Survival

Toronto, Canada 05.2006

"To deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human."
--Andy and Larry Wachowski, The Matrix, 1999.

The core motive of all life on earth, when you really break it down, is the natural instinct to live and reproduce, which is passed down through the generations. The purpose of these instincts are to ensure the survival and continuation of the species. As "wise" and "evolved" as we believe we are, we have one trait in common with every living thing on this planet. From monkeys to dolphins to rats to roaches to ants to plants to single celled organisms; we will all undoubtedly do everything in our power to survive and reproduce.

Male wanting to impregnate as many females as possible = survival of the species
Female instinct to protect child = survival of the species
Attractive female is a healthy female who has good genes for the baby = survival of the species
Strong, healthy, protective male who has good genes for the baby = survival of the species
Teaching the baby all the necessary skills needed to survive = survival of the species
The instinct of fear + the sensation of pain = survival of the species
And so on...

We aren't as far evolved from the great apes as maybe we'd like to think. Monkeys, apes and dolphins are far superior to us in many ways. Hear me out. A dolphin can look INTO you. A dolphin can see the baby in a pregnant woman's body. We can't see past the Victoria's Secret lingerie. A dolphin is as close to perfectly adapted to it's environment as one can get. They can communicate, have a complex language, and send their messages much further than we could ever dream of doing without the aid of technology. Both dolphins and apes live in communities and stay in long term monogamous relationships, while helping take care of the extended families' young. Pretty much what we strive and increasingly fail to achieve in our societies.

Sure, we have made advances in technology. But have they really made our lives any easier? Or do they just allow us to accomplish more in less time, and feel the need to purchase more items we used to live perfectly fine without. It's not like our actual free time has increased with the advent of technology. It's just the opposite. We have the ability to build things which help nations violently attempt to rule over each other, spend endlessly on unnecessary material goods, ingest foods containing chemicals and pesticides, work for corrupt institutions and organizations whose only goal are the almighty $, while the profiteers of this system view us as nothing but expendable consumers. We have accomplished so (little?) much as a society.

Of course, some of us can see through this flawed society, for what it truly is. But inevitably, we are all still confined to being, for all intensive purposes; forced to navigate through it.

An ape spends it's days chillllllllin' and loafffftin' in the lush, warm and green confines of the jungle (which we - the ever-glorious MAN, are destroying), while snacking on fruits and plants, maintaining a healthy and primarily vegetarian diet. They all manage to stay in great physical shape, swinging around and playing in trees with their strong, agile bodies. Unlike our ever f a t t e n i n g and lazy populations.

We ride crowded trains in rush hour like cattle, consuming blatantly addictive food and drink products laced with caffeine and sugar. These trips are often delayed because someone decided to use the TTC subway system as the means to voluntarily end their own life. Have you ever heard of an animal killing itself? Are we DE-evolving? Learning to ignore the basic premise by which all life is based?


Some monkeys have sex for fun, just like us... and the dolphins of course.


Maybe that is the true determination of an intelligent species; the animal enjoys the act of sex, and participates in it purely for pleasure, not only to reproduce. Life's complete once you throw that in the mix with the jungle life explained earlier, isn't it? Or you can be a dolphin, swimming around all day, makin some jumps, going on group hunting sessions, and seemingly moving with a little smile on their faces. To me, those lifestyles easily beat out trying to steer a rear wheel drive Buick through a snow storm in Canada, or Iraqi women and children getting executed point blank by brainwashed soldiers with big guns who tell the rest of the world (who for the most part, SWALLOW it) they are there to help the people they're eradicating from the planet.

"Or maybe I'm craaaaaazyyyy."