The Idea of Nature vs. Nurture within the Idea of The State by Nicole Terry The idea of Nature vs. Nurture seems to falter beneath the gravity of the State (or God as State). The necessity or propulsion of self-preservation is also affected. If one were to take a closer look at the State's constituents, or its Common Herd, collectively across boundaries of perceived fictional lines, one would notice a prevalent theme among the people. State Government supply and restrain survival means to the lowly citizens of the State. Effectively, whatever knowledge obtained is only that of the hired scientist delegated to the citizenry through media. Take Technology: the common view of Technology is one of inevitability, with the advent of cell phones, cathode high-definition television sets, video phones, hydrogen fuel cell cars, and the like, not to mention the discovery of string theory and quantum mechanics physics, would the Collective Conscious somehow be affected by this "new" wave of technological information? A synonymous effect occurs, especially among the new generations who will have or have no recollection (other than by external means such as historical texts) of the long gone days of stationary telephones, or even perhaps someday the absence of paper post. Even schools slowly transition into a paperless curriculum. Students at a Philadelphia school function totally by way of laptop computers; homework, lessons and note-taking in class are all performed on the individual notebook computers each student carries with him (to the exclusions of tests, so as to be sure no student searches the Internet for help on answers). Soon the home will become wireless, especially with the technology available for networking of television sets, home computers to work computers, lights controlled from a moving vehicle, and downloadable-uploadable bandwidths. Could it not be assumed the functions of the brain would change in order to accommodate this new means of fluctuating information? The State provides access to these materialistic means of survival, so removes self-preservation from the self to the Collective Self, Government controlling preservation of the citizenry; Government or State (God) as the nurturer of the nature of its citizens. The idea of this battle between environment and nature seems obsolete now that Nature has succumbed to the purveying effects of systematized Nurture. This is evident in that perhaps long ago, among the early forms of thinking man, violence was used only to protect the self from invading tribes or as a means to prolong needs of survival, hence food, shelter, and warmth. Now violence often outbreaks when these amenities are readily available. Among this new breed of Herd it is not preservation of self, but the preservation of material wealth. Government must perpetuate in order to continue supplying citizens with its sustenance of material wealth. A Herd grown obese on technology of hierarchy in its pecking order. Perhaps this is why Americans are often arrogant of their status among the world "countries.” As one's status or rank within the pecking order is measured by the amount of "gadgets" one possesses. But what supplies not only the "gadgets", but the means to obtain or afford such gadgets? The State. By controlling information through federally regulated media, as well as using test survey demographics obtained through census to ascertain the Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Biology of its citizens, the State has replaced Nurture with itself. The State understands the Nature of its citizens so predicts as well as protects and prepares the Herd for its pre-planned future, effectively altering and transforming the consciousness of the Masses, which will reproduce a more efficient citizen already equipped for the New World, and helped along by Institution of the Family. To be smart, The State would not fight Nature, but embrace it, to more efficiently control it. The masses lash-out among one another in order to sustain this idea of superiority. Knowing this the Nature of the Herd can easily be atomized by installing the necessity of war; in turn, war becomes the necessity of assumed wealth. Government appeals to the animal in Man so the animal obeys. It simply modifies the means of preservation that it can Nurture. The questions then becomes: Is preservation still based on Survival or upon Revival? To live again and again and again. © Copyright 2008 Nicole Terry ALL RIGHTS RESERVED [back to Essays] [more Writings]