“It is only human supremacy, which is as unacceptable as racism and sexism, that makes us afraid of being more inclusive.”
Let’s start with a little perspective.
There are about 400 billion Milky Way stars and as many as 10 trillion planets orbiting them. On our little planet, there are 8 billion people.
Given those facts, how did we come to the conclusion that our planet reigns supreme and that any one of us should exercise supremacy over another?
In this post, I will argue that the main causes of this destructive delusion are identification, ego, greed and desire and the primary paths for destroying those illusions are acceptance, forgiveness, gratitude and compassion.
The pursuit of supremacy has not served us well.
Think of the people who claimed the title of supreme leader, e.g. Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Franco, Chiang Kai-shek, Trujillo, Sukarno, Mao, Duvalier, Marcos, Saddam Hussein, Gaddafi, the Ayatollah Khomeini, Pol Pot, Kim Jong Un, etc. Those supreme leaders led us into supreme destruction. Yes, they are all men.
In Star Wars, Snoke, the supreme leader of the First Order, a fascist military junta in the unknown regions of the galaxy, claimed absolute power. Snoke sought to control every aspect of the military and government and used propaganda to promote unconditional loyalty. Oh, how fictional accounts have a way of becoming real.
The “supreme” qualities of leadership are integrity, humility, and restraint – not power, control, and domination. (See: “Seven Essential Qualities of Leadership”)
The supreme quality of reality is balance. (See: “Balance and Unity”)
Supreme excellence is simplicity. (See: “Simplicity”)
If only we could only live by those principles, our lives and our world would be so different.
In a recent column, David Brooks asks the question: is life a story or a game?
Lately, to me, it’s seemed more like a game – who can con whom to achieve an advantage on whatever field you may be playing.
He quotes Will Storr, the author of The Status Game, who argues that we are driven more by status than by being accepted by others and by ourselves. Status is about being better, getting more, and achieving deference. I don’t know about you, but that’s not exactly the story I want tell about my life.
The whole notion of supremacy is not working out so well.
The Supreme Court has imposed its will on an unwilling population. Olympic athletes want so badly to reign supreme that many use drugs or abuse their bodies for years to achieve elite status. Most religions claim to have supreme authority, superior values, unassailable beliefs. Christian nationalists are still nurturing their nostalgia for white supremacy.
History is littered with the detritus of nation’s attempts to assert their superiority over their sovereign nations.
We are seeing horrific examples of that story playing out right now—for example, Russia’s unprovoked assault on Ukraine is capturing the spotlight on the world stage and the Proud Boys dominate our domestic news cycles.
What if we devoted our lives to humility instead of supremacy? What if we were more dedicated to harmony than hegemony?
Once again, we are living in the wrong questions.
We can experience harmony when we are feeling soothed, supple, and sublime. Those feelings come to us through meditation, exercise, and connection.
Hegemony manifests as dominance, exploitation, and imposition. One of the biggest problems in the world is human obsessiveness to rise above others for purposes of domination and control.
Notice the real problem here revolves around purpose.
It’s one thing to want to rise above and bring others with you; it’s another thing to do so in order to impose your values and beliefs on the people you left behind. Harmony sings. Hegemony stings.
For me, these hegemonic urges come from over-identification, negativity, greed, and desire. Identifying too strongly with a particular religion, nation, or team blinds us to the value of different thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. Being overly negative leads us in the direction of presuming evil intentions instead of assuming good intentions. Greed drives us to an unending need for more money, power, status, toys, etc. Desire makes us vulnerable to becoming too attached to our wishes, wants, and whims.
Harmonic urges come from a need for meaning, connection, and purpose.
When we seek harmony, we look for ways to make music together—to create symphonies with whatever instruments we are working with.
We look for opportunities to let others shine and to share credit. We see the beauty in Nature. We feel the joy of synchronicity. We are more at one, at peace, calm and still.
We experience humility when we accept the reality of who we are in our cosmic uniqueness, our interdependence with others, and the impermanence of life; when we forgive others for any perceived transgressions, hurtful behavior, or unkind language; when we feel gratitude for whatever is present in our lives in the moment; and when we show compassion for people who have experienced trauma and/or are struggling in their lives.
As Ingrid Newkirk suggests in the opening quote, the drive for supremacy creates fear of inclusivity. The supremacy goal is to achieve status in ever-more exclusive enclaves. The humility goal is to learn inclusively—to welcome different people, ideas, and sources of learning into our lives and to be open to fresh insights and perspectives.
I just took my grand-kids to the Dennos Museum in Traverse City to watch the short firm, A World Without Ice. The film, created by Henry Pollack and fellow collaborators, is a multimedia installation that depicts a precarious moment in the Earth’s history.
It simultaneously captures the effects of hegemony and the beauty of harmony competing for the planet.
Those who insist on exploiting our natural resources are slowly but surely destroying our future and killing the earth’s inhabitants. Those who are trying to live in harmony with Nature are seen losing the battle. On the screen, the film shows how our glaciers are melting and our climate is changing.
In front of the screen, ice is placed on top of five drums.
As the ice melts, water drops onto the drums and creates a poignant, percussive pattern that produces a haunting effect—a distinctive drumbeat to doom.
The installation is a stunning visual and auditory immersion as well as a mesmerizing experience that invites us to ponder the existential battle between hegemony and harmony.
So let’s remember that we are one of 8 billion people living on one of 10 trillion planets in the Universe. If that doesn’t elicit a profound sense of awe, engender a bit of humility and cause us to create a little more harmony, I’m not sure what will.
I’m hoping the world may soon abandon this supremacy train that is charging full-speed down the path to extinction. I’m hoping we can let go of the hegemonic urges to dominate and exploit. I’m hoping we can develop our abilities to be more accepting, forgiving, grateful, and compassionate. And I’m hoping we can embrace the humility required to live appreciatively, learn joyfully, love generously, and lead inclusively. May it be so.
Also published on Medium.
Thank you Ricky!
[…] significant impact on my evolving beliefs on this issue. In response to my last post on Supremacy (https://rickbellingham.com/2022/07/25/supremacy/), he challenged me to think about significance in an entirely different way. While it is true […]