History of Humanity

Artist: Chris Dyer

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about our history as a species, especially as it relates to past and present social structures, kingdoms, tribes, etcetera.  In recent months I’ve been rather obsessed with the English monarchy, tracing the lineage and historical events back through the dynasties all the way to the Saxon era: late 800AD – 1075AD.  My plan is to eventually re-explore all those societies and cultures we were forced to learn about but probably did not enjoy during our adolescence, ending with the factions of authority and social structure seen around the world today; particularly conflicting social ideologies that currently cause so much havoc.  My goal is to trace the state of our collective mind throughout our evolution to this current point in time in the hope of discovering for myself not only what makes us tick but also where we might be heading in the future.  I suppose the reason I mention all this is that in light of recent events (Osama Bin Laden being found and killed by the American special forces) I find that it is in our best interest to explore this constant need we as humans have to hate, kill, control, defend, capture, and lead.  My cousin sent me an article the other day that I found extremely interesting. The author discusses the America we see through the media & what we’ve been taught in school vs. the America that actually exists in terms of the agenda our government is always trying to fulfill which took shape after WWII, namely, act as the economic and military powerhouse of the world and continue to secure our perceived interests in certain areas: i.e. foreign markets, oil, land, import/export etc.  We've played a pivotal role in the creation of international councils, convened not only to promote world peace and collaboration, but also to assist in the maintaining of these agendas which belong to today’s most powerful nations.  I for one believe that the divvying up of power which took place after WWII and America's rise in the years that followed is at the heart of our current social issues, among other things of course, but especially as they relate to the world's perception of this country.  In the end, I hope to explore the ultimate culprit which led us, as a species, to this point in our history- (organized religion)- and the need we have to believe in something greater than ourselves. Before we can hope to progress we must understand how and why we’ve come to believe what we believe, then we must understand how this has shaped our perspective on the world; and finally we must recognize how our beliefs have affected our ability and our need to control the planet and all its inhabitants…. more to come!