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04-07-22 12:54 PM - Post#918745
When observed closely, nature is harsh and brutal, and everything dies a horrible death.
This is not entirely true. Plenty of wild animals reach ripe old ages. But yes, nature is violent, and I think it’s worth noting that we’re the only species to overcome that violence through social cooperation. A lot of our instinctual fear of nature’s violence arises when we contemplate facing it alone. Anyone who’s watched the Alone show can see how harsh nature is, and how the competitors usually lose their minds, but that extreme isolation isn’t how earlier humans interacted with nature. Some degree of society is necessary for all but the craziest of us. It’s finding that balance that matters.
A curious bit from Sebastian Junger’s book, Tribe: “Decades before the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin lamented that English settlers were constantly fleeing over to the Indians-but Indians almost never did the same.” Point being, if you’ve got a tribe, living in nature is often a lot more attractive than an artificial alternative.
Not that I’d do it. I like my barbells, mattress, and local wine shop a little too much.
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