Why suppression is a welcome, necessary evil

What you need to know:

  • Accompanying this evolutionary reality is the fact that predators of every kind are the least adaptable of species. They will flourish for a season, but will perish in time, leaving the earth the meek. Nature appears unwilling to support the predator instinct indefinitely. Considering this so, why then is there so many predators around.

Any evolutionary biologist can confirm that species adapt to their environment. Those unable to do so will die. Stephen Jay Gould of Harvard University developed the theory of Punctuated Equilibrium; a phenomenon which speaks of intermittent divergence in speciation through adaptation, bringing equilibrium after an evolutionary crisis.

Accompanying this evolutionary reality is the fact that predators of every kind are the least adaptable of species. They will flourish for a season, but will perish in time, leaving the earth the meek. Nature appears unwilling to support the predator instinct indefinitely. Considering this so, why then is there so many predators around.

We find a host of them stalking vulnerable prey upon the vast plains of every habitable zone. In fact, in comparison to the prey, predators are very few. Whatever the case, they are here, and the question is why? In a subtle sense, we may say that they exist for an evolutionary purpose. They make the prey stronger by refining its instinct and improving its acumen for survival.

Unfortunately, we find these animalistic predatory traits among humans, for there are those who believe that suppressing others is a viable means of obtaining status or wealth. Yet, even here the same principle of prey adaptation applies; for those who survive oppression, will become stronger, more adaptable to hardship, and will eventually rise above the suppressor. The DNA embedded within the cells of all living things is capable of devising ways for the species to survive. Through chanced mutation, a living thing may originate a new trait, which will allow it to overcome difficulties obstructing its evolutionary progress.

Consider a farmer who applies pesticide to his field for the purpose of controlling insects; he will soon find that the poison has been rendered ineffective by subtle adaptation in the basic biology of the resilient pests. Thus the arms race will continue into the future, man putting his intellect against a billion years of evolutionary wit. If that struggle continues, both man and the insect will perish together in the struggle. By increasing the poison’s potency, the pest will become stronger also, and the dose which will be needed to fulfill the purpose, will affect man also. It is a type of mutually assured destruction, similar to the present reality of the nuclear arms race. Man has arrived at the place of the unwinnable war.

This principle of growth through adversity is basic to life. To obtain bigger muscles we must endure strain and stress. To get a quick agile mind we must undergo rigor, study, and mental discipline. There is strength and value in adversity. Therefore, by oppressing or deriding a people, the oppressor is making the oppressed stronger and more survivable than himself. Let us consider the history of the Jews, a people who for thousands of years were not allowed to hold property or a job in many European countries. Their only real occupation was to lend money at an interest. Those who are financially savy will know the important role that the Jews currently play in international high finance. In fact, their exclusion from what was deemed, above them, has made them prominent in business and entertainment.

The African, home and abroad, faces oppression. In spite of our common condition, disconnect exists between the reality and the necessary evolutionary response which should accompany such dismay. Instead, a strange reasoning emerges, one which makes Africans on both sides of the Atlantic embrace cognitive dissonance; a woeful disassociation, which makes many pretend to be different, if not better than the rest.

This should not be the response of a suppressed people. We must consider ourselves a worthwhile unit, a valued and indispensible part of humanity. In fact, we possess the elements to advance beyond what humans have already achieved. We can take civilisation to its zenith.

There is no time to embrace a fabled difference. Instead, like others we may devise schemes to unite into a vital cohesiveness. We occupy a blessed dominion, a vast and fertile realm, rich and good.