Soft, good Gobbledock, softly now.
It has always been the same, since the cave and we have not really progressed very far from that. Capitalism was rife even then, the bloke with the best bow killed the most food and flogged it off to those less fortunate. Mind you, he’d have to be able to beat all challengers to keep his market share, a fellah with a less bow but a better shot would create competition. Market share was the ultimate prize, worth fighting for. There was no court and even less police about in the far away days; so if the better shot bloke couldn’t fight for nuts; or, run faster than the irate competitor, it was the devil take the hindmost. But it was food, skirt and dominion which caused the troubles; sod all to do with some girl, a snake and an apple. Food was a real winner, the ability to provide it created all manner of evil, little cooperatives developing, keeping the hungry under obligation, bartering ‘two spuds and carrot for that old dinosaur leg’ – and not only was trading developed. The notion of theft – crime and punishment grew from one crowd pinching and the other crew getting cranky about it. War was learned then, a dozen or so would head over the hill to raid only to be met by a dozen or so equally determined not have the lumber lifted.
The old gene-pool urges still rule. Competition for a ‘mate’ is another factor which must be acknowledged as a potential source of troubles. “K” says that is where the notion of political correctness stemmed from; he reckons the first bloke who realised that dragging a trophy along by the ankle was the wrong way to do it and developed the more traditional by the hair method was on a winner; as it prevented gravel rash and ‘clogging’. Even so, the need to demonstrate an ability to ‘provide’ and ‘defend’ was more visible back then, more open, less complex; still essential but much simpler back then.
Dominion is the last part in todays history snap-shot. It just makes good sense to have your own people about, dependent on you for all. This was, back in the cave days easy enough to arrange; the man with the bow ruled; well thought he ruled; but, he was beholden to the ‘fire-makers’ and so the notion of negotiation was born; deals were struck. The fire chaps only needed to collect enough wood to keep the flame alive and they held great power – until the chappie with the bow learned how to do it – or stole the secret. More trouble.
There is nothing new; it’s just a little more sophisticated now; but scrape the surface and you will see, just under the veneer, with very few exceptions, life is still as dangerous, fickle and dirty as it ever was back in the day. Despite the wars, despite the great notions of freedom, despite the great leaders and their wonderful ideas of ‘how it should be’, despite the speeches and rhetoric, despite the mystique and promises of ‘religion’, despite the illusion of freedom, we have not really progressed very far at all from the first people who sat in their cave at night wondering how to survive the next day and get junior a new bow string.
All very tongue in cheek and completely frivolous you understand. But you do get the point, don’t you?
Perhaps not; I’ll just sit here by the fire a while and mumble into my ale.
It has always been the same, since the cave and we have not really progressed very far from that. Capitalism was rife even then, the bloke with the best bow killed the most food and flogged it off to those less fortunate. Mind you, he’d have to be able to beat all challengers to keep his market share, a fellah with a less bow but a better shot would create competition. Market share was the ultimate prize, worth fighting for. There was no court and even less police about in the far away days; so if the better shot bloke couldn’t fight for nuts; or, run faster than the irate competitor, it was the devil take the hindmost. But it was food, skirt and dominion which caused the troubles; sod all to do with some girl, a snake and an apple. Food was a real winner, the ability to provide it created all manner of evil, little cooperatives developing, keeping the hungry under obligation, bartering ‘two spuds and carrot for that old dinosaur leg’ – and not only was trading developed. The notion of theft – crime and punishment grew from one crowd pinching and the other crew getting cranky about it. War was learned then, a dozen or so would head over the hill to raid only to be met by a dozen or so equally determined not have the lumber lifted.
The old gene-pool urges still rule. Competition for a ‘mate’ is another factor which must be acknowledged as a potential source of troubles. “K” says that is where the notion of political correctness stemmed from; he reckons the first bloke who realised that dragging a trophy along by the ankle was the wrong way to do it and developed the more traditional by the hair method was on a winner; as it prevented gravel rash and ‘clogging’. Even so, the need to demonstrate an ability to ‘provide’ and ‘defend’ was more visible back then, more open, less complex; still essential but much simpler back then.
Dominion is the last part in todays history snap-shot. It just makes good sense to have your own people about, dependent on you for all. This was, back in the cave days easy enough to arrange; the man with the bow ruled; well thought he ruled; but, he was beholden to the ‘fire-makers’ and so the notion of negotiation was born; deals were struck. The fire chaps only needed to collect enough wood to keep the flame alive and they held great power – until the chappie with the bow learned how to do it – or stole the secret. More trouble.
There is nothing new; it’s just a little more sophisticated now; but scrape the surface and you will see, just under the veneer, with very few exceptions, life is still as dangerous, fickle and dirty as it ever was back in the day. Despite the wars, despite the great notions of freedom, despite the great leaders and their wonderful ideas of ‘how it should be’, despite the speeches and rhetoric, despite the mystique and promises of ‘religion’, despite the illusion of freedom, we have not really progressed very far at all from the first people who sat in their cave at night wondering how to survive the next day and get junior a new bow string.
All very tongue in cheek and completely frivolous you understand. But you do get the point, don’t you?
Perhaps not; I’ll just sit here by the fire a while and mumble into my ale.