We can stand against the Political Left or the Political Right as the greatest threat to civilization. We can fear terrorists, or gangsters, or The Other as clear and present dangers to our personal safety. There are those who rail against corporate elites, or powerful unions or the might of the military as villains to ever be vigilant against.
But none of these were the monsters that our ancestors prayed for protection from, huddled around flickering campfires in the black of night. As the creatures howled, the skies opened up and the earth trembled, ancient humans knew with utter surety that there were greater powers than they in the world.
It's a bad habit we get into, this laissez-faire complacency brought on by sound infrastructure, decent healthcare and stable governance. When nature shrugs, we are reminded how infantile the notion of complete, personal independence truly is.
The foes we tend to focus on are trivial, passing things in the grand scheme. We are all of vulnerable to forces far greater than any we have yet channeled.
I keep hearing that a powerful, unifying vision is not enough to bring people together, that they need a common enemy to rally against.
That foe has been a constant since we became aware of ourselves as human animals, brief candles flicking in the vastness of time.
Nature holds no bias; to the world, we are not creatures cast from its gardens but rather cells periodically shed without the slightest need for consideration.
A humbling thought, isn't it?
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