We take immense pride in the statement that our forefathers were honest, hard working people. We tell their tales of valor and honor them with songs that immortalize them. They deserve that, no doubt. They tamed the wild, kept aggressors at bay and gave us this land we can call home. However, without taking anything away from them, it is now time for us to wisen up and admit that the fallen nature of man was inherent in them too just as it is with us today. The built-in nature of the fallen nature of man existed then in our society during the times of our forefathers too, just like it did in any other human society. Their world was far from perfect. Every day was a battle for them and their whole lives were lived in uncertainty and fear. Our civilization survived because of their sheer resilience, and they gave us a community that is ideal for us in the way that it is – yet, that does not mean that there were no shortcomings. Unfortunately, today, we have this tendency to sweep under the carpet any instance of shortcomings that our forefathers might have had. Unless we accept that there were shortcomings on the part of our forefathers, that they were after all humans and not free from the fallen nature of man, we will continue to live in a make-belief world far removed from the world of reality.
It is said that during the headhunting days, the defeated warrior even at the face of imminent death would instruct the victor to value and respect the trophy that he is about to get. And we are also told that there was no need to lock the house because there were no thieves. However, we are not told the stories of betrayal, murder, deceit and debauchery. We know that traits such as having an inordinate sense of self-importance, weaving fantasies about fame or glory, exaggeration, craving admiration, exploiting others, and lacking empathy must have been prevalent. Yet, such narcissism is never called out today, and as a result, we continue to engrain it in our psyche. Tribalism, village-ism, clan-ism and other such parochial mindsets are by-products of long-held and deeply entrenched narcissism.
As in the past, even today, we let this insular mentality control us. Unless we break ourselves free from this mental repression, our society will never experience the growth and progress that we all long for. No society or culture is perfect. However, societies and cultures around the world have progressed when they upheld truth and reason. Narcissistic societies never did.