“As man advances in civilization, and small tribes are united into larger communities, the simplest reason would tell each individual that he ought to extend his social instincts and sympathies to all the members of the same nation, though personally unknown to him. This point being once reached, there is only an artificial barrier to prevent his sympathies extending to the men of all nations and races.”
Charles Darwin, Descent of Man
A Galapagos giant tortoise
Worst comes to worst, my people come first
But my tribe lives on every country on earth
I’ll do anything to protect them from hurt
The human race is what I serve
But who are my people? Canadians? Family members?
Who knows? Maybe everybody!
Some people got good friend; I’ve got disparate friends
They live on different ends of earth, but just pretend
We actually get to the end of the time of tribalism
Like Obama said, and dissolve the lines of difference
As man advances in civilization
And small tribes expand into larger bases
The Abolition of the Slave Trade, (The Anti-Slavery Society Convention, 1840), by Benjamin Robert Haydon (died 1846).
And communities, the truest reason tells each individual
That’s it’s not that difficult to extend our instinctual
Sympathies to all the members of one nation
Like, for instance, notice how everybody loves Canadians
Overseas, even if they’re personally unknown
Well so do I! But not so much when I come home
But I know there’s nothing to stop me extending this basic
Sympathy to the people of all nations and all races
By the way, those are Charles Darwin’s statements
Paraphrased, a man ahead of his time
Extending his imagination and formidable mind
Into a future where all human sympathies combine
Worst comes to worst, my people come first
But my tribe lives on every country on earth
I’ll do anything to protect them from hurt
The human race is what I serve
In the South Pacific Islands, there’s certain animals that don’t
Experience fear, like Galapagos iguanas
A newborn sea lion in the Galapagos Islands
They never had predators, so their adaptive responses
Evolved to be as calm as a pack of Dalai Llamas
So then, why do we have to live with violence
When this whole planet could be like a pacifistic island?
Do we need fear to escape invading aliens?
The only predators here are called Homeo sapiens
And yeah, we can be dangerous but we can also be
Motivated by affection and reciprocity
Or by that Old Testament animosity: an eye for an eye
But that philosophy’s got the whole world blind
Let’s not pretend it’s gonna be a cake-walk to end it
If violence is an instinct, it’s not entirely senseless
But the logic of human destiny is reciprocal altruism
Yes we can change our perspectives
And as soon as this is widely comprehended
Then I predict we’ll be as calm as Galapagos finches
Worst comes to worst, my people come first
But my tribe lives on every country on earth
I’ll do anything to protect them from hurt
The human race is what I serve