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The Shallow Roots of the Human Family Tree
An anonymous reader writes to mention an AP story about research discussing the relatively recent origins of every human on earth. Despite the age of our species, every human on earth can trace their ancestry back to someone who may have lived as recently as the Golden Age of Greece (around 500 BC). From the article: "It is human nature to wonder about our ancestors -- who they were, where they lived, what they were like. People trace their genealogy, collect antiques and visit historical sites hoping to capture just a glimpse of those who came before, to locate themselves in the sweep of history and position themselves in the web of human existence. But few people realize just how intricately that web connects them not just to people living on the planet today, but to everyone who ever lived."
These results are not surprising considering that we all descend from Noah who according to tradition lived around 2000-2500 BC. Of course, most people here will cry foul. The Bible couldn't possibly be true, right? Or could it?
Does God treat us as servants or friends? Check my homepage.
Human being (n.): A genetically human, genetically distinct, functioning organism.
We are all members of a single tribe of humans dating back about 8-10 thousand years. We are all ancestors of the tribe that began the "agricultural revolution." The time when we decided that humans, after living for hundreds of thousands of years within the laws of life and being an extremely successful species, were no longer bound by those silly rules which make life work. Not only that, every tenet of our tribe says that we must live completely opposed to those rules. Not only that, but they also tell us that this is the only right way to live. The only way to be human. How many times do you hear the phrases (or use them yourself) being treated like a human being or acting like a decent human? Believe it or not, there is no such thing.
It is true, we are all decendents of Adam. Not in the literal sense, but look at it like this. The story of Adam and Eve dates back as far as we know to the beginning of history. History was begun during this time period. This story was not our story originally. It was a story told about us, by those who were living near us and saw how we spent our lives. It was their explanation for why anyone would live such a toilsome and pitiful life. "These people live as though they had the very knowledge of the Gods, believing they know Good from Evil. Believing they know what should live and what should die. They Gods have damned them for this, that must be why they would live their lives not in the way everything else lives; in the garden of Eden where all is provided. Instead they are cursed to forever live by the sweat of their brow, pulling their food from the ground. Do not live this way." That's what the story is about. We took the story as our own as we were conquering our neighboring tribes. That's just how we do it. Assimilate or destroy. Manifest destiny. For a recent example that's easy to relate to, look at our conquest of the US from the natives who had been here for a long, long time. It's just how our tribe works.
I go on endlessly. I think this is the most important thing in the world for anyone to realize. We are not humanity. We are one tribe, who have long overstepped our bounds in pursuit of a lifestyle that is not sustainable. And like the old wives' tale of the frog in boiling water, we're lulled to sleep as we burn alive. I would like nothing more than to spit out that damned apple and walk away...but our tribe will not allow this to happen. Nothing is allowed to live outside of our ways.
Gah, I lose my train of thought entirely and I have to go to work. Go read some of the stuff this guy writes on the subject. He's far more coherent on the subject than I.