One and Only Observer

War and strife within a nation and between nations or other groups of people is a cause of migration. Increasing temperatures and rising sea levels are other menacing causes of migration. Perceived “greener grass” in other geographic areas is a cause of migration.

The Neanderthals probably had an opinion on immigration (look it up if you don’t know what I’m referring to :)). Immigration has always been a “problem” for someone. With climate change and increasing global human population, it will get worse and it seems obvious that we need to be able to address it responsibly. Humans, like all the rest of the animals, have instinctively strong reactions to “strangers” for good reasons. Competition for resources is a big deal.

We should open our doors to all others. We should never harm any living being. We should label immigrants as vermin and criminals and dehumanize them.

Donald Trump talks a lot about sharks. Sharks eat other animals, including us. Almost everything he says stokes our instinctive fears. An extreme reaction to a perceived threat is easy, but being a responsible adult isn’t.

In 1859, Charles Dickens wrote: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

The best and worst are in us. We can be encouraged to feel and express the best or worst in reaction to a situation. In other words, we are influenceable.

The best of us acknowledge mistakes and work to improve things that have been done imperfectly. This is how spaceflight succeeded. We wouldn’t have the view of a beautiful blue marble without this methodology. Working to form “a more perfect union,” is written in the preamble to our Declaration of Independence, which was written during imperfect times. I want my leader to embody the best that (I hope) I have in me.

Donald Trump, like the rest of us, is an animal.

He is also a bad leader because he works to turn those around him against each other, surrounding himself with “like-minded” fellow animals who feel strongly that strangers and enemies must be hated, dehumanized, marginalized, or killed.

I don’t want my leader to represent my worst impulses. I want them to be better than I can be when my neighbor’s music is bothering me. A competent leader should be able to understand the motivations of both our group and other groups. They should have a big-picture overview. I think a good leader should make the best decisions possible for everyone who will be affected.

In my living room, drinking my morning coffee at eight a.m. on a Sunday, feeling my next-door neighbor’s pounding music shake my house, the moment doesn’t feel that perfect.

Human nature is why we’re here and why countless millions of others and many other species aren’t. From a survival standpoint, our nature works. When wolves eat our sheep or cattle, we kill them. When termites eat our floorboards, we kill them. When Native Americans attack a fellow settler, we kill them. Perceived threats to oneself, one’s livelihood, family, home, or community, are vigorously responded to. History is replete with massacres committed by you and me in previous generations.

Xenophobia is the fear and hatred of people who are perceived as different in nationality, ethnicity, race, or religion. It is also a dislike of anything perceived as foreign or strange. Xenophobia is our reaction to “others.”

“War is hell,” has been said by those who have been there. Through their feelings of anger and fury, humans do so much more than kill.

Interrupt my morning coffee with pounding music, and after a few times of this happening, overwhelmed with resentment, my blood boils. My smile is automatic and effortless when I watch a child on the beach playing in the sand. My reactions are fundamental to my nature. Our collective reactions have allowed us and our ancestors to survive.

From orbit, our planet looks peaceful and perfect. Let’s pick a good leader.