The Ladder

     Surfing the TV channels, I ran across a show about archaeology. Since I like this subject, which is odd because history was another of my un-favorite subjects, I pushed the select button on the remote. 

     The show was about some ancient civilizations, previously unknown, that had been lost for many millennium.  It seemed to go along with a book I had read about how archaeologists had discovered remnants of the humans species, several hundreds of thousands of years old, that were anatomically correct.  Meaning, they looked pretty much the same as the rest of us do today, albeit, they were probably thinner.  This particular piece of information shreds the missing link theory because.... there is no missing link.
But, discussion about from where we descended is fodder for another day.

     These archaeologists had unearthed not only grave sites, but entire ancient cities.  These once thriving communities had dates of 4000 to 6000 B.C. and were far more sophisticated than anyone thought possible for that time period.  While doing all this excavation, the scientists had stumbled onto something they did not think was possible for this era in time.  

     The graves that they had explored told stories of the time these people had lived.  Some graves were very simple and some were extremely ornate, with many pieces of gold jewelry and other gold items.  Lo and behold!  The archaeologists had unearthed social status!  They were amazed, because they really believed that when humans lived that long ago, they all lived on an equal scale.....one for all and all for one.

     I pushed the off button, while the experts were still scratching their heads, and began to ponder on this incredible find.  If social status was alive and well thousands of years ago, what makes modern man think they can change that?  

     I'm all about equality, to a point.  Yes, we are all born equal, so to speak.  Mostly, we have the same chances and opportunities laid out before us.  What we do with those things is what makes the difference.  We can choose to grab the bull by the horns and make the very most of what life has to offer......or we can sit on our haunches and watch the world go by without doing one single thing.

     If we choose the latter, then no amount of encouragement, money, grants, whatever, is going to make a difference in our outcome.  If we do not like where we are in our social status, or life in general,  then it is up to the individual to do something about it.  Whining about how unfair things are and expecting someone else to do something about an unfortunate plight in life, is, ludicrous.  Pouring endless amounts of energy and money into making sure everyone has "stuff" to make them feel equal, or important, is like remodeling a house and not fixing the four square foot hole in the roof.

     There are doers and there are watchers and, according to the ancient archaeological digs, there always have been.  The only thing that will change this is when people start using the grey matter between their ears to decide if they really want to do what it takes to climb the ladder..... and learn to be kind in the process.

     These incredible finds were in the lands of the Middle East......where, basically, we all came from.  Unfortunately, some whack jobs have probably blown the smithereens out of the digs so the truth cannot be passed on to the next generation.  But, before I turned the TV off, there was also mention of a drastic climate change that may have led to the demise of the old civilization.  As far as I know, they had not unearthed a 6500 B.C. Studebaker to place the blame on.