Czar, I hope you're not asking shiner to see things from a different perspective. I mean, what's the point of that once you know everything. We're going to weed out terrorists wherever they are. That's as much info as the reptilian part of the brain requires to start marching up and down.
The following is excerpted from an article analysing the
holocaust:
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The human brain evolved over an extensive period from its primitive mammalian origin. For the sake of simplicity, it may be divided into two major components: the First Brain and the New Brain:
The First Brain consists of the brainstem and the limbic system. It deals with emotions and basic survival functions. Because of its relative primitiveness, some call it the reptilian brain.
The New Brain or cerebrum, driven by logic and intelligence, is responsible for the rise of human civilization.
The New Brain is credited for producing our science, technology, industry, art, music, literature, economy -- in brief, all the institutions that compose our civilization. But much of our actions are dictated by First Brain control of our emotions, passions and instincts that condition our efforts of survival. These basic drives also influence our communications. Properly understood, communications techniques can be employed to persuade individuals and the public to accept our messages. The assumption is, of course, that the persuasion will be used for the advantage of the recipient.
Unfortunately, emotional appeals can make people vulnerable to unscrupulous manipulations, especially by authoritarian powerseekers. Cultures and institutions frequently make people susceptible to fervent enticements. For example, Hitler understood this human characteristic, when he made his emotional, non-rational appeals to his public. He regarded the masses as essentially "feminine," where "feelings and emotions are far more important than logical, reasoned thought." He projected the First Brain manipulation through the relatively new communications media: radio and film. The communications technologies of the video age make First Brain manipulations even more effective, especially where centralized authorities are able to control both the medium and the message. Although there has to be a predisposition to accept negative messages, a significant impact can be made on those already susceptible to ethnic, religious, class or other hatreds.
The evolution of Homo sapiens included the gradual migration of our ancestors from Central Africa to the four corners of the globe. This created a wide diversity of differences in physical appearance, culture, religion, ethnicity, language and so on. While this diversity contributed to the rich cultural heritage of humanity, it also created the means for dividing and damaging us. Unscrupulous powerseekers -- politicians, dictators and even religious leaders -- learned to manipulate their subjects through First Brain appeals to racism, tribalism, ethnicity and religious and class differences. In place of amity and cooperation among our diverse groups we developed a tribalistic mindset, with much enmity and mistrust. This is intensified by the almost incredible development and distribution of the instruments of war and violence.
Other human characteristics contribute to the harmful trends. These include a propensity to aggressiveness. Our normal bent to develop and master our environment often becomes obstructed in our societies, and then it turns into destructive anger, rage and hate. Aggression easily moves to destructive violence and cruelty toward other humans.
Obedience to authority is another harmful human trait. This facilitates the employment of violence and cruelty by normal people against other humans. Authorities in human societies can organize and order the employment of violence and cruelty against real or perceived enemies. The sense of individual responsibility disappears when obedience takes over.
Lack of biological inhibitions against killing is becoming a counter-survival human trait. Obedience to authority easily overrides the cultural prohibitions about killing other humans. Especially in wartime it becomes a duty to slaughter those whom the government has labeled enemies, because of racial, national, ethnic, class, religious or other differences. Mass murder can also be facilitated by a bureaucratization process, whereby individuals in a chain of events need to feel little or no responsibility for their part of the slaughter. Such a process was cunningly designed and implemented during the Holocaust by Nazi Germany.
Psychological distancing creates a capacity to treat other human beings as inferior, alien or, in extreme cases, less than human. Stratification by class or caste is common in many societies. Extreme cruelty may result when a section of community is regarded as both dangerous and despicable.
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Do you see yourself? I do. Without deep awareness that you are only a chimpanzee, you will act no better than a monkey.
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