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Us Versus Them - Leftovers from Distant Ancestors |
02/18/2008 1:07 pm   |
Telling Our Reptilian Brains to Leave Us Alone
Somewhere in the depths of our best self, the one that cares about the planet and is protecting it proactively, lurks subtle prejudice for people who fail to do things the way we do.
Our perceived differences between us and the rest of the world reside deep in our reptilian brain and kept our ancestors alive long enough to procreate.
Now we're in a different kind of survival mode but our reptilian brains don't know what our frontal lobes are up to.
Our first Asian adventure was a jungle trek in Borneo including a stint as guest of some former head hunters. While it was blatantly obvious that there were dramatic differences in my world view and theirs, a more subtle encounter on that same trip left a deep impression.
We were sitting by the river in Kuching when I remarked that it was awful to see litter floating by. A local approached and asked if could sit with us.
He then politely explained that his people cared passionately about the environment because it sustained them directly. What they don't yet understand was how to deal with the disposable culture introduced to them by "civilized" countries.
Ouch! Point well taken and one I still vividly remember.
So I keep tell my reptilian brain to go to sleep while I work at an inclusive "us" rather than "us" versus "them".
Nancy Harkrider, Editor, Contributor
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