There are two groups of people on this earth. As a race, we achieve things because group number one is here. Those same accomplishments are reached in spite of the fact that group number two is also here.
Most people have a choice regarding which group they choose to walk among.. That choice can be made and unmade daily, and even moment by moment.
So, it’s kind of complicated.
But, regardless of shifting motivations for participating positively or not, there still remains that hardcore group of assholes. People who as soon as their feet hit the floor in the morning, make the world is a little bit shittier.
To further complicate an evaluation of contribution, you have to take into account that people have different skills. Say you were manning a battlement at Orleans as Joan and her white armor approached. You probably wouldn’t be impressed if flanking you was a 1430’s version of Steven Hawking. He wouldn’t be too much help with a sword or a longbow if you know what I’m saying. So, assuming that history changed and Orleans held, then olde tyme Steve would be one of those people that didn’t contribute much. You reached your goal of defense of the wall in spite of Steve.
However, assuming that someone could understand what the hell Stevo was saying, he could come in mighty handy for calculating the trajectory of a trebuchet. There are after all, different ways to contribute.
On a side note. I think the odds are fairly decent that someone like Steve has existed in our past. A genius, unable to communicate and reviled for his physical disabilities. A brilliant mind dreaming of space time while a skullery maid emptied shit buckets into the ditch he called home.
Even now in 2019 the actual contribution of Steven Hawking is debatable. Sure he’s expanded our understanding of the universe, but lets not kid ourselves. There are maybe a thousand people on the entire planet that fully grasp what the fuck he’s talking about. So, until someone uses Steve’s theories to invent a gadget that Wal-Mart stocks, his real contribution to the immediate survival of the herd is questionable.
I’ll get off Steve and back on topic in a minute.
But first.
Why do you have to be dead to be a saint? You would think that a living breathing saint would come in handy. Maybe the Saint department at the Vatican should give my suggestion some thought. Kind of a Catholic superhero avenger. I don’t foresee any problem with the superhero suit either. They’ve got to have a few spare capes laying around.
O.K……………. two types of people.
I think Steve assisted in explaining that different people have different abilities. As a result of those differences a person can contribute more or less. It depends on the situation. Regardless of ability, the decision to contribute still makes you a part of the group that helps us accomplish things.
Let’s focus on the pricks in the second group and the characteristics they possess. Let’s call the first group Bobs, as in Bob the builder. The second group shall be Ralph’s, as in wreck it Ralph. I think too that we can all be Bolf from time to time but I don’t want to complicate things so I’ll save that thought for another time.
Both Ralph and Bob are motivated, and I think that motivation is the key to understanding the difference between the two. Bob is amped up about participating in a collective win. Ralph wants to know what’s in it for him. What makes a true Ralph though, is the inability to allow anything to happen that doesn’t directly benefit Ralph. Somehow Ralph feels a gain or a win from preventing other people from accomplishing their goals. Even when a Bob achievement has no impact at all on Ralph, Ralph will still work diligently to block Bobs work.
Our task as humans is to suppress our inner Ralph.We all have some Ralph in us and I’m pretty sure we were born that way.
An example of why I think Ralph is inherent.
I was watching two children play with Lego. They were about four years old. One child was very good with the Lego. The other was not. So, the toddler constructing a replica space shuttle was a Bob. The second child looked unhappy so I was assuming she was a Ralph. But I was interested in how she would respond because I could see the internal struggle on her little face. Eventually she edged a little closer to Bob the shuttle builder and took four or five select pieces of Lego. Bob didn’t notice. A few minutes later Bob realized that he was missing the pieces he needed to complete his work. As he looked around for the missing blocks, Ralph opened her hands and let Bob know she had them. Bob was unhappy. Ralph was elated and then the fight started.
I let their mom sort it out and walked away to contemplate our odds of survival as a species.
I don’t think we’re going to make it unless we can suppress our inner Ralph.