Humans Are Unreasonable Most of the Time

Recently a friend expressed her views on Facebook — somewhat disappointed about the society we live in and where it seems to be headed.

"Why do people get angry and agitated? Why can't some people take in criticism in a healthy way? Why do people carry grudges, harbour hatred, and blame others? Why do people become judgemental?

Today's incident made me think about the healthy and unhealthy diversity around this world. I honked at a teenager driving carelessly who was almost about to hit my car. His reaction to my honk — a finger.

My reaction to his reaction — yuck, and lol.

When he was clearly at fault, why was he not able to accept his mistake? Because of my skin colour? People get agitated very easily over small things. All they want to show is their superiority. It is not only in this country — everywhere, countries with diverse cultures and diversity in all possible categories struggle to live in true harmony. They might think they are in harmony, but not in any real sense.

What is your language, your caste, your culture? These things are dividing us further. We are all made of the same material yet we have so many emotions bottled up inside — Kaama, Krodha, Madha, Maatscharya (desire, anger, pride, envy). When do we come out of this? For ages we have been going through the same cycle and we are still not tired of it — hatred, blame, jealousy. It is not worth wasting our lives over these insignificant issues. Wake up. Realise what life is. And who am I?"

The interesting thing is that I have known her for quite some time — and in many instances I have been present for, what she felt hurt by in that moment seemed perfectly acceptable to her in other contexts. I also noticed that her message carried the pain of someone living in a land made up of people from many different countries and ethnic backgrounds — a place defined by being aggressive, progressive, and fiercely competitive. She was, in a sense, trying to practise a different philosophy than the one that dominates the world she lives in.

My Response

"He acted like a human — and humans are mostly unreasonable. You can critique my statement and in doing so prove that it is right. Or you can accept the fact, and prove that sometimes humans can choose to be reasonable."

The most basic fact is this: even though we are gifted with what is called the sixth sense — the power of reasoning, the capacity for reflection — we rarely use it on ourselves. We act against our own interests, tell lies to ourselves and to others, and live lives that are at least partially false.

And perhaps that is fine — as long as it creates a workable harmony with ourselves and our surroundings. The problem is when it does not. When the finger goes up. When the grudge is carried. When the skin colour becomes the reason.

Unreasonableness is not a flaw in humans — it is a feature. The question is whether we occasionally choose to override it.