The Decline of Human Consciousness

In traditional classifications, so-called lower animals are described as irrational, while higher ones—namely humans—are considered rational because of their ability to “think and reflect.” Yet humans often choose to be irrational by means of thoughts and actions that are less useful, or more illogical, than alternatives that would prove more rational. This places them, paradoxically, below the so-called irrational beings. While animals act on instinct without malice, humans stand out for their intentional negativity and predisposition to conflict. They systematically oppose genuine fraternal coexistence by interpreting reality illogically, which leads to the development of emotional disturbances that harm human relationships and leave people confused, frustrated, and dissatisfied with their own lives.

In the blink of an eye, life slips away like sand in a tiny hourglass. When we close our eyes for a second, time becomes an abstraction that the limited human mind cannot truly comprehend, revealing the insignificance of arrogance and of cosmetic vanity.

Everything comes down to dust carried by cosmic winds, like leaves that vanish without a trace or memory in the eternal motion of the universe. In this permanent process of transformation, the material goods humanity so cherishes cannot buy even one extra second of life. In the brief lapse of our short-lived existence, we fail to grasp that everything is temporary. Our compulsory return to the dimension from which we came begins with our first breath, and yet we act without any real awareness of how scarce our time is.

Our fragile existence is but an abstraction, in which fleeting power reveals the impotence that levels all mortals alike, bending us ALL before we disappear—like clouds.

Our unsustainable illusion of vanity and our desperate attempts to eternalize memory are pathetic projections. Displays of personal pride are a surreal, laughable weakness—short-lived and vain—that feeds the egos of senseless people who lack deeper awareness of the meaning and value of our species. What we truly need in order to live in peace is to understand and respect our differences—to come down from the clouds of hilarious and hypothetical mental fantasies, and plant our feet firmly on the ground of reality.

How much land do we actually need to bury a decomposing body in a six-feet-deep grave? In an act of ingratitude toward the privilege of life, we leave behind contaminated soil and groundwater—the same water that will be consumed by those who come after us.

When will we realize that simplicity is a demand of intelligence? Arrogance and egotism, in contrast, are undeniable evidence of chronic stupidity. In the loneliness that defines the human soul, we arrive in this temporary and unpredictable life with no emotional bonds and no knowledge of anyone.

We are all sentenced to leave, continuing our solitary cosmic journey. And surely, the greatest gift during this brief passage is the embrace of nature and its uncomplicated, pure, and supposedly “irrational” beings. Paradoxically, we humans mindlessly cause the destruction of the Earth and of the life that inhabits it.

In a realistic comparison between some human beings and bacteria, we are struck by the observation that—despite over 85% of the Earth’s population claiming to worship a God—humans, endowed with intelligence, often act with greater madness and destructiveness toward their own species and the planet than the aggressive bacteria known as Staphylococcus aureus. Surprisingly, bacteria show solidarity with one another. These microorganisms have demonstrated altruistic instincts when their colonies are in danger. In other words, bacteria act to mutually save each other, as studies by researchers at Oxford University have shown. Meanwhile, humans kill innocent and vulnerable fellow beings in cowardly, unscrupulous ways. The researchers essentially created a microbial battlefield, then observed strategies as clever as those we design in tower defense games—like Clash Royale.

We would remain pure were we not trapped in the socio-cultural-religious bubble of the part of the planet where we arrived. Before we are indoctrinated, life is simple and uncomplicated. Yet, even in the early stages of reason, we are made to believe in principles that few have actually managed to develop. And so, we live in a deep lethargy between reality and surreal imagination, with absurd principles, and terrifying threats of condemnation to hypothetical hells by an equally imaginary God. The acceptance of indoctrination as personal truth, coupled with insufficient grasp of reality, leads us to behave like adults: ready to generate conflict and attack life in all its forms, unable or unwilling to coexist in peace. We are all just passing through this world, and we take nothing with us but either an evolved spirit or a shamefully backward one, selfish, aggressive, and petty.

Lacking merit and rationality, we pass down from generation to generation the promise of paradise, offering unlikely material rewards in the spiritual realm. We assume some religiosity that leads people to kill one another, using empty words and expressing a fragile faith—useful only to feed shallow and hysterical debates in defense of an all-powerful, benevolent, omniscient, and omnipresent God who exists solely in fertile imaginations, and is said to appreciate acts of kindness toward our fellow human beings.

What kind of mind with even minimal discernment could believe in heavenly cities with streets of gold, rivers of milk and honey, thrones, angels, and resurrection? Or idle winged beings blowing trumpets beside an imaginary all-powerful figure, assisted by lazy, complacent worshipers who coexist in the harmony they could never achieve in life? When they had the privilege of being able to act with respect, they were insensitive to the principles of brotherhood and compassion, isolating themselves in selfish illusions of superiority and material comfort—while others, in distress, heard the cries of their own guts tormented by hunger.

This is the lamentable stage of impoverished consciousness we have reached—emerging from ideological, philosophical, or religious foundations that are morally questionable and deeply biased. Rulers promote exclusion, instead of inclusion and social justice, in a reality where impartiality is a rare dream pursued by the few who haven’t succumbed to the widespread madness that stands against reason, logic, and decency.

Oppressors and exploiters refine ever more sophisticated laws and mechanisms for efficient domination. They maintain control over the masses, who work nearly half the year to finance the extravagance, waste, and ostentation of corrupt gangs hidden under the guise of official status. They mock and laugh at subservient crowds, blinded by ignorance, overly gullible, and naively unaware of the indecent schemes brewed behind the scenes of power—by crooks who infest and corrupt every stream of thought, religious belief, ideology, and political party.

“The path to wisdom, rejected by fools and the ignorant, begins when we choose to listen, stay open, and remain teachable—no matter how much we think we already know. The men who made their mark on humanity’s history were tolerant, willing to listen, and ready to share ideas.” 

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Commentary:

Your reflection brilliantly portrays the reality of humanity and the behavior of the elites, who selfishly and heartlessly benefit from subjecting others to lives of hardship. It’s a selfish, sick, and reckless satisfaction—destroying our own species and the planet that so generously shelters us. Your article describes well this sad realization. Congratulations, dear Samuel Saraiva.
— José Guedes, lawyer, former mayor of Porto Velho, and former federal constituent congressman.