Who am I? How did I become the person that I am?

BY ERROL A. GIBBS

Who am I? How did I become the person that I am? First, I need to know something about my origins. Paleoanthropology teaches that humans evolved in a lengthy process of change from apelike ancestors in Africa for approximately six million years (http://humanorigins.si.edu/education/introduction-human-evolution). Religion (Christianity), on the other hand, teaches that God created me with a purpose for my existence ―premortal, mortal, and immortal.

“This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being” — Sir Isaac Newton (1643–1727) (Mathematician, Physicist, Astronomer, and Theologian). Moreover, Christian literature, instills within me the sovereign rights to rule over the Earth. To have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the Earth, but not dominion over humankind. I avowed Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, Baha’i, Jainism, and Shinto as ways of belief, life, and practice.

According to historian’s early writings (Sumerian Cuneiform script), civilizations developed in the Mesopotamia/Fertile Crescent region (around the location of modern-day Iraq). As a baseline for this article, thus began my journey on Earth ―4000 years (BCE) and 2000 years (CE). After traveling for millennials, my knowledge has increased exponentially, which is a “doubled-edged” sword. Human knowledge has brought me much sorrow. Sadly, I have misinterpreted material growth and much information for knowledge. I have mistaken human weakness for strength, and I have repeated the unflattering history of my ancestors.

The dichotomy between science and religion begs the question: “Does God direct my life (underpinned by “free will”), or does my primordial beginnings inform my behaviour (survival of the fittest)? Empirical and intellectual observation leads me to conclude that there is greater complexity to my existence than I can comprehend. My innermost spiritual and intellectual being cry out for nurturing that I lacked from infancy to maturity. The current state of the postmodern world causes me to ponder my thoughts, actions, consequences (TAC), as well as my motivations ―intrinsic and extrinsic.

My thoughts and actions are a complex multi-layered mixture of (1) the benevolence of “spiritual intelligence” (SQ), (2) predestination, (3) cognitive intelligence” (IQ), (4) “free will” (self-determination), (5) ancestral (DNA) deoxyribonucleic acid, (6) familial, intellectual, and societal nurturing, (7) life conditions, (8) character traits, (9) dictates of conscience, (10) and my impulsive nature? How can I be an autonomous human being, capable of self-governance?

I am nationalistic (nationalism can be both positive and negative). I am African, American, Australian, British, Canadian, Chinese, French, German, Indian, Irish, and Korean – to name a few nationalities. As a misnomer for “races,” I am white, black, yellow, red, and brown. I divided society by “race,” colour, culture, religion, education, caste, and social and economic status. I made race and colour the most significant and polarizing aspect of my survival. I avowed religion, but what does it matter if religion sets me apart because of superficial differences?

I did not understand the benefits of the “oneness” of the human family. I took for granted the world as a vast battlefield of life. I accepted conflict and conquest as innate. I declared myself Monarch, Dictator, Communist, Socialist, and Capitalist. I became greedy for wealth and power over humankind. I divided brothers against brothers for my gain. I built a global Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) and arsenals of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). How did I arrive at the philosophy that war is a “definitive” path to peace, rather than love?

Why did I not marshall the “moral forces” of the universe to protect the innocent, the vulnerable, the poor, the mentally ill, and the fatherless? Instead, I exploited the most vulnerable of the human family ―the under-loved, under-educated, under-employed, under-appreciated, and miss-understood. Enclaves of marginalized peoples throughout the world, cry out for “just mercy.” I did not listen to my ancestors nor heeded the warning signs of the history of the collapse of past civilizations. I should have known that only egalitarian societies could flourish and sustain peaceful co-existence.

Honestly searching for answers, I invented Democracy, and pledged to build a better world, with peace and security, and “justice for all.” Still, not all received or could afford the price of justice. Did I delude myself into believing that the world travels along a linear path when the reality is that empires rise and fall ―entirely because of my actions? To constraint my behavior, I penned tens of thousands of laws. Yet, I cannot live peacefully with my terrestrial neighbours, so why do I push the limits of science and engineering technology, seeking to discover new worlds of extraterrestrial life ―undeservingly.

I ought to have known that my actions would bring great destruction and fear upon the Earth. Will the new god of “Artificial Intelligence” (AI) guide and protect me. Will AI extend the power of love, friendship, patience, mercy, compassion, forgiveness, repentance, and restitution? Who am I? How can I become the person I could be? Continued in Part 2.