Human Imperfection, Teboho Kibe [read a book .txt] 📗

HUMAN IMPERFECTION

Inside me there are two worlds. The first and easy one is the world of badness or evil. The second one is the world of purity, cleanness and spotlessness.

The problem lies in execution or delegation. Since birth, I haven’t been able to conquer the first world. Yet at times I find myself in great ecstasy and merriment when I master the second world. Can’t I eradicate the first world so that I can always be happy with the practice of my second world?

From birth, when I first cried, the first world began to manifest itself. Why wasn’t I born smiling? Is the sensation and expression to discontent of primary importance? Is the stimulus to laughter always superseded by that of anguish? It tells me that the first world I possess is here, not of my own will but was genetically given a preference for it to uncontrollably exhibit itself in all homo sapiens, whether aware or unaware of it. I smiled after first crying. Wow!

So, are there any early conclusions to this? Does this intro anyhow come close to the topic of the book? You and I have the remaining pages to argue or defend the issue of human imperfection. Your thoughts, my thoughts and the various observations around us should bring us to an amicable conclusion at the end of this book. So, prepare your mind as we’ll try to unravel the very root, mystery and enigma of human imperfection!

Is it a paired gift?

Most natural things come in pairs, e.g. two hands, positive & negative charges, male and female, light and darkness etc. So, is good and bad also a natural paired gift? If the latter is really part of a natural gift, then it’s of no use for us to try and scrutinize what I term the ‘first world’, i.e. our failings, shortcomings, hence human imperfection.

But I think I saw you nodding your head against the thought of sin or lack of proper execution being a natural gift. True. I’m also against accepting it as an invincible natural phenomenon.

If we do not have a cure for a certain disease, that doesn’t make us to give in and without defense accept the disease as part of life or gift of nature. Instead we are always against any vicious threat to our well being, and sometimes even doing so without any prior meditation. So then, the real gift of nature, at present actually seems to be what I term ‘the second world,’ i.e. the maintenance and preservation of virtue, joy and tranquillity, be it emotional, environmental or even socially. Don’t you agree friend?

Ok friend, now let’s try to unravel why I term goodness as the second world? Quite simple, it’s just like day and night. Because the sun rises in the morning that is why you say : “Good morning to your pal.” Now, to the same person you say: “Good evening” when you see him/her when it’s dark or nearing sunset. So usually we count our time from morning till evening, meaning that the morning is always first hence evening second. So in my terminology based on context, I consider badness or discontent to have demonstrated itself first, then virtue to be second, simply at everyone’s birth. But friend, don’t worry, we are still going to unravel much, deduce, figure the parallels, expostulate and much more, simply for the pleasure of finally reaching one common satisfying answer to the whole issue of human imperfection.

Please note

What now? No, that even though we place goodness in the second place, it doesn’t mean that it is perfect. If I am able to delegate or give way to any act of goodness, still that demonstrated virtue is not perfect? How so? Any present virtue we may exhibit can always be upgraded or aggrandized at a later time. When you give R5 to a beggar you may be prompted to give R10 or more as time goes on. He your goodness gets aggrandized each time. Ok, let’s leave this here for now. But also take note of the transverse. Any act of ‘the first world’ is completely gross each time. Discontent and badness are simply bad each time. This first world has no desired improvement at all. Moving from bad to worse cannot be desired or sought to be improved by anyone sane, while in the second world we may strive to increase our goodness as much as we like, hence something appealing to anyone sane. No one wants to increase the deficit, but as for profit, we can strive to increase it as much as we like, even when dreaming!

One thing that should baffle us is: When I want to execute something good, how will I know if it is really good, since what you think is good can be bad to someone? Ok think of this example: A speeding car passes you to your shock. You label that as bad. But when you find out later, you are told that that speeding car was actually taking someone who was terminally ill to a hospital. See, now you are forced to right the ‘wrong.’ What do we learn from this? Well, the driver of a speeding car executed speed as a means to save a life. The observer on the road felt it was wrong. So, if goodness is to come out from you, it shouldn’t fear any misconceptions it may receive from outsiders or observers, cause their view can be altered or aligned later while your execution is urgent and always important to exhibit or demonstrate according to any immediate need there may be. So, if the second world is really a natural gift, then no one is ever shy of making means for the intended good gift or act to materialize irrespective of how the onlookers or recipient may respond. Any unanticipated response simply will not or cannot change the performed act of goodness, while on the other, failure to execute or unleash the intended good act could harm or oppose you mentally, psychologically and emotionally. So, whenever it is within your capacity to perform anything good, never withdraw from your mentally already decided plan of action. Okay, let’s leave this analysis for now and move on.

Next question: If I fall victim to practicing the will of the first world, what difference does it make in my life? “After all, it’s my life!” “No one will tell me what to do and how to act at any given time.” “After all who’ll judge me? I was born free with no one to report to or act as my judge!” “Why stress about human imperfection, I don’t see this issue contributing anywhere in my life or adding anything to what I’ve been through.” Well, these expressions may well describe the exegesis some friends of mine may have. Well, I’m here for the rehab, let’s probe and further unravel the mystery and pivot of human imperfection and see if you really owe your existence to such foundation or not. For your enjoyment though, don’t count the pages as you read, just enjoy reading and reading. Also, think as you read.

Well as for now, I feel compelled to answer the question on accountability. Yes, we are responsible for our actions. Otherwise this would make you a careless or carefree parent, employer, coach and so forth. Now let’s illustrate this: See, you want to cross a busy road. Note that the road permits motor vehicles and pedestrians to pass. So, to curb the unnecessary mayhem, robots play a commanding and judging role. How so? At times vehicles are ordered to stand still at the command of a red light while the green light flashing the man figure indicates to the pedestrian that it’s now his/her turn to pass. Okay, how does this link with the issue of accountability on our part?

Firstly, deliberately ignoring the proper rules can result in undue fatality. So, soundness of mind makes it easy for anyone wanting to live longer to obey the rules of the road and avoid causing needless harm to himself or others. Secondly, obeying the rules proves that you are employing your second world, that of goodness. Even though that in itself may not be quite perfect, i.e. it’s value is relative, but it is worth being exhibited.

To further stress the need for allegiance we see this in how governments world wide keep on spending much money on rehab programs, be it from juvenile delinquency to white collar crimes. Why do governments spend so much money if fighting the first world isn’t necessary? Why do police departments world wide are always equipped with increased training if combating evil wasn’t necessary? Why are offenders punished? Is it for your convenience or are you not affected at all by such operations that are put in place? So, as you see, each day when you wake up, you are greeted to these two fundamental worlds, that of good and that of bad. But the big onus lies in execution. What will you choose to do?

That our individual will and choice are determining factors readily becomes evident. If we were to insist that a perfect man could not take a wrong course where a moral issue was involved, should we not also logically argue that an imperfect person could not take a right course where such moral issue was involved? Yet some imperfect creatures do take a right course on moral issues involving obedience to the law, while at the same time others deliberately engage in doing what they know is wrong. Thus not all wrong actions can be excused by human imperfection. The individual’s will and choice are deciding factors. In the same way, it is not human perfection alone that would guarantee right action, rather, the exercise of our own free will and choice as motivated by love of the of the Law Giver and of the second world, or what was right.

So, we can here compare imperfection to some putridity in an apple. On such an apple you can decide two things: Either to throw the whole apple away or to cut away the rotten part away and eat the rest of the untainted apple. But notice, even if the apple was complete untainted, you would still ‘naturally’ exercise caution while eating it. Likewise, it’s possible for us to identify wrong acts in advance, i.e. the fruitage of the first world, yet at the same time we do realize that even if ‘imperfection’ were not present in us, still we would ‘naturally’ exercise caution in our dealings, or our use of the second world at all times. So this ultimately proves that our own free will, and not automatically imperfection or perfection, determines our course of action. This is where accountability comes in, so giving us a fresh new look at our Judge, that he is not a Judge of bad acts only, but also an Adjudicator of good. So, from the start, he was the there to adjudicate or render approval to all good deeds, and not necessarily that of the obstreperous first world.

What if you already have a good plan of action, yet you procrastinate to execute it, would that still be considered as falling prey to the first world? Someone may say it depends on the situation or to the one whom it is intended to be exhibited upon. Well, we can both be partly right and partly wrong here. But, honestly speaking, would you procrastinate the act of breathing? Usually people hold their breath when trying to whisper a gossip or make themselves undiscoverable, except for some honest souls who may be withholding their breath at a gym or while engaging in swimming. Other than the latter, breathing is usually performed free with no thought of trying to delay or