SELF-INTEREST AND SELF-PRESERVATION

What ultimately drives us humans, every one of us! Self-interest, self-preservation!

Maybe you don’t believe that, but it is true. The modern human animal, in the long course of evolution, has left very few true instincts: self-preservation and self-interest are two of them, or at least are two aspects of the same thing.

Other animals exhibit many more real instincts. As a matter of fact, so far as we know, instincts govern most of the behavior of all other animals, since we, so far, do not attribute to them much ability to “think” for themselves.

“Oh no,” you say. “That doesn’t leave room for human altruism.” Well, altruism is NOT an instinct; it is sublimation. It is learned behavior. That is, if you do ever exhibit altruism!

Just imagine you suddenly realize that you are in a burning building. In that first split second your first instinct is to save yourself! You might later explain grandly to the newspaper reporter that your first thought was to save your spouse…or your infant…or "whatever" it was that one should have wanted to save. Uh-huh. But that wasn’t true instinct. No way!

So, what are the long-range implications of this? Think about it.

After decades of observing human behavior, professionally and otherwise, I have come to an immutable conclusion:

ANY LONG-RANGE PLAN THAT REQUIRES HUMANS TO BE AS YOU WISH THEY WERE INSTEAD OF HOW THEY ARE IS DESTINED TO FAIL!

Despite the fact that some very intelligent philosophers in human history have believed in the perfectibility of man, it sure has not happened yet; it has not yet happened in even one human individual, let alone more than one. Is there anyone –- even if that person’s goodness is generally acknowledged -- who can look into the mirror and see a “perfect person”? Nope. Not even close.

So, why is it that we believe, at least implicitly, that our elected government officials collectively are going to be any smarter, any more altruistic, any less greedy, any less (or more) “anything” than the same number of humans taken at random from anywhere in this country? Or, from any country?

In other words, we cannot believe that. We should not believe that! Otherwise, we believe that an oligarchy should or can rule us. (What, pray, is a situation where some 650 elected individuals in Washington rule some 300 million citizens, if it is not an oligarchy?)
Wouldn’t it be wonderful, if, for example, a high-paid lobbyist (who makes the best?) came to an elected representative and that representative had to say, “I’d love to help you, but I just do not have the power!”

If that is indeed the way it is – and who can doubt it? – it behooves us to be very careful about giving elected officials the one power that a only a duly constituted government has. And what is that?

The legal power to coerce!

Can you think of any other human organization, other than government, that has that legal power? No, you cannot. If you do not think that this is so, openly try not to pay your taxes – federal, state or local – for just one example! You’ll go to jail.

This is exactly the kind of problem that Washington, Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton (and so many others) faced after our revolution officially succeeded with the signing of the Paris Treaty of 1783.

Soon, back then, however, most everyone agreed that The Articles of Confederation needed to be changed. In the summer of 1787 a commission was appointed to do just that!

In three hot, sticky months in Philadelphia that commission hammered out a massive compromise: Our U.S. Constitution. Compromise, I say? Yes. Unless, for one example, you still think that a black man is 3/5ths of a person! Or still think that women should not be able to vote!

But now we Americans speak of our U.S. Constitution as though it were some sort of Holy Grail! Well, I think that it is wonderful. But perfect it is not. And, perfect our representatives are not. Not even close!

Right now our elected representatives in government are handing out all sorts of “lollipops.” They are called “rights.” We suck ‘em up, and sue someone if we don’t get ‘em. Wonderful behavior.

Talk about (in the “Good Book”) building foundations on sand!

Dallas Tuthill, M.D.