Going into Bregman's book, I'm not sure I believed that almost everyone is on the side of the good guys.
As a child, the Christian concept of original sin was drilled into my DNA reminding me that I was part of the lowest common denominator and not a greatest common multiple.
The author of Humankind explains it this way. "A negative outlook has permeated Christianity from its early days. The Church Father Augustine (354-430) helped popularize the idea that humans are born sinful."
That's hard to unlearn.
Growing up, I relished watching Westerns like The Lone Ranger and The Cisco Kid. They were all about the good guys and the bad guys. Of course, the bad guys were always easy to spot....they wore the black hats. I think that black and white imagery carried over for me into my understanding of life. There were good guys like teachers and relatives and then there were the others. They didn't wear black hats but they attended different schools, spoke different languages and lived in different neighborhoods.
As well, the good guys in Westerns always got their men The bad guys went to jail and into ignominy. Again, the reinforcement of a binary view of life.
Not a very good starting place but I think many have had a similar experience.
In fact, I think the prevalent mindset out there is that we're all broken and slaves to our baser instincts. No wonder so many have a dim view of their neighbor. We lock doors, we build walls, we revel in conspiracy theories.
What is your mindset about others?
I think Bregman's book gives a new and much-needed hopeful perspective on humankind.
(to be continiued)
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