1. ABOUT THE HUMAN CONDITION
AND ITS RESOLUTION
WTM FAQ 1.28 Is this emphasis on deferring to the more innocent just another form of elitism?
When humanity goes from living in denial of the unexplained human condition to living with the human condition explained and defended, an obvious and natural adjustment occurs. The arrival of understanding of our species’ corrupted condition means that we can now finally understand and admit that while everyone is variously psychologically upset from their different encounters with humanity’s heroic battle to find knowledge, all humans are equally good. Everyone’s variously corrupted condition is no longer considered bad or unworthy, instead it is able to be understood as being a good, heroic condition.
Yes, no longer does humanity have to rely on dogmatic assertions that ‘all men are created equal’ purely on the basis that it is a ‘self-evident’ truth, as the United States’ Declaration of Independence asserts, because we can now explain, understand and know that the equality of goodness of all humans is a fundamental truth. We can now understand why each individual, gender, age, race, country, civilisation and culture is equally good and worthy, and that no one is superior or inferior, and that everyone deserves the ‘rights’ of ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’. Indeed, through this understanding, the whole concept of good and bad, basically of guilt, disappears from our conceptualisation of ourselves.
And what this means is that instead of innocence or lack of upset being denied and repressed, as it has historically been because it either directly or unwittingly exposed, confronted and condemned those who were no longer innocent, it can now be acknowledged. And, further, what this means is that instead of the more upset, insecure and needing of artificial reinforcement, and thus more egocentric and power-hungry, and the more mentally quick and clever, dominating and leading society, as has so often been the case, it makes sense that the more innocent in soul and sound in mind lead the way (see FAQ 1.26 for an explanation of soul). In the old human-condition-stricken world the more intelligent had to lead the way because we had to find knowledge in order to find understanding, ultimately understanding of the human condition, but in the new human-condition-understood world the more sound now lead the way home to the new human-condition-free/sound state.
Importantly, this leadership from soul now is not a new form of elitism because, as pointed out, the whole idea of ‘good and bad’, ‘superior and inferior’, has been eliminated with understanding that upset is a heroic, worthy and good state. In fact, with regard to who should be admired and appreciated now, while those more innocent and soulful have to lead us home, being more innocent and thus having necessarily been least involved in humanity’s upsetting heroic battle to find knowledge, they are the least deserving of being considered heroes, admirable or special. Any accolades or admiration should go to the upset because they are the ones who have been most involved in humanity’s battle to find knowledge. The upset are the true and real heroes of the story of life on Earth. Basically, while sound soul leads us home, the upset, answer-finding intellect is the hero that saved us.
And the more innocent can be trusted to lead us because they are the ones who are least wanting power, fame, fortune and glory. Those more soulful, sound, ego-less, selfless, humble and truthful are the least interested in being ‘elite’ in the sense of the elite historically being domineering and oppressively power-asserting.
When Christ spoke of a time when ‘the meek…inherit the earth’ (Matt. 5:5), and when ‘many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first’ (Matt. 19:30, 20:16; Mark 10:31; Luke 13:30), and when ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone’ (Ps. 118:22; Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:7), he was anticipating this change from emphasis on intellect to emphasis on soul that would occur when understanding of the human condition was finally found. The pre-eminent 20th century philosopher and author Sir Laurens van der Post also recognised this change that would occur when the redeeming understanding of the human condition was found when, referring to the just mentioned biblical analogy, he wrote: ‘It is part of the great secret which Christ tried to pass on to us when He spoke of the “stone which the builders rejected” becoming the cornerstone of the building to come. The cornerstone of this new building of a war-less, non-racial world, too, I believe, must be…those [more innocent, instinctual] aspects of life which we have despised and rejected for so long’ (The Dark Eye in Africa, 1955, p.155 of 159). The prophet Isaiah was also anticipating this leadership from soul when he said that ‘a little child [innocence] will lead them [humanity]’ to where the ‘wolf will live with the lamb’ (Bible, Isa. 11:6); in other words, innocence will lead humanity home to an instinct and intellect, soul and mind, innocence and upset reconciled world. Innocence leads our corrupted world back to soundness and happiness.
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You can read more about how the explanation of the human condition establishes the equal goodness of all people in pars 1278–1279 of FREEDOM.