Why?

Have you ever wondered what makes us do the things we do?

A friend once told me that everything people do on this Earth is either inherently selfish or simply animal instinct. We perform community service to make ourselves feel good. We raise and nurture children because we are genetically predisposed to reproduce and pass on our genes. We romanticize these crude, base actions to make ourselves feel more cultured. Putting up a fence between us and the monkeys, if you will.

At the time, I thought he was wrong. It can't be that simple, I told myself. Insanity, to believe that us, humans, could be so...primitive. We were better than that.

Yet as time passed, my initial resentment of the idea cleared and I began to realize how insightful his theory was.

You don't need to be a scientist to realize that even as we build vast cities and land on the moon, humans are still controlled almost entirely by the savage instinct to which our primate brethren swear by. The primary means of which the adult human psyche identifies its self worth according to several studies? Financial success, followed closely by sexual appeal. To rephrase, being able to bring home the bacon and make pretty babies is absolutely how we define ourselves as "good humans". No other trait even comes close.

And selfishness? Pride? We are ego-machines, every one. Freud called it "primary narcissism". Essentially, the entire reason we are the dominant species on Planet Earth is not due to us being the biggest or the baddest, but the most self-loving. We liked ourselves so much that in our push to prove our self-worth to ourselves and our peers, we discovered fire, invented the wheel, and so on. And during that time, our fight-or-flight instincts were the best the Animal Kingdom had to offer, so we stayed alive and kept developing. And they still are. Looking for the most viciously violent creature this planet has to offer? Look no further than the nearest reflective surface. Historians estimate that approximately 95% of all known human civilizations engaged in warfare "occasionally" to "constantly".

But my friend was still wrong.

Yes, we are selfish. Yes, we are crude. But we are something else too. A third element. And while every conceivable action can be explained away as either primitive instinct or pride, this isn't a satisfying answer. It rings hollow to my ears, and I can't accept it.

Why?

Because we make music and art. Because we dance, and laugh, and seek companionship. Because we happily grow old together. Because, because, because.

Because we have faith in ourselves.

My friend hadn't accounted for faith. And that was why he was wrong.