Darwin Was Wrong

The basic principle of Darwin's Theory of Evolution states that the strongest member of a society, the so-called "fittest" will be the one who will outlast his peers or "survive", as the saying goes.

What seems to be happening in modern society is the opposite. The weakest among us are the ones who are winning the race. We have jettisoned intellectual curiosity in favor of mindlessly following rules created by a select few. Maybe those few could be construed as the fittest but it seems to me that the rules they play by have changed and are substantially different from those of Darwin's time.

It is no longer the one with the better idea or the one who works the hardest. It is now the one who can game the system or manipulate his neighbor or just plain cheat the best who wins the game.

Someone tells a patent lie and we believe him. Someone endorses another or a product and we tag along. Someone defames another and we say, "where there's smoke, there's fire."

We don't investigate nor do we question. It is ludicrous that an athlete or a performer is paid millions to lend his/her name and/or face to a product or a cause and, simply because that person is adept at their sport or has created a wonderful character, we follow their recommendation.

We make them authorities on washing machines or cars or global warming or what qualifies a candidate to represent us in government...never mind making them our representatives (Murphy, Reagan, Eastwood, Ventura, Franken...and maybe that other comedienne, O'Donnell.)

We shun the advice of those who have studied or have actually written "the book." Instead we are guided by those we admire because they do things we can't. Very few of us will ever be Michael Jordan or Mia Hamm or Meryl Streep or Robert De Niro or even Paris Hilton...let alone Snooki (hmmm...might have to retract that one...a bit too close for comfort...)

But we invest in these people, and many others like them, the power to influence our decisions...the decisions that will affect our lives for years to come.

If Peyton Manning tells us he drinks Coke and that we should too, we do just it. Never mind that Coke will take the finish off a fender if you leave it there long enough and that the sugar content, alone, can kill you.

If Lady Gaga eats McDonalds then everyone who buys her music will be buying a Big Mac too. Never mind that too many Big Macs can make you very fat and stop your heart cold.

Never mind that Jon Voigt's endorsement of Republicans or Sean Penn's endorsement of Democrats could lead us down some very dangerous roads to places from which we may not return (obviously this one invites a choice on your part dependent upon which way you lean...I happen to prefer Penn because I do my crosswords in Penn, not pencil...it's more funner that way...much more funner...sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard doesn't it...funner...eeeeek!! Which begs the question...remember "Blackboards?" They were black...not green...and definitely not white. Chalk, yes...and erasers...the best job in school. No markers. No. Blackboards. Otherwise we'd have "Chalkboard Jungle" which is just plain wrong. Not good at all...)

Sorry...to continue... (I'm bored now but I will soldier on...not for me, but for you...)

Do we make these judgments for ourselves? Do we read anymore? Do we research the issues that confront our daily lives, our very existence on the planet?

The answers seem to be "no." We rely on others to tell us what our opinions are.

The headline in today's Times reads, "GOP is poised to seize the House, if not the Senate."

Says who? Says the Times? So? What do we think? Have we formed a point of view based on rigorous investigation? Are we influenced by that line?

Yes we are. And why? Because we don't take the time to find out ourselves and simply accept, as fact, the statements made by others.

(I'm back...re-energized...back in the spirit of this post...)

No, we trust other people to make up our minds for us. We let others tell us, not only what to do but what to think.

We are too busy Facebooking or Tweeting (what a perfect name for that activity...Twitter...you do know what a Twit is, don't you? Need I say more...?)
or talking endlessly on our cellphones about God knows what (what can possibly be so damned important to be on the phone about all day long...? Jeez...!)

Miranda Priestly had it just right in "The Devil Wears Prada" where she tells Andrea that the decisions about fashion were made by a very few people.

Exrapolate that thought. We eat and drink and buy and vote based on the manipulations of a very few because we are too lazy and uninformed to make the decisons ourselves.

So...after all...maybe Darwin was right. Maybe his theory does hold water. Maybe it is about the "survival of the fittest."

Unfortunately the fittest seem to be taking us "over the cliff." And we're oblivious to all of it. Like the frog in the pot as the water gets hotter and hotter.

But the bright side is that frog's legs are very good. Did you know they taste just like chicken?

And by the way, Goldman's ROE (Return on Equity...not caviar or the abortion question....which is akin to ROI...Return on Investment...not Rhode of Island or the word for "king" in French) was off by about a third last quarter. I can't get over how sorry I feel for them. Imagine what their bonuses will be at this year's end.

Tragic.