpredictable over-reactions and excesses that undermine internal, societal and intercultural peace and cooperation. Part III focuses on how we can fully engage the process of finding solutions.

In Part IV, the focus shifts internally, towards practices that nurture humans and help us to find balance and harmony within, and to thus be more compassionate and cooperative with others. Among these, meditation, contemplation, and healthy touch are important parts of any potential solution to our national and global challenges. We have ways to help people slow down and encounter some very positive aspects of human nature, and we should use them. We should teach them in our schools.

We can not effectively manage our economic and environmental systems simply by setting forth somewhat "greener" alternatives in a highly competitive free market place. We can not expect fearful, overstressed, insecure humans (or any other primates) to behave rationally and in their own long term self-interest. Thus, reducing our stress levels and increasing the perception of belonging, support and safety are critical parts of any solution to our growing health, emotional, ecological and addiction problems.

Nor can we expect children in impoverished, gang-dominated neighborhoods to consistently develop strong respect for education, science, hard work and being law-abiding. These children are not safe from violence, abuse and intimidation. Without that safety, and without the kinds of help, support and encouragement experienced by children in other neighborhoods, too small a percentage will be able to overcome the violence, fear and distorted values that are part of their chaotic world.
By nurturing humans in a healthy and effective way, we cultivate both wisdom and altruism. It is time that our culture refocused more of its attention from the acquisition of "shiny" objects to the nurturing of our young and everyone else. Then, we will be more able to and to extend that compassion to all of the creatures and ecosystems of the earth, and to recognize and act upon the larger challenges we face nationally and globally.

Our contemporary culture is incredibly complex and confusing. By serving as a meeting place for all the cultures of the world, America is also host to virtually every value and tradition, every historical thought and dogma from antiquity forward. The marketplace of ideas is thus rich beyond belief, but also far more than we, or our children can comprehend. Each discipline, each dogma, each history, each aspect of art and science seemingly demands our attention. Prejudice and denial often arise as social forces to help humans limit the stimulation of our infinite world. They can be especially powerful for people who are financially or emotionally overwhelmed and/or uneducated.

As Margaret Mead commented, in Coming of Age in Samoa, "A society which is clamoring for choice, which is filled with many articulate groups, each urging its own brand of salvation, its own variety of economic philosophy, will give each new generation no peace until all have chosen or gone under, unable to bear the conditions of choice. The stress is in our civilization." Through the perspectives offered in this book, I feel that we can form umbrella approaches that don't require us to choose. One of my favorite concepts was derived from the tendency of people to describe situations where "there are two types of people" - those who are mean and those who are kind - those who are prejudiced and those who aren't. My approach is to go one step further; that there are two types of people - those who think there are two types of people and those who don't. Of course, I'm not sure which category that would place me in.

However, the point is that we do not have to choose, and that those who force us to choose may not be acting with wisdom. We don't need to adopt one or another philosophy or political ideology. We don't need to adopt one religion. In the "Tools" section of this book, we will look at ways to open our minds without becoming overwhelmed. This is a key to sound decision making, both personally and as citizens.

I would also l like to be clear about what this book is not about. This book is not intended as a scientific study. I am not saying that genetic similarities between chimpanzees and humans actually prove that we both evolved from a particular common ancestor, although it is difficult to image any other conclusion. My assertions about the similarities between human and nonhuman primates are observational and serve as a means to help us better understand human nature, rather than answers to complex scientific, political and theological questions. My thesis works whether humans evolved from common ancestors with chimpanzees, whether humans were created instantly by a divine presence, or whether we were brought here by unidentified flying objects.

This book is not intended to determine whether chimpanzees and gorillas are self-aware, sentient beings, but rather the extent to which humans are. Rather than uncovering deeply hidden secrets that will change our lives forever, this book is about telling a story about the human experience, a story that may help us to step out of some of the dysfunctional, self-destructive patterns in which we humans have become entrenched. It is my hope that this story will help us to move on to a more sustainable "next step" in our continuing quest for meaning.

Public Health Implications of How We Define Human Nature

By Earon S. Davis, J.D., M.P.H., L.C.M.T.

We generally don't think about the public health implications of how we view humanity. Yet, if we view human nature as constantly struggling for survival in a dog-eat-dog world, we are encouraging those around us into exteme competition, and probable tolerance of war and violence. If we are seen primarily as consumers, in a "produce or die" world, then we focus on generating products, exploiting people, resulting in massive environmental crises. If we are viewed only as divinely moral beings, we embrace the extrme in religions and may neglect or distort practical health issues, focusing far too much attention on moralizing health issues related to sexuality, fertility and reproduction, as well as idealizing our religion as "the one true way" to live.

Through experience, we are thus learning that extreme beliefs in fundamentalist religions or economic and political ideologies serve to redefine human nature in a profound manner, and carry major implications for the public's health. Our pluralistic, free society seeks a compassionate balance so that war, extreme consumerism and intolerance might ultimately be relegated to history, and yet we live in a shrinking, complex world struggling to live sustainably and in peace.

Perhaps we need to spend more time and effort on developing a mindful definition of human nature that will help bring us together, rather than relying upon the myths of the past, whether those are carried by religious theologies, economic theories, political ideologies or even the scientific method. As Albert Einstein said, we can not solve our problems by thinking in the same ways that created them. So, let us step back from the intense debates of the past and consider the world we would like to inhabit, and how we can get there.

There is no better starting point than looking at a newborn child, born with no beliefs, ready to be programmed and nurtured, and vulnerable to all manner of disease, injury, emotional trauma and stress. When a human child is born, what do we know about the life they will have? What are their burdens and opportunities? Is their health simply a function of how injuries and diseases are expressed through contact with the world, mediated by their own genetic endowment? What about the role of family, culture, community and global sustainability?

Human babies face an immense program of training and discipline which seems to be growing and changing every year. What they are expected to learn varies greatly from culture to culture, from one economic and social class to another. In the United States and the "Western" world, children are programmed with an ever growing array and intensity of information. They emerge as a defenseless primate and are "enhanced" with a multitude of learning experiences and stimuli, both real and virtual (e.g., television, Internet). The goal is to produce productive adults, but we do not know the long term implications of this training period, nor precisely why many children fail to engage in the educational systems, or drop out at various stages.

We do not know whether we may be inculcating life-long emotional and social difficulties through our educational training expectations and experiences. By increasingly emphasizing economic success, what are we doing to our children and to our future? The greatest predictor of "success" in education is the wealth of one's parents. What about happiness? Is happiness simply a function of social and economic successes?

What about the cultural beliefs that are passed on to our children? Many children are taught to believe in one of numerous variations of "God." They are taught that humans have an infinite destiny, having been created by the Divine force. Many are taught that life is a battle between good and evil. If we are divinely created, then what are our obligations to other animals and to our planet in general? Stewardship is presented as a value, but our clearly "non-divine" popular cultures and personal motivations inevitably lead us to place human comfort and passions ahead of the needs of ecosystems or global sustainability. If we are not divinely created, and are merely another species inhabiting this planet, perhaps we would behave differently.

Human divinity, indeed, presents a host of public health challenges. First and foremost is overpopulation, which, itself, is draining the life out of our planet in many ways. Billions of humans use renewable and nonrenewable resources on this planet and generate unfathomable quantities of contamination and pollution, as well as the toxic and radioactive products and wastes from our industrial processes. Decreased populations would help reduce this growing pressure, but fertility cults continue to promote the opposite.

Overpopulation is endangering our planetary ecosystems, our global climate and threatening famine and warfare. Yet, some organizations in charge of our "moral" lives paint birth control and abortion as mortal sins? If this is what divinity means, perhaps we should find smarter gods if we want to survive as a species. Divinity means that killing animals by the billions is okay even if we don't need to eat them in order to be healthy, and even if it is a horribly inefficient way to produce food, a major factor in global warming and pollution.

Divinity must mean that elitism is okay. As long as we allow a few underprivileged people to attain wealth, then it is okay for the masses of people to constitute an underclass of hopelessness while we each discard more of the earth's materials than it would take to sustain thousands of people elsewhere.

Drugs and violence are severe problems, for those with success as well as those who do not find opportunity through our educational systems. In poverty, basic safety issues and lack of productive social structures fuel hopelessness and lawlessness. In wealth, an endless array of opportunities to get oneself into trouble are presented, and privilege can also lead to hopelessness and lawlessness. Are we asking too much of our children? Are we overstimilating them from birth? Are we behaving as if we are divine beings when we inculcate childhood fantasies of becoming sports stars, television, film and music celebrities or corporate CEO's?

"Underachievement" is a huge reality among the young adults of privilege in the "West." Many have formed adaptations to protect from the rampant "stressed for success" aspects of our culture. They have diminished expectations and their fantasies are of living independent, well-rounded lives, with modest jobs and living arrangements, raising children or not. But they hope to avoid the epidemics of stress-related diseases such as anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, digestive problems and chronic pain from musculoskeletal problems exacerbated by sedentary jobs and overcompensated workouts.

These young people tend to not favor organized religions. And they do not believe that humans are divine beings. They represent a new wave of hope for sustainability and for improved public health in the human species. Talk with them. They are in your family and your community. They may not be able to articulate their role in changing the face of the "West," but that is what they are doing. Whether the rest of our culture continues its bizarre obsession with wealth, and marginalizing those who don't make the "cut" of "success," it is important to know that there are other ways to live.

Global warming, terrorism, famine and war, will eventually provide the smelling salts to wake up our culture to the irresponsibility of what it has wrought. In the meantime, public health issues abound, and radical religious organizations appear to be protected and empowered as role models despite their institutional debaucheries of fundamentalism, magical thinking and cultism; the pedophilic culture of priesthood and the hypocritical extravagance and promiscuity of televangelism.

At some point, we will wake up, drop the fantasy of our divinity, and get to work at building a sustainable culture that respects all life and honors as success the simple living of a good life. From my own point of view, "We, and our world, are sacred, and that has nothing to do with whether we were created or dropped off on earth by a flying saucer or some other extra-terrestrial entity."

Observing Apes In Order To Understand Human Nature

My book project is "Divine Primates: How Human Nature Has Gotten Us Into - And Can Help Get Us Out Of - Our Global Crises." Basically, I propose that we need a more grounded understanding of our own human nature as primates in order to deal with our global sustainability crises. Currently, we are trapped in a distorted paradigm that sees humans as some sort of divine race of super-beings. In fact, science shows us that we are not all that different from other species. The vast majority of our decisions involve lower order needs and desires that have nothing to do with our highly developed intelligence. Perhaps if we were less impressed with our creativity and scientific accomplishments, we would stop messing around with our global ecosystems.

Two recent news items serve to illustrate the proposition that we are not nearly as intelligent as we might like to believe. First, the Seattle Times, November 1, 2007, reported the death of a person named Washoe at the age of 42. Washoe was a chimpanzee. In fact, she was a world-famous chimpanzee who was probably the first of her species to learn American Sign Language. She could use around 250 signs from American Sign Language to communicate with people. However, what may be more remarkable is that Washoe taught sign language, without assistance, to another chimpanzee, named Loulis. http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/11/rip-washoe-chim.html

Second, Dr. Laurie Santos, a Yale Psychologist, has been conducting cognitive research on monkeys that is breaking new ground. Dr. Santos is studying aspects of human congnition that relate to our unconscious behavior. This research reveals our nature as humans, rather than the nature of the constructed intellectual worlds we like to inhabit. Dr. Santos has found that monkeys make the same kinds of poor economic decisions as humans do, over and over again. http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/21870

For me, these two views of the similarities between human and non-human primates confirm that I am on the right track with my book. Humans, indeed, can be trained to do many amazing things. We can become doctors, researchers, baseball players and entertainers. Yet, we still appear incapable of living sustainably on our planet. This isn't about our intelligence, but rather about how our nature manifests. We choose to be entertained rather than educated, very often. We are often inclined to view or interact with members of the opposite sex we find attractive, rather than more productive activities. We are drawn to shiny objects rather than books or conversation, very often. We are drawn to SUV's rather than bicycles, etc., etc. We sometimes get angry, rationalize and/or make excuses rather than face up to our problems and our failings.

There are ways to help us construct a healthier, more sustainable culture and I address these in my book. While there is plenty of room for non-exclusive spirituality and diverse traditions in the future, a new look at human nature will probably indicate that old-fashioned "my way is the only way" religions need to be replaced by interspirituality that respects all traditions.

To read more on my book project, see my other blog entries at www.divineprimate.zaadz.com/blog or go to my website, www.divineprimates.com. Your comments are welcome, right here, right now, on this blog! You must have some reaction or opinion on this topic!