Since the beginning of Mankind, we have fantasized about our our ideal world. In ancient Greece, Plato wrote the Republic where the world was ruled by philosopher-kings, because everyone knows that philosophers know exactly what they’re doing. During the reign of King Henry VII, Sir Thomas More wrote about the island of Utopia and thus we finally had a word for that which we strive for.
The thing is, the Christian faith itself is largely a Utopian vision of better things to come. However, the ending given to us in Revelation has nothing to do with man bringing Heaven to Earth but God doing so. To believe otherwise is committing the sin of Pride. And yet, history is full of various sects and cults based in the Christian faith that sought to bring Heaven on Earth. Too bad they never really succeeded. I guess God wants us to live in this primitive dust rock inhabited by hairless apes.
The sad fact is, the Utopian visions have probably caused more death and destruction than peace and harmony. You’d think by now that most people would have enough sense to realize that such a dream is impossible, given the historical context. You really don’t have to analyze history itself, in all honesty. Look at the conditions in Cuba, Venezuela, and North Korea if you want to look no further. Or, check out what the Taliban did in Afghanistan or the mullahs have done to Iran. Even many Western European countries have that hint of making the world a better place for us all.
It’s like the whole of humanity believes us to be imperfect after a fashion. Yet many of them seem to have been unable to identify it or misconstrued the cause. For the Unitarian and secular Socialist, it’s poverty. For the communist, it’s the manager and elitist. For the Muslim, it’s not being Muslim (or being a woman, I need to study that a little more). For the libertarian, it’s the government. For the Christian, it’s sin. I have a feeling that Jesus nailed it when he was nailed to the cross for our redemption. I think many people rejected this idea (and still do) because the answer to the imperfection of man is so simple, it’s practically stupid.
In any case, there have been countless philosophers, kings, lawyers, engineers, politicians, economists, holy men, soldiers, tyrants, and all around grade A buttholes who have attempted to redeem us of our imperfections in the name of bringing whatever Heaven they envision to Earth. You’d think if they had so much time on their hands, they actually have a chance at self-reflection, or care what their real friends think of them. In any case, I think these people actually and thoroughly believed that they could “fix” mankind. It was arrogant and foolish (in the Biblical sense of the term), but at the same time it was beautiful. Up until they started digging the mass graves for the thousands of individuals who didn’t fit in with their plan.
It never really ends I guess. There is always someone who says that if we just do this or that, then everything will be all right and nobody will starve or die or suffer or whatever else entails some predefined paradise. The trouble is, in order to be an anti-Utopian like myself, you really have to not care about the situations of others, no matter how good or bad, and you end up apathetic to most of the goings on. This is probably the major reason why those of use who want everyone to leave everyone else alone and left to their own devices: we tend to practice what we preach (when we preach, that is).
So I guess we’ll continue this pointless cycle of tyranny in the name of Heaven on Earth until the real Heaven on Earth appears (or until the Sun explodes and destroys us all or whatever else you believe will happen in the end). I guess the best a man can really do for himself is to live out his life the way he sees fit, so long as it’s honest and peaceful. For a woman, the best thing she can really do for herself is, well, that’s a whole other blog entry all together.