Hello Internet. It has been a while since I wrote, and I do have a lot on my mind. Lately I have been taking care of a poorly husband who has had some bad luck with the dentist. After 3 visits in the space of a week (one emergency visit), he is now minus 2 teeth, 1 abscess, and probably one stomach lining from all the pain killers - through fevers, infection and sever pain (agony as he says) he now seems well on his way to heath (thank goodness!) . Funny thing is, he is waiting for another appointment to get one of his wisdom teeth out that has fused to the bone and we can start this whole song and dance again. But, that isn't the reason of the post.
The other day in Sunday School the teacher said that we are mean to others because, "it is human nature." I don't think I quite agree with that. I don't think we are sent down to earth with a human tendency to be mean to others... I think it is taught or learned. But is it?
Today I was babysitting 2 year old twins. Their parents are both doctors and they have never watched TV at home because there isn't one for them to watch. They are very well cared for and very sheltered. But, they can be mean to each other. Teasing and bullying - that wasn't taught... so is it human nature??
The other day at the dentist Chris and I were waiting in the room next to some large floor to ceiling windows and I heard a loud thump. As I turned to look I saw that an old man had fallen to the ground and wasn't moving. My reaction - to jump out of my seat and go see if he was alright, luckily a man walking past got there before me and was taking care of him. The thing that SHOCKED me was that the second he fell down a woman saw the whole thing and actually stepped over him and walked on by, not checking to see if he was alright - just walked by. So is that human nature?
So what is human nature when it comes to how we treat others? Are we born with the ability to walk past an injured person -- does it start to show itself when we are children? Or, is it our environment, our lives or our situation that feeds that attitude?
What do you think?
The other day in Sunday School the teacher said that we are mean to others because, "it is human nature." I don't think I quite agree with that. I don't think we are sent down to earth with a human tendency to be mean to others... I think it is taught or learned. But is it?
Today I was babysitting 2 year old twins. Their parents are both doctors and they have never watched TV at home because there isn't one for them to watch. They are very well cared for and very sheltered. But, they can be mean to each other. Teasing and bullying - that wasn't taught... so is it human nature??
The other day at the dentist Chris and I were waiting in the room next to some large floor to ceiling windows and I heard a loud thump. As I turned to look I saw that an old man had fallen to the ground and wasn't moving. My reaction - to jump out of my seat and go see if he was alright, luckily a man walking past got there before me and was taking care of him. The thing that SHOCKED me was that the second he fell down a woman saw the whole thing and actually stepped over him and walked on by, not checking to see if he was alright - just walked by. So is that human nature?
So what is human nature when it comes to how we treat others? Are we born with the ability to walk past an injured person -- does it start to show itself when we are children? Or, is it our environment, our lives or our situation that feeds that attitude?
What do you think?
