Unnatural Shocks

In Hamlet's soliloquy "To be or not to be" we find the phrase "the thousand Natural shocks that flesh is heir to." In this week's missive, I would like to focus a briefly on the reverse of the medal, that is, "unnatural shocks." A distinction here seems, well, only natural.

Now what Hamlet was on about was the fact that life by its very existence entails any number of untoward and unexpected happenings. These occurrences can range anywhere from volcanic ash tumbling down on you to being infected with the Ebola virus, or from fighting off a shark to the Kardashians crashing your very private party (the last example is not mutually exclusive).

What I would like to address, however, are those occurrences that, however unexpectedly, do not happen naturally. They can be traced to our actions rather than an outside source such as an exploding volcano, a jungle disease, or swimming with sharks and/or celebrities. In other words, our fault.

Three unnatural shocks come to mind.

The first, and by far the most dangerous, are those religions that encourage a "me only" approach, with any other belief being beyond the pale and subject to scorn, banishment, or even death by any number of ghastly ways. In early days, this approach might have provided some comfort in enduring a life that was, as Thomas Hobbes' wrote in The Leviathan, "nasty, brutish and short." But this is the present, and I find Voltaire's' words more to the point: "The first clergyman was the first rascal who met the first fool."

Secondly, and almost as worrying, a medieval outfit such as the National Rifle Association continues to exist and have enormous influence on the American political scene. It is high time this  organization should cease being an unnatural shock and fade into nothingness.

Finally, we as electors in a democracy, have an unfortunate habit of electing the inept or oafish into positions of power, thereby bringing their jurisdictions into a state of fiscal collapse. Where ineptitude is concerned, step forward Greece and Ontario. Where the election of an oaf is concerned, look no further then the Trump candidacy in the U.S.

"Elect Trump?" you say. "No way we would elect such an oaf!"

"Why not?" I would reply. "You did it in 2000."