WHAT IS HUMANITY?
Posted by anthonynorth on July 8, 2009
Including Three Word Wednesday and Totally Optional Prompts.
Have you had a go yet?
GURU TONY
To be human is to think in the abstract. This is what raises us above
animals. But this isn’t our humanity. To me, humanity is empathy.
Much of modern culture is to do with only the individual, so in a way,
modern life is not humanity. In particular, we are supposed to shun
spirituality, yet to me spirituality is bonding – of man to man, nature
and the universe. Does denying such spirituality make us less human?
Eye On the World
Writers’ Tips
The ‘Y’ Files
HEALTH NEWS: My beer belly is not
my fault! Study finds it is genetic, so my
beer intake has nothing to do with it!!! Yeah, right.
WORLD NEWS: So the US and Russia agree to more missile cuts.
For a few days all is calm as the President does the deal with
the Puppet.
BRIT NEWS: Freeze on public sector pay? Necessary,
but that’s when the strikes really start – even
if, for some, the rises were too much.
A MOVING EXPERIENCE
Moved a lot, never still,
Couldn’t fight my wandering will,
To experience many a lovely place,
Then find another, with haste;
Settle a while, then I’m gone,
A moving experience in more ways than one
A VISIONARY TALE
Fiction: As he saw the Oracle he knew he should kneel. The world
had gone mad, and he had to know what he could do. Soon the
Oracle had transformed his mind and the vision came. All was death
and gloom, the atmosphere acrid and dead. As visions came it became
transparent. He saw early man in a universe with nature spirits, and
man was that nature. And with organized religion he saw man as an
ordered, spiritual being, reflecting the ordered universe of God. And
as science rose he saw man in a universe of specialization, and his
society fragmented, as the cosmos. And with technology, the
universe became machine-like, and man a cog; a machine spewing
its exhaust … And he now knew we are always a reflection of what
we see the universe as being. Yet, as he returned to the dead
outside, he knew he could do nothing. If only it had been a vision of
the future, and not a remembrance of the past.
BIG WORDS
Incongruous, bombastic,
Big words made of elastic,
I try to despatch them terminally,
But they rebound indubitably,
Forcing me to write erratically …
I must have swallowed a dictionary
© Anthony North, July 2009
shraddha said
totally aswome as always.
those big words are truly entertaining….
love your blog..
anthonynorth said
Hi Shraddha,
You are far too kind, but much appreciated.
James said
an animal like us requires food, shelter and sex. What makes us different is desire for money,honour, knowledge and spritaulity. Does it make us less human?
I dont think so,
would you say an apple thats just started to fruit is less of an apple?
stan said
A lot of thought gone into this, leaving us with a lot to think about.
Should be back to my regular visits, now my ‘holiday’ is over.
anthonynorth said
Hi James,
I think not having a sense of community does at least make us less humane. As to desire being the difference, I’d take it back one more notch and ask: where does desire come from?
I’d say it is one response that comes from our ability to think in the abstract – to question things. As for an apple being less of an apple, I suppose the difference is, does it know it’s an apple?
anthonynorth said
Hi Stan,
It’s great to hear from you! You’ve been on ‘holiday’ quite a while.
SandyCarlson said
All emotion has to do with the spirit. All thinking has to do with the spirit. What notion(s) have separated the two? Industry, urbanization, business….Those things that connect one person to another wait in the cold while the cold reasoning is done. I think that’s how some folks justify owning oversized autos, ridiculously large homes, very expensive toys. They alone earned them–and with them, the right to destory the earth around them. They lose heart.
Fledgling Poet said
Guru Tony, I love how you think!
“A Visionary Tale” was brilliantly done…you used the 3WW prompts in a wonderful way.
“Indubitably” is one of my favorite words to say out loud…it rolls off the tongue. :~)
Twilight said
I can’t comment on spirituality, AN because I really can’t define it. As for bonding though, it certainly makes us more humane, and I think the method of bonding has to change with each era. Currently we have cyber bonding – that’s exactly what we do here, and on other blogs and social networks – mentally. There’s a deep need for bonding in us – look at MJ’s memorial yesterday – all over the internet people bonded in sorrow.
Your Visionary Tale needs anopther read and I’m rushing to go out just now AN – will re-read later – looks very interesting.
anthonynorth said
Hi Sandy,
That’s an excellent way of looking at it. I would add that the urge you speak of is generally triggered by extreme individuality. As I see it, this excess has grown through history. Originally it was only the province of kings, and as individuality went down the classes, the problem got worse.
Hi Fledgling Poet,
I thank you for that comment indubitably
Mindst you don’t take the ‘guru’ bit too seriously – just a bit of fun along with my other ‘columnists’ such as Polly Ticks and Pappa Razzi
Hi Twilight,
Yes, the latest expression in cyber-bonding is, I think, very important. It allows us to be dual-community people – the sometimes insular, local form of bonding which can easily breed non-understanding of others, and the cyber, which opens us up to all manner of influences from around the world.
Comedy Plus said
I’m not very religious, but I’m very spiritual. Very well said.
Have a terrific day Anthony.
anthonynorth said
Hi Sandee,
Thanks for that. And as I see it, the two CAN combine, but they’re also separate things.
thommyg said
“A visionary tale” could also be called a cautionary tale. Without the spiritual, we’re bound to mess things up. At least, that’s my take on it.
anthonynorth said
Hi Thom,
Yes, I tend to agree with you there.
whypaisley said
i have never really been able to locate the spiritual side of myself so i have never had to worry about separating myself from it.. in fact i would love to experience it so that i could feel at one with myself in that area..
gautami tripathy said
Keep that beer belly!
a day in a child’s life
anthonynorth said
Hi Paisley,
When I was much younger I never even thought of my having a spiritual side. Even today, I don’t express spirituality in a normal spiritual way. But i suppose its an inner understanding that eventually dawns that I must be, and have always been. If that makes sense.
Hi Gautami,
Not only will I keep it, I’m still working on it
Linda Jacobs said
“A Visionary Tale” is so well written! I especially like: And with technology, the
universe became machine-like, and man a cog; a machine spewing
its exhaust … And he now knew we are always a reflection of what
we see the universe as being.
anthonynorth said
Hi Linda,
Thanks for that. Much appreciated.
lostmermaid said
wow !! i read everything in the post ! and liked each thing better than the previous .. the 3ww fiction was superb
Vic said
I enjoyed your cleverness in “a moving experience” and “big words”. Thanks for sharing.
Michelle Johnson said
Hello Anthony~ Just wanted to stop by and say hello. I love your poems A Moving Experience (I can relate because I moved a lot as a child) and Big Words (that last line was great). Have a nice day.
Linda G said
Hi Anthony,
RE ‘humanity is empathy’ & ‘much of modern culture is to do with only the individual, so in a way, modern life is not humanity’.
That’s a good observation, although for some reason I am not entirely comfortable with the concept.
The family is still valued & where empathy is , I think, strongly expressed. The Media/Big Biz pushes individualism, via marketing, on an almost global level nowadays.
My gov’t is supporting major changes to the American way, that would probably be characterized as emphathetic- in healthcare, energy consumption, immigration- just to name a few. And although I consider myself an emphathetic person, I am uncomfortable with these proposed changes. I’m not sure a country can actually provide an emphathetic response to a given situation. Common laws that treat individuals as equally & fairly as possible- yes. But emphathy at that level just feels a little ‘big brotherish’ to me.
Hope this makes some sense.
anthonynorth said
Hi Lostmermaid,
Thanks for that. Kind words which are much appreciated.
Hi Vic,
Many thanks, and you’re welcome.
Hi Michelle,
I’m pleased you liked them. Yes, I moved around most of my life, and only in recent years have I settled down – not surprisingly, back to where I started.
Hi Linda,
It makes absolute sense. No government – no politician – should ever be trusted in this way, whether they are genuine or not. What has become clear to me is that government/media have started using emotion to gain short term acceptance for legislation/measures that are anything but empathetic after the fact.
It worries me deeply.
Dr. John said
We have lost community. I cringed when I heard that Michael Jackson was being buried in a $25,000 casket. I thought of all the good that money could have done. And yet for just a short time a global community rose up around the event.
anthonynorth said
Hi Dr John,
That ‘global community’ worries me deeply. Always, now, we see collective grief by people who idolised, but never knew, the person. When you can express grief for a ’stranger’, I feel it degrades close personal grief.
gigidiaz said
“we are always a reflection of what
we see the universe as being.”
Genius line. I really enjoyed reading this.
Happy 3WW
anthonynorth said
Hi Gigidiaz,
Many thanks for that. Much appreciated.
Mimi Lenox said
I’ve noticed that you play a few other memes in the blogosphere. I really enjoy your answers! I’d like to invite you to play The Queen’s Meme every Tuesday with Mimi Queen of Memes.
The fun begins next week on July 14, 2009. I will send another reminder to everyone on Monday.
The Queen’s Meme
I hope you will join us!
Mimi Lenox
camtodd1846 said
A nice look at the human condition.
Just Someone said
Humanity is empathy indeed; very well said. never thought of the spirituality angle of it. Interesting!
I love the big words
:) Big words are fun to handle:)
sarah haliwell said
always so interesting and fun!
Tumblewords said
Well spake, o guru! Love the visionary tale, as well – always a fun and provocative read at this spot!
Jeeves said
Dictionary swallowed
. Nice one
anthonynorth said
Hi Camtodd1846,
Thanks for that.
Hi Just Someone,
Thanks for the kind comment. Much appreciated.
Hi Sarah,
Glad to be of service. And I always have fun doing it
Hi Tumblewords,
Many thanks. Just hope no one takes the ‘guru’ fun seriously.
Hi Jeeves,
Many thanks. One day I’ll have to add up the calories
Felicity said
Big Words was great fun.
And I like ‘indubitably’ quite a lot too.
anthonynorth said
Hi Felicity,
Thanks for that. Much appreciated.
TD said
In our past lies our future. I enjoyed how you captured not only humanity but also the history of western philosophy within A Visionary Tale.
anthonynorth said
Hi TD,
Many thanks. Yes, our future is always there in the past. It’s like a repeating cycle, over and over again, mankind never learning anything.
angie said
oh, so many wonderful things to read and contemplate, as usual!
love the little twist at the end of the ‘Visionary Tale.’ shame. and your “beer belly” piece made me choke on my tea. (thank goodness it wasn’t my beer, eh?)
anthonynorth said
Hi Angie,
Many thanks. I hope there’s no lasting damage due to my belly there
red pill junkie said
“And he now knew we are always a reflection of what
we see the universe as being.”
So. Effing. True!
PS: If anything, you should drink MORE beer; now that they are finding a way to turn urine into Hydrogen, I envision a day when you’ll need to drink a pint before your daily commute, just to power up your car
And of course, in that scenario, the most coveted profession will be… truck driver
Quilly said
I, too, have noted that as technology evolves, man devolves.
anthonynorth said
Hi Red,
You are giving a vision of a future paradise there
Hi Quilly,
Yes, it seems to be a downward curve. I don’t think we’ve ever understood technology, and what it does to us.
pjd said
As always, your 3WW includes that gut punch last line. I like the description, the analysis, and the ultimate twist.
anthonynorth said
Hi Pjd,
Thanks for that. Much appreciated.
andy. said
Like the big word thingy! I think you must have swallowed a thesaurus!
anthonynorth said
Hi Andy,
Thanks for that. I think people should be prescribed a couple of pages a day
lissa said
A MOVING EXPERIENCE – I think that’s what everyone’s like isn’t it?
A VISIONARY TALE – sad because that could be our future, we are a destructive race after all
BIG WORDS – love it, especially the last line
anthonynorth said
Hi Lissa,
Thanks for that. Yes, we are indeed a destructive people.
Leo said
the visionary tale… a very beautifully sad read…
well written… indeed if the vision was of the future and not the past…
anthonynorth said
Hi Leo,
Many thanks for the kind words.
Old Grizz said
as always your words area a lot to chew, so I have prescribed myself one page of north, 2 pages of Webster with a little thesaurus on the side. I take this weekly and have found it is the true fountain of youth.
anthonynorth said
Hi Old Grizz,
You’ve put me in good company there
Much appreciated.
Jane Doe said
Phenomenal! I totally agree that humanity is empathy. We have lost our sense of empathy in the vortex of ego and narcissism. I love ‘A Visionary Tale’, it is evocative and poignant, a much needed message that humanity needs to heed.
anthonynorth said
Hi Jane,
Thanks for those kind words. Much appreciated.