Would You Kill Another Human Being?

One would think that a normal reaction to this question would be… Of course not! Are you completely nuts? What is wrong with you? That’s a horrible question, it doesn’t deserve an answer.

And you’re right. I agree with you. In the normal course of events in our current civilizations in the developed world, in many countries (but not all) we have a great respect for human life, it is precious, and our current mores greatly respect human life, and this respect is at the foundation of our cultures and our freedom. However, this is not the way it has always been. In fact, it is only recently that human life is widely respected. Humans, as the species Homo sapiens, originated at least 200,000 ago and there is a history of pre and near-human species before that. Life for early humans was all about reproduction and survival. Death from carnivores and other humans was a perpetual threat. Consideration for the life of “other” human beings (humans not within our families and cultures), either did not exist or was rather weak up to only about a hundred years ago. Care and respect for the life of “the others” is still far from universal. It depends on who “the others” are and who does the assessment of the value of human life. Wars and rumors of wars are still at or just below the basis of most human cultures.

There are three answers to the above question. 1. Absolutely not! 2. Yes, and 3. Maybe. Most of us without thinking, just absorbing the impact of such an outrageous question, would answer with #1. Those that answer #2 with instant positivity, hidden glee, and a slight smile may well be criminal, dangerous, and/or mentally unhinged. They may have a mindset that is primitive and take unconscionable pleasure in the death and destruction of other human beings. Fortunately, their numbers are few. And those that answer with #3 probably put in a lot of thought before answering.

In our society, as it is today, we have to deal with threats of violence and death occurring daily, deadly shootings in schools by juveniles, gangs engaging in criminal behavior including murder, the assumption that there is a God-given “right” to support some political leaders with violence to keep and wield their power at any cost. Sometimes, convictions that political rivals are controlled by supernatural demonic possession stimulate a presumed need and right to control, use, and perhaps destroy those that are seen as “the others”. Thus, those that have a concern, perhaps even fear for their lives in these modern times; and those that see righteousness in the destruction of political and religious opponents, answer this perceived need to protect themselves with the acquisition of firearms. And as emotions rise, they seek the company of those that share these concepts, and this reinforces beliefs and convictions. Soon they may seriously consider the use of lethal force as necessary to preserve their way of life, and perhaps their lives as well. The final step to actually killing those that they see as almost or actual supernatural enemies plotting to destroy them does not come easily, it requires organization, leadership, and direction.

For thousands of years, the answer to collective human needs has almost always been political, economic, and physical suppression of some human elements; and this can easily become war, genocide, displacement, occupation of territory, and often annihilation of cultures with different religions, mores, and, usually, inhabitants of desirable lands and natural resources. Usually, demonizing and killing “the others” requires acknowledgment of the support and encouragement of a supernatural being who guides those that rule and control the culture of the people. Wherever there are wars, great or small, long or short, a god is there, on all sides, in whatever guise the participants believe it exists, giving purpose and encouragement to all the warriors. Thus, war, killing, and annihilation of “the others” become a sacred duty. Most authoritative leaders know how to manipulate their populations by wielding this sanction.

So, with some thought, a realization develops that sometimes events occur that are beyond our control and that all humans carry within the ancient regions of their being, a primitive understanding that the winner lives, and the loser dies. Thus, even though very few of us would really want to kill somebody, perhaps “maybe, if necessary for our own survival” is the answer to the above question that fits within our past and present reality.

Killing other human beings is inherent in human biological evolution as well as in human cultural evolution. The capability and purpose of killing other human beings, whether we like it or not, is entrenched in the biological and social structure of modern humans. Unlike life in the not-so-distant past, we don’t have to consciously accept that we may someday be in a situation where taking the life of another human being is essential to our own survival or demanded by our culture; but even now we do have to live with it. Not so long ago, in the “wild west” at least according to the movies, it was customary to wear a firearm always holstered on your waist and be ready to use it. However, protection from an aggressive death is a growing concern in these days of fear and angst and it is a great concern to many of us.

Handguns and rifles are numerous and common, just not always publicly displayed. And now, more than ever before, human death is something that we typically spend hours every week thinking about human conflict and entertaining ourselves with, evil characters, murder, and war. We call it watching movies and television programs, reading books, and playing computer games that daily describe crimes and violence, strategize and romanticize warfare, and constantly fill TV screens with conflict and death. Wars and rumors of wars in many different forms have been instrumental in creating human societies from our beginnings and there is no end in sight. In fact, at this very time, we may be on the brink of ultimate, civilization-ending warfare with city-destroying nuclear weapons.

These days, games and sports are designed to be non-lethal, but still provide the rush of winning or the pain of losing, without the fear of taking or losing a life. For the most part, this has been successful Many years ago, sporting events often resulted in the death of one or more of the combatants. It was expected that winning a contest was accomplished by killing your opponent. The final scene in the stadium after a violent, and bloody fight was where the winner stood over his vanquished combatant, his foot on the chest of the conquered, his sword in the air, and his eyes on his Emperor in the royal seat. The Emperor stands, extends his hand, and then points his thumb either toward the sky or the ground below, and this determines whether or not the losing warrior lives to fight another day, or dies from a thrust of the winner’s sword. Like it or not, there are modern-day Emperors with other titles in our world today.

Martin Moe