Final Thoughts

This is going to be my final blog post because I am getting kicked out of the country for my ideas. Hopefully you have managed to get some understandings about how humans really act and what their true motivations are. I know that this might be hard knowledge for you to grasp, but it is important that you know the truth. If there is one thing that I want you to get out of this blog its that deep down no one is good. Scarcity and fear are what dominate the state of nature. In terms of natural rights there really is only one- the right to violence. In order to survive, you have to do whatever is necessary even if that means killing. People will always be greedy and there is nothing that can be done about it. In terms of thinking about the future, my expectations are not very high for mankind. The examples that I  have given in this blog are only few of many that show bad people in the world. After reading what I have said, your view of human kind should be altered. If you ever find yourself in a state of nature just wait because you will act exactly like I have told you. But that is okay, because you will just be proving my point.

Understandings

"Philosophies of leadership are determined by beliefs about human nature."



Structure



How you believe humans act will determine how you act as a leader. For that reason, if you think humans act selfishly, then you think they are going to need more order. This will translate over to how you lead them and you will inevitably have a more structured environment. I believe that you're also going to lead according to your beliefs, however in a state of nature those beliefs may become altered and you will only do what is best for yourself. You will forget about right from wrong, and do whatever you have to do to be successful and survive. An example that shows a leader guiding their subjects according to their behavior could be a teacher and her class. The way a teacher treats your class depends on how she expects you to behave.  The widely assumed expectation for kids is that they need more structure, so she will already have some set in place to begin with. But if your teacher thinks that you are going to be chaotic, then she will be even more strict to prevent this from happening. I believe that humans need a dictatorship because without one everyone would become "hungry" and resort to violence. There would be no order without government.



Support



"The governed have a responsibility for their governance."



The people have a responsibility for how their government treats them. Therefore if they act bad, the government will treat them bad because there are consequences for actions. I believe you have a responsibility to say your views, but that does not mean that you will be heard. In most governments you are actually allowed to vote for your leaders. I do not support electing leaders, because I believe that humans are not capable of doing this and do not have the right. The only right they have is to protect themselves in anyway possible. Saying this, the relationship you have with your leader doesn't matter because there is no way for you to completely control what they do, the only thing you can do is change their opinion about you by making them think that you are not greedy, so in return you might end up with more resources. If you think back to my classroom example then you might be able to understand this concept easier. You can control how you're treated by changing the appearance others perceive of you. If you are quiet, you will get more freedom usually. If you are out of control you wont have freedom. So, by masking your true personality of being selfish and greedy you can actually receive more from your government.



Life is a Highway



"Human Nature does not determine our actions, it inclines us towards certain actions."

Our human nature pushes us towards being a certain way, but it doesn't mean we have to be or go that way. I believe that we all are selfish and greedy, but we disguise ourselves from being this way or decide to go another way so that we appear better. By appearing better we will have more opportunities to gain. This relates to a highway. We all are after a final destination, but if you knew that you could get there faster by taking another road you would. No one would turn down a shortcut if it would significantly benefit them for some reason. Life presents us with many different paths, but the one that we choose depends on what we are trying to accomplish and how quickly we will get there. You might go down a certain road in order to get to your destination, but in order to get there the fastest you take the shortcut. This is what humans do, they take advantage in order to get what they want. Their actions contradict their values at times, but it is only for the reason of being successful and surviving. They will always take the shortcut, because they will always be looking out for themselves.

Lord of the Flies and the Lost Boys

After reading the end of Lord of the Flies, I was left wondering if the author was serious or not. The way the end of the book went from all the boys being led by Jack on an island sized manhunt for Ralph, to suddenly a rescuer appearing on the island to comfort the boys was just confusing. In this situation, Ralph should have been killed by the boys. But instead, he was greeted by a ticket home. When all of the boys started filtering their way onto the beach to see the adult they instantly snapped back into reality, as if they were not trying to kill their once friend Ralph. They were overcome with the idea that it all was just a game, which hours earlier definitely was not the case. When this drop of civilization reappeared in their minds the thought of them killing Ralph was instantly erased. I guess that this newcomer to the island (the rescuer) really did put a whole new meaning in the word "life saver," especially in Ralph's eyes, because he was not killed by the boys. If I were to rewrite the ending more realistically, first off Ralph would still stumble onto the beach, but there definitely would not be any rescue ship awaiting him. He would have been killed by Jack, and then eventually all of Jack's followers would have turned on him and started only taking care of themselves- and the island would have been completely overtaken by violence. Each boy would not trust another, and soon their fear of the "beastie" would turn into something way worse. Instead of giving the credit of their fear to the beastie, it would soon become clear to them that above anything else they were afraid of each other.

Thesis Statement: The boys in Lord of the Flies demonstrate that in a state of nature humans minds are consumed by scarcity and fear, and the ideas of civilization are erased.

The Lost Boys of Sudan prove that in today's society, fear is prevalent enough to cause many to be forced from their homes. This is exactly what happened to nearly 30,000 Sudanese boys, who are still making there journey to a new home today. The main reason the Lost Boys were forced to leave Sudan was because of religious differences between the north and south. The Christians were attacked by the Islamic governments in the area, causing immense trouble. The girls were either sold or killed, along with the adults, but the young boys were of no value. The attackers didn't want the boys as their soldiers, for the risk of them turning against them was too high, so instead they would have been murdered. To prevent this from happening they were told by their loved ones to flee- for that was the only chance of a future they had. Their trip to a refugee camp was awful and filled with distress. With no adults to help them on their way, the boys were forced to take care of themselves in order to survive. They were constantly being killed by tribes that they passed on their way. That wasn't their only danger though- crocodiles were another threat. They had no resources of food or clean water, so they had to eat mud and even drink urine to survive. When they finally made it to their refugee camp- only 11,000 were left. The United Nations acted as a third party by distributing them with resources. The camp was a safe haven for now, but it held no future for the boys.



Introduction to a World Filled with Negativity

Not that you can legitimately say that you are interested in learning my name because in reality no one cares about one another, my name is Thomas Hobbes. I have learned in life to never assume the positive. It is better to think negatively, because deep down no one is good. I believe that in a state of nature the population is dominated by scarcity of resources and fear. Every man is for themselves, and life is not a pleasant thing. In terms of natural rights, the only one we have is to protect one's self in any way possible, meaning violence is okay.  I also believe that there is no such thing as a natural right to property, since in nature there is no property- just possession. I also believe in egoism, which is that all human acts are motivated by self- interest and the quest for power.

One of my main theories is about the social contract. I believe that there should always be a third party in a state of nature- acting as a form of government- despite its inevitable abuse of power, because that is better than the alternative- which is not having a government at all. It is important that there is a third party in society so that disputes are solved within the public, even if that government is corrupt. It is better to have some sort of order so that chaos from not having established laws and rules is prevented. I do not believe that the citizens should be able to elect their leaders, but truthfully I don't think that they would be capable of doing so in the first place.

If you don't believe that humans only look out for themselves, then please try explain this one to me. Bernard Lawrence Madoff- now locked away in prison for a minimum of 150 years- successfully executed the largest Ponzi scheme in history. He managed to steal billions of dollars for himself, from people who trusted him in managing their money. He is responsible for causing thousands of people financial problems, because he acted as a corrupt third party so to speak. He certainly was after the quest for power, because why else would he want all that money. Bernie is an extremely greedy man. I wonder if he thought that money was scarce, and that he simply could never get enough of it?

Bernie leaving court with his Lawyer

Another notorious self-centered character in modern pop culture is Mr. Grinch. Sure, he is well known mainly because of his mean and cold heartedness, but if you really think about his beliefs you can see how they are similar to mine. Mr. Grinch was a complete negative thinker. He was selfish and wanted to ruin Christmas for all and have the toys for himself. He never had faith in others, and relied only on himself to get food to survive. He went through trash in order to find food and things for his house because where he lived there was a scarcity of resources. He also was responsible for causing fear among his neighbors in Whoville. He proved that in a natural environment, there is always fear- and he actually was the reason for it.

Mr. Grinch and Cindy Lou Who

(If you think about the book The Lord of the Flies, Mr. Grinch relates to the Beastie because they both caused people so much fear.)

January 30th, 1972 was an awful day in history. On this day in Northern Ireland, roughly 30 people were directly affected -either killed or hurt- but indirectly millions of people were too. A march protesting against the policy of internment started out peaceful, but was abruptly ended violently by British troops because marching was banned by Parliament at the time. U2's Sunday Bloody Sunday was released in 1983 from their album appropriately titled "War" in attempt to express the horror and distress felt from an observer of the tragic event. Their purpose was to draw attention to the horrific actions of those soldiers. This connects to my ideas that the world is filled with fear- fear of others, fear of the unknown, and fear of what is to come. The reason U2 would make a song like this is because they are afraid that something like this will happen again. The sad thing is that this is true, and something like this happens almost every day it seems. The world is filled with people and governments who simply want more, and want to be in control. If that means killing to get their way, then they go ahead and do it, because deep down no one is good.

A British soldier attacking a protester.