Hello, Papabear.
In the past two months, I've started seriously contemplating my religion, the reason for human existence and my fandom. The more I think about it, the more I understand how exactly inferior and stupid those things are (mainly applied to humanity, the other two aren't as bad). And it has a effect on me, I feel disappointed and sad... I will try to make this letter as short as possible, sorry if it's too long. I will start with number one of course, humanity. Now, first I will need to share a part of my childhood with you and other dear furries... Yes... I was SUPER OBSESSED with animals and anthropomorphic animals, mainly because of the cartoons I've used to watch (Disney and other). There wasn't a single day without thinking about anthropomorphic animals and creating new worlds and scenarios. Everything that had humans in it was a no go. Later, when I turned 10, I've found furry porn and got attracted by it... To make it short, I have literally woken up one day (I was 13 then) and started to think about how humans are cool (what, how is this possible)... While I still had the same love for anthros, I don't love them as much as I love humans nowadays (yeah yeah, you guys must think that I'm the most boring person on earth now, no lying :-) ). Okay now, I don't want to call our species "monsters", but something close to that. I don't know why I love humans, but I'm sure that this is who I am. Here is a question for you Papa, what makes humans, well, humans. What is the only difference between us and other species? I will answer that for you: Nothing. There is literally nothing that we can do other species can't do 1000x times better than us. I used to think that we were smarter than animals but I was, sadly, proven wrong. As much as I don't like to say this, yes, animals are SMARTER than us. Shockingly enough, crows are smarter, lions are smarter, even rabbits are, come on mankind?!Why do you suck so much? The point is, everything we do, they can do, except they do it 1000x times better. Here is a small note for everyone that says humans are "superior." We need animals and plants, but they don't need us. If we disappear right now, nature would rebuild in 5 years. But if those so called "pasts" disappear (aka insects or any other animal), the ecosystem falls apart. Tell me, what is a human being without technology and machinery? Just a harmless bone bag, a sack of meat ready to get executed by a rat or a cat. So much for human anatomy. You may think that we are the best ... just open your eyes and you will see that we are plainly the worst. P.S. Even with technology, we get annihilated by the most "simplest" of animals. Enough said. We are only good for wars, not even in that. Second, we have religion. Maybe the only thing that makes us differ from other species. Not something to be proud about, I think that YOU already know a lot about this topic. Other animals can practice religion throughout telepathy for all I know. I love my religion (Christianity), but sadly, just like any other thing humans invented, it is very much flawed and abused. The crusades are a good example. Such as any other religion. Again, enough said. And third, my fandom, the anime fandom (the most inferior of them all). I don't know if you interacted with my fandom in the past and not exactly sure if you know much about it, I assure you, there are many things flawed with my fandom. It's not the worst thing in the world, I enjoy the content and the community (even if I am not active yet, just decided to become one last year.) but oh man! The majority of my fandom is great, just typical anime fans who don't feel the urge to sleep with a anime character, marry them and "become Japanese" . The ones who don't place a shrine of an anime character inside of their house and finally, the ones who won't go around saying that they have a soul of an anime character inside them regardless of the time when the anime was created... Ahhhhhhh... Weaboos, otaku, otakukin, waifu and God only knows how more of... I can't, I can't bear to hear about weird people like these (otakus aren't that bad ,though) who happened to destroy our reputation and made other people call us weaboos... Just as Uncle Kage said: "Anime conventions have entire booths dedicated to tentacle rape.” As much as I dislike his statement, I don't want to issue a selfish remark so I'll accept it like a man. I don't understand anything anymore, I'm confused and don't know what to think anymore. What is wrong with me exactly? Why didn't I find a normal hobby?! Why aren't I a furry, that is far more normal from the shit I'm into! Why are humans so bad?! Why does religion make no sense sometimes?! I don't understand anything anymore! How come that the furry fandom is so good and my fandom sucks...how? Sorry for the lengthy one and for the God awful grammar... That's my part, now here is where you, Papabear, step in! Iro (age 15) P.S. It may sound like I don't have hope in humanity but it's quite different, I still love all the things I've mentioned, it's just that I needed to show you how exactly flawed they are. * * * Dear Iro, I’m not sure what has gotten you so upset about anime or humanity since in your letter you simply say how you are so frustrated by how sucky they are but you never explain why you feel that way (except maybe the tentacle thing). I’m not a huge fan of anime, but that’s just me. I have no objections to it, it just isn’t my thing. Because of this, I don’t feel I can discuss anime with you with much of a sense of authority, so let’s just talk about humanity and religion. I would have to disagree with you that humanity is inferior to all animals. Let us just say that all species have their part in the world. Humans evolved large brains because they lacked wings, fangs, claws, and other adaptations that would have helped them survive, so, instead, they evolved large brains to help them build tools to survive, and the other thing they did is develop strong social structure (strength in numbers). You might argue that a rabbit can run faster, a bird can fly, a tiger can easily kill a human, but together humans can do all these things (go fast in a car, fly in a plane, invent a spear or a gun). For many eons, we did not have sophisticated technology. We survived with spears, knives, bows and arrows, pottery, fire, the ability to adapt using shelters and clothing. It is our adaptability to different environments that also makes us successful as a species. Where many animals need a forest or certain types of food sources to survive (e.g., mow down all the bamboo and the pandas perish), we can live pretty much anywhere (the development of agriculture was a huge step, too). So, I would say, humans are not inferior to other species, we have simply learned different ways to survive. We are, really, an evolutionary experiment. Whether that experiment succeeds or not remains to be seen. We could easily go extinct, and, if we do, something else will take our place. That’s how nature works. As long as the planet is habitable, there will be life on it. I disagree, too, that if humans suddenly disappeared it would not have an averse effect. Actually, because we have changed the environment so much, if humans suddenly disappeared there would be a period of several hundred years before Nature would be able to achieve a new balance because things like weeds, invasive animals, etc., that we are currently controlling to some extent would run rampant, devastating many ecosystems until a new equilibrium could be achieved. The main difference between humans and the rest of nature is we can adapt rather quickly, while Nature takes more time. Another difference between humans and other species (at least, as far as we know) is religion. While it has been shown that animals can have emotions (something people in the past once denied), no one has ever seen a bear going to temple or a crocodile participating in communion. Does religion have some kind of evolutionary benefit? I believe that evolution is not merely biological but also has to do with the progress of consciousness. Biologists and psychologists know that as you move up the evolutionary scale, species’ consciousness evolves, too, kind of like this (except I added the last step):
Religion, too, undergoes evolution. Mostly, in our history, we see it going from polytheism to monotheism. The predominant trend at the moment is for monotheism that is blended with cultural constructs. It is the contamination from cultural constructs that cause misunderstandings and lead people to fight with and even kill one another. (The other reason for war, of course, having to do with money, power, and the struggle for natural resources, which are all the result of people being misguided into believing that the physical world is the only important world). I believe that humans are not yet done with their spiritual evolution. Indeed, one sees some signs now of the next step, which is to realize that God (or whatever you wish to call it) is not a being who is separate from us (monotheism) but, rather, God is Everything (what I like to call ultratheism). We are a living piece of the Great Spirit, and God is evolving through all of us and through every living and “inanimate” thing that exists. Our consciousness is a synapse in the Mind of God. God thinks, dreams, imagines, and evolves through us and we through God. We are a part of one another and are, therefore, connected. Monotheism requires a priestly class (or a Christ figure) to serve as a liaison between God and humanity because in this system the two are not connected; ultratheism has no need of priests, religious rulers, and prophets (or a Son of God) because it recognizes we all have a direct connection to one another. Once we all realize this, wars will cease and our violent acts against the natural world will end because we will recognize that we are all a part of the Body of God and that killing and harming others is the same as killing ourselves. But we aren’t there yet. We are here, Iro, to learn and to grow. Each of us has his or her part in it. We are on a path to a higher end, but we are only partway done with the journey. You are frustrated because you see the world in its current, progressing state, but don’t be angry at humanity because it hasn’t finished its journey yet. Instead, what we should all do is try to help it along. See the good in humanity and try to help mend the things that are wrong with it. Humans are capable of some wonderful things (I always think of music and the other arts as wonderful examples—art is the expression of spirit in our hearts), and, yes, we are capable of horrendous things (but, actually, so are other animals). Nothing is perfect. You seem to see the furry fandom as better than anime. That’s probably a skewed viewpoint: neither one is perfect, both have their good points. The same is true for all things. Life is a progression; life is evolution; life is the gradual awakening of God to a higher state of mind. And you are a part of that greatest evolution of all. Embrace it. Live. Hugs, Papabear
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