Manifesto for my Generation

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We are the generation that will inherit the world. In light of such an inevitability, in order to prepare oneself for the gradual transition into a position of power, deserved or no, wise or not, there is a single question that must be considered and evaluated in order for the best and necessary courses of action to become apparent:2

Are the sins of the father passed on as the sins of the son?3

Christ claimed that they were not, in a time when it was believed that a man's physical disability was a punishment incurred by the negative acts of his parents, through no fault of his own, and the man, rather than his mother or father, was the one stigmatized for it. One might presume Christ to be the authority on the nature of the lineage of sin, but, given the scientific knowledge now available on genetic inheritance, instinct and archetypes, and the apparently cyclical nature of history, one must wonder if this is, in fact, a correct summation of the evidence, or merely what one would like to believe.4

At the root of the proud proclamation that every child is a blank slate, free of the follies and failures (not to mention successes) of his father, is the fervent desire to believe in the existence of absolute free will. We as humans do not want to believe that our destiny is affected or controlled by forces outside of ourselves, although anyone can see that, clearly, this is not the actual nature of things. Many factors outside of one person's control affect them; one cannot change the weather, the attitudes and actions of other people, or the situation into which they are born. People do not choose to be physically or mentally handicapped, rich or poor, hetero- or homosexual, for we are a vain race and, given the choice, there is no person who would not initially like to be successful, socially acceptable, intelligent, beautiful, and whatever else would appear to be advantageous.5

Some readers may insist that they are happy with who they are, and that they would not change this way if given the choice, and I do believe them. I say "initially." It takes at least a little careful thought to realize that, perhaps, what seems easiest is not really what would be best for a particular person's psyche, or to see that the thing one superficially desires is not actually their wish, after all. It takes a keen and probing mind, however, willing to critically examine itself, to come to such a conclusion, and only a minority of people are able to allow themselves the intense pain that such an impersonal and noble act requires.6

And so I say, with certainty, that as humans are a self-centered species, given the actual existence of free will, all people would be able to theoretically supercede the limitations imposed by the very fact that our world exists; this is clearly not the case, or there would certainly be no society and no objective reality whatever, at all. Free of the constraints imposed by the physical realm, by society, by genetics, by economy, all that could exist would be one person and their imagination, allowed to stretch to the edges of infinity but empty for all that: because they would be the only real, thinking, living being in that existence, and all others seeming so would merely be the constructs of that person's conception of how things should be. Free will, as such, is, of course, impossible.7

We are affected and limited by our environment, which, it at first seems, is what primarily shapes us. Looking deeper, however, we seem to be mostly made of that which has come before, in all tangible and imaginable forms. Our environment, at least, we may impact and interact with, but we have no control over the actions of historical figures, the genetic makeup of our parents and their parents, the process of human physical and cultural evolution. The most important factors that shape the circumstances of the beginning of our lives are things over which we have absolutely no active role, and, subsequently, cannot affect or control.8

The sins of the father become the sins of the son. The apes who could not stand on two legs and take a proud stride when it was fatally pertinent have died, their genetic contributions forgotten, never passed on because they did not live long enough for it to happen. We bear the brunt of our evolution, and, as such, human nature. Our nature, our morals, our wars, our greed are all a combination of vices that in the past facilitated survival, but which have had the paradoxical effect of making that history of existence thoroughly unpleasant from a global perspective.9

We kill our own kind. Instinctually and culturally, we hate those of different backgrounds and origins, who threaten our own survival as a particular combination of genes, advantageous in a certain environment. We commit genocide, driven by these instinctual urges. We commit horrible atrocities in the name of race, of state, of nation, of family. The genes with the brute strength to survive, in fact, have survived, and we, the children born of them, bear the burden of the genetic inclination to greed and to violence.10

Christ was correct about one thing, however: the children born of sin need not necessarily bear the stigma nor the burden. The absence of active participation in the circumstances of our birth limits, but does not entirely preclude, free will. Free will does exist, in a way; the actions of others cannot be controlled, only our own reactions to them. By reacting passively, by accepting that one's own actions will never, ever be more than a reaction to another reaction, the effect of an effect, we may understand how, though we cannot change our essential human nature, we may allow it reign in the most beneficial ways possible. We cannot be changed; we have already been made. We cannot be improved; our own glorious potential, all the best in us, is already present, locked in the core of our every cell, within the DNA that forms our likes, our dislikes, the chemical basis of happiness and joy, our love and hate, our potential actions. Genetic inclination does not equal a lack of self-control. Inclination does not equate to inevitability.11

The world cannot be improved, not by me or by anyone, because it is already perfect. The perfection of the human race is here, now and today. If we are all sinners we all also possess the potential to become saints, at this moment in time. As a boulder on a precipice has the potential to release an incredible amount of energy, if only allowed to follow its easiest course, reacting to other elements, so is the puzzle of human action and reaction. It is not exactly the same, because, sometimes, the easiest stone to let fall is the powerful drive of our violent urges; it is necessary, then, to focus on what is most viable in the long term, what will have the most long-lasting and beneficial effect. When it is easy to hurt another being in the short-term, it is important to realize the course of action that, while less readily apparent, is best for all humanity and, subsequently, one's own soul and body.12

The inheritance of our human nature makes us repeat the mistakes of the past. The inheritance of this violent, unhappy nature may be called what is meant by the term "original sin," what is determined by God or other powers, by Nature herself if nothing else. While we cannot change it, we need not allow it to limit or control us. If fate is determined by everything outside of us, we still retain the essential power of how we chose to react to it; we may accept it or reject it, we may passively understand that we have only the potential to change ourselves from within, or we may aggressively attempt (and fail) to remake the world in our image.13

This ability to deny our heritage is the most precious power we own; though we may be inclined to repeat the past, it is only inclination, not action itself. It is only one of multiple potentials. If the sin of the father is also that of the son, has not the son the power to atone his terrible lineage? If we are the children of war and unhappiness, of famine and plague, the children of the world that shaped Hitler and Stalin and gave birth to countless dictators and to the Crusades, have we not the power to deny the past control over us now, in the present? Have we not the right to decide how we as individuals will react to our sad legacy? Generations past have poisoned the sky, but we need not allow it when we come to power. The most influential factor in shaping our destinies is not a curse, but, ultimately, the blessing that allows passivity inevitable supremacy over action: time.14

Because time will pass, because empires rise and fall, because the past is now the past and the present is here, we will inherit the world. And by, if not changing things actively, doing nothing to perpetuate them, nothing can stop us. We can atone for the past of the human race on an individual basis, because we are part of it. We need not do anything to change what already exists; established order is not easily nor peacefully changed, and all revolutions that resort to violence and the methods of evil beget more of the pain and sorrow that made them necessary to begin with.15

Lenin and Marx had the right idea, but the inception was flawed; Marx believed in spontaneous revolution, in sudden and perfect, lasting change. This is the easy way out, where one does nothing, where everything is miraculous, all on its own, independent of effort. Marxist utopia does not exist. Lenin believed that a short period of violence to remove the old regime would result in future perfection; the problem here is, as my teacher from Russia once told me, if a nation always looks to the future and concentrates only on present sacrifice in the name of that eventuality, it will never come to be. Terrorism and activism make short-term changes that prove ineffectual, meaningless, eventually fall back into the mire from whence they emerged, which is inequality and bigotry, ignorance that breeds violence.16

We are the generation that will inherit the world. We are born of pain and unhappiness. We are born of violence and of strife. We are born of human greed and human suffering. We are born of mercy, peace, and hope. We are the generation that will shape the world in our image, willingly or no. We will create what the human race and what the planet we call Earth will become. We all will have a lasting impact on what that world will be.17

Because of this, because of where we come from and where we are going, it is easy to see that we cannot change the world that has come before us, and, consequently, cannot actively reform the world of the future. What is done cannot be undone, and what will happen is too vague for anyone to say or predictably influence. Instead, we can influence only ourselves.18

By practicing kindness and care, love and respect, compassion for all things, human or not, living or not, real or simply imagined (ideas and concepts), we can remake ourselves into the best we can be. By living up to this potential we influence the whole of the human race indirectly. By reacting instead of acting, by understanding how we affect others and others us, we can be truly revolutionary. Revolution does not come from the loss of life or the violent upheaval of what already exists. Revolution comes from within all of us, in the realm of our emotions and our mind, and, subsequently, in our actions.19

Because we are all part of the generation that will inherit the world, all part of the generation which will shape the next, by being truly compassionate and truly grateful, by denying the easy inclinations toward violence and hate, we will remake all of the world without really actively changing anything, superficially. By not participating in that which we abhor, by consciously denying the simplicity of compromising our principles in the present because it is more convenient, by atoning for the universal sins that now rest on our blind eyes, we can change the world, or rather, we may shape a destiny that will be beautiful from the midst what has come before.20

How to atone for sickness and for famine, for war and death and more? Things in which we had no choice and did not actively participate? That is simple: to combat ignorance and poverty and violence is penance. To give aid to those who need it, to allow for intelligent discourse, to contemplate what one might consider foolish. To avoid the follies of idealism, but also to admire them in principle. To see that there are other ways to see. To consider others as just as valid as oneself, and to love them as oneself, also. To understand that we are all just little parts of one another's perceptions and influence, that we are all different facets of the same basic nature, originating and returning to one source. To avoid anger at one another by realizing the same. To avoid violence by seeing that it only causes more violence, that there can be no war to end war, no compromise of principle to ensure virtue, no little loss of freedom to enforce it. To see that there is no future but our action and reaction in the present, and to know that one person, the individual, on a global enough scale, is all that truly matters: you, yourself.21

This is a manifesto for my generation. This is how we may distinguish ourselves from any and all others, and they from us. We need not repeat the follies and successes of the past, if we are willing to be careful and be patient. Lasting change is never immediate nor perceptible except in retrospect; however, it is constant and inevitable.22

Make the change one that is positive, for you.23