You gotta love the movies.  Fiction is a great way of provoking conversation around factual issues; I doubt I’m the only one where the Matrix had a profound (or did I already think it) realization around the Human race being a Cancer.

It’s an interesting concept, we certainly show similar characteristics as cancer. We appear (statistically speaking) not to care about our host, that’s the Earth in this analogy.  A quick check on Google will show you that there are around 7.6 billion people on this planet (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population). We’re still on the up as well.

So are we a cancer? We fantasize about colonizing other planets, another trait of a cancer spreading from host to host.  I’ve thought about the options a great deal, one thought I had was to identify if other creatures display the same characteristic as humans.  Most appear to live in harmony with their ecosystem and the planet in general; replacing the energy they use through the natural cycle of life.  The evolution of their brain would suggest that they would not want for more and more outside of what keeps them alive.

Humans hunger for more (of everything) is a throwback from the days of survival.  Finding the easiest way of obtaining what is needed whilst expelling the least amount of energy.  We have designed machines to even do the work for us, which again, shouldn’t be held against us… it’s in our DNA.

So what has gone wrong.  The Elite. Those who want much more than others. Those with an insatiable greed. A want purely for wanting’s sake.  I recently ready Steve Jobs ‘death bed’ speech.  I’m neither a supporter or a critic of this guy, I didn’t know him and I certainly wouldn’t trust the media to make an informed estimation of him.  However, that being said, this speech (which he has supposed to have said) is quite interesting. He says…

“I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes, my life is an epitome of success.

However, aside from work, I have little joy. In the end, Wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to.

At this moment, lying on the sick bed and recalling my whole life, I realize that all the recognition and wealth that I took so much pride in, have paled and become meaningless in the face of impending death.

In the darkness, I look at the green lights from the life supporting machines and hear the humming mechanical sounds, I can feel the breath of god of death drawing closer …

Now I know, when we have accumulated sufficient wealth to last our lifetime, we should pursue other matters that are unrelated to wealth …

Pretty gripping stuff. They should make a film about him.

So how do I feel about the ‘Elite’? You see, this is a real tough question.  If we as human beings are predisposed to be a certain way, a certain type of person with certain behaviors, then can we be blamed? I guess individually not; but in society with checks and measures, these undesirable types of behaviors can be kept in check. So long as they are around people who identify bad traits and treat them appropriately rather than indulge them.

More to come on this.