Michael Carver
Chapter 20
“August sixth and ninth, 1945.” The guttural rumble of
Baxter’s voice pronounced an enigmatic statement that Michael sensed was meant
for his ears.
“Sir?”
“The days we dropped the bomb on Japan. Sealed
civilization’s fate then, we’ve just been delaying the inevitable ever since.”
Baxter stared straight ahead, not looking in Michael’s direction.
Michael circled the statement, knowing the best way to
entertain a fisherman is not by taking the bait, but by nibbling at it,
creating anticipation for the catch. “But haven’t the greatest advances in
human history taken place since World War Two? I think it’s arguable that the
deterrent factor of nuclear war created an environment of peace and creation
where real brute force became out of the question. The population boomed, age
expectancy rose, and life got easier. The end of all existence is a great
intimidation, right?”
“The calm before the storm. Both world wars and this
hundred-some-odd years of prosperity are a drop in the bucket of man’s
existence on this earth. Always, human beings have sought war and conquest over
their fellow man. There is not a single point in all of Homo sapiens’ history
where blood wasn’t spilled in the name of what’s yours is mine, what’s your God’s
is my God’s, or, worse yet, what’s your country’s is my country’s.”
Michael contemplated for a moment. “Still, though, in all
mankind’s history there was never the threat of assured destruction if both
parties actively sought war.”
Baxter grunted, “Aye, the MAD theory, right? Mutually
Assured Destruction for everyone. But that presupposes there aren’t egotistical
maniacs out there given the keys and power to rule millions of people utilizing
physical force. Do you realize what kind of insatiable lust for power drives a
man into presidency or dictatorship?”
Yes, Michael
thought. He said, “Go on.”
“These men are certifiable sociopaths given the means
of destruction by feigning omnipotent benevolence for their fellow man. Take
the United States, for instance. It is the greatest country ever in the history
of the world, built successfully on the principles of a democratic republic. Yet,
paraphrasing Sir Winston Churchill here, it is the least worst form of
government. The USA in its current state is what happens when you give a person
with great political ambition a means to manipulate the masses into granting
him power over their lives. It’s taken more than two hundred years for the
empire to coalesce and rot into what it’s become today, but when you grant the
people power to vote themselves money and the government increases in size,
strength, and might, guess what politicians get elected? Tell me what type of
person you think comes into control of a vast nuclear arsenal, given the
established system in place through centuries of ‘freedom’ through democracy?” Baxter
humphed with the last sentence, stretching his arms and legs out with
exaggerated movements.
Briefly taken aback by the brutal honesty of the
diatribe, Michael chuckled, “I always thought you might be a closet anarchist,
sir.”
Baxter listened, then looked over at Michael intently.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Just because I know the game is fixed doesn’t mean I
should refuse to play. Quite the opposite. Notice before that I basically
stated that democracy was the least of all government evils. I’ll actively
participate and pursue success in a system predicated upon the utilization of
force simply because man’s basic animal nature makes it completely necessary to
have a governing body in place capable of utilizing force.” He paused a moment,
thinking on his next comment. “It’s just this time the stick grew too big. Which
opens up another rabbit hole entirely. ‘Mankind’s demise was predestined,’ et
cetera, et cetera, et cetera.”
“What do you mean by ‘man’s basic animal nature’?”
Michael found himself genuinely enthralled by the old man’s musings.
“Look, son, here is the secret nobody ever likes to
talk about. It’s the foundational building block that drove humanity to its
greatest successes and also the guillotine forever hanging over civilization’s
neck. Each and every single individual throughout the entire universe seeks
superiority over his or her peers. It’s biologically coded into our DNA. My
central function in life, my reason for being, is to impregnate the most
beautiful woman I can find and become a superior man to everyone else around
me. For those without the intellectual capability of outthinking their peers,
there will always be the adoption of force at their disposal. Now, don’t give
me some altruistic crap about loving one’s neighbor. Pit two of the most
benevolent, charitable, loving men against each other with starving families to
feed and a piece of bread between them. See how far altruism takes a man when
survival is at stake.”
Michael decided to play devil’s advocate. “But isn’t
the greatness of our civilization built upon the fundamental principle of do
unto your neighbor as you would have done unto you? I mean, you can’t tell me
that we’re all brute thugs, beasts, at heart. Take this jet we currently fly on,
for instance. Only through a free-willed, independent intelligence nurtured
within a society of like-minded individuals predicated on peaceful existence
could such a marvel of science be thought up and constructed.”
Baxter took the argument in stride. “Right—society’s contract. A
contract bound by the threat of force through government intervention. Without
the gun of government held over the populace’s heads, do you think the Wright
brothers would have had the time and safety to construct their flying
apparatus? And here’s the killer: what type of people did that airplane’s power
and capability eventually fall into the hands of? Who do you think enabled the
delivery of those nuclear bombs over the island of Japan? Potentially across
the world as we speak? What type of man did Albert Einstein’s most powerful
invention empower? The man holding the gun. When the only thing keeping you
safe from someone taking everything you hold dear is the threat of force, then
that threat forms the basic function of survival. All of humanity’s greatest accomplishments
were only made possible by the forced deference of everyone else who wanted to
do you one better, whose basic instinctual drive is to do you one better. If
they could, they would. If they can’t, they’ll take it from you. If they can’t
take it from you, they’ll join the government. That’s why I’m a lobbyist living
in the greatest country in the history of the world, flying in a private jet
representing the marvels of modern science, attempting to escape all-out
nuclear war.”
Excerpt from CHECK TO THE BETTER
by Grant Gregory
Now Available on Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Check-Better--Day-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00OMGGHLY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415053024&sr=8-1&keywords=check+to+the+better
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Copyright © 2014 by Grant Gregory. All rights reserved. No part of
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