By using dehumanization to depict the enemy as predators, war propaganda manipulates the primordial part of our brain that protected our loved ones from predators on the African savannah. Because our fear of predators is such a powerful instinct, every war in recorded history, without a single exception, has relied on propaganda that dehumanizes the enemy as subhuman or evil. The propaganda that depicts people as predators has worked quite well in all cultures and time periods.
In this chapter I am just scratching the surface of dehumanization and war propaganda. Later in this book we will journey much deeper to learn more about the propaganda techniques that hide our shared humanity. We will also learn how we can combat the illusions of dehumanization by increasing our awareness, understanding, and empathy.
More evidence of early humans being hunted by African predators can be found in the fact that these predators usually hunt at night, and human beings have an instinctual fear of darkness. It is no coincidence that religions, philosophies, and mythologies around the world depict darkness as a metaphor for danger. In modern epics such as the Star Wars film series, the villains are “Dark Jedi” who use the “dark side of the force.” In The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the villain Sauron is known as the “Dark Lord.” In the Harry Potter series, the villains are “Dark Wizards” who practice the “dark arts.” And in a famous African folk tale, the hero Mwindo must journey underground into darkness and danger to confront Muisa, the lord of the underworld.
Unlike human beings, lions have excellent night vision and do most of their hunting at night. Night is the best time for lions to fill their bellies, and they also do not have to endure the blazing African heat when the sun goes down, so why would a lion pride consisting of a large male and many females be afraid of darkness? But when human beings are concerned, sources as diverse as religion, science fiction, and even modern horror films depict darkness as a symbol of danger to us. In horror stories from long ago, it is no coincidence that vampires and werewolves come out at night.
Adults may read this and think, “But I’m not afraid of the dark.” If we look closer, however, we realize that nearly all children are naturally afraid of the dark. Pediatrician Sue Hubbard tells us, “Nearly all children go through a phase when they’re afraid of the dark. It’s interesting to see a toddler who happily goes to bed in his crib in complete darkness turn into a 2-year-old terrified of shadows and monsters in a dark room … Fear of the dark is called ‘nyctophobia’ and is amazingly common. Even as an adult, my worries and anxieties seem to be worse at night, in the darkness, than the same issues are during daylight hours.”25
Adults may not fear darkness when they are sleeping in a house with a lock on the door, but put an adult in a dark alley or in a jungle with no flashlight, and many will be afraid of the dark. Isn’t it common sense that human beings, who have such poor night vision, would be afraid of the dark when so many predators hunt at night?
Wildlife documentary makers have filmed lions hunting fully grown African elephants at night. They have even filmed large groups of hyenas hunting female lions to the point where the lions had to climb trees to escape the attacking hyenas.26 One purpose of the male lion is to protect female lions from hyenas. If hyenas will hunt animals as dangerous as lions,* and if lions will hunt an animal as dangerous as a fully grown African elephant, these predators would certainly have hunted our vulnerable early ancestors.
Although my books show that human beings are not naturally violent against other human beings, this does not mean we did not come from a warlike environment. The African savannah has many warlike characteristics, because predators were relentlessly hunting us. Lions and hyenas need to feed their offspring after all, and will provide for their young at all costs, just as we would. When our early ancestors discovered how to use fire, it shifted the balance of power on the African savannah.
Our ancestors had to endure dark nights filled with predators; our incredible intelligence, willingness to protect and die for our loved ones, and enormous capacity to cooperate enabled us to survive this threat along with catastrophic changes in climate. Predators and changes in climate have driven countless species extinct. According to leading scientists, the dinosaurs were not driven extinct merely by an asteroid, but by the climate change that resulted when the asteroid struck the earth and threw vast amounts of dust and debris into the sky, reducing sunlight and lowering global temperatures.
The cosmic ocean is a metaphor for the universe, and there are two ways to drown in the cosmic ocean. The first way is extinction. Most of the species that ever existed have drowned in this way. The second way is to lose our sense of purpose and meaning. This form of drowning seems unique to human beings. Due to our heightened craving for purpose and meaning, we are the only species on the planet that can sink into self-destruction, quiet desperation, and suicide when we have access to safety, food, community, and freedom.
In fact, when we do not have a solid foundation of purpose and meaning, our freedom can feel empty because our lives lack direction. As we discussed in the preface, “man does not live by bread alone.” For human beings, which form of drowning is worse? This book will explore that question and discuss ways to navigate the dangerous waters that threaten to drown us.
When our early ancestors lived in small tribes, how did they find purpose and meaning? Purpose is like satisfying food that fuels our zest for life, and meaning is like fresh water that quenches our thirst for a life worth living. Humanity has always dealt with two major struggles, the struggle for survival and the struggle for purpose and meaning. But for most of human history these two struggles were combined into one, because our nomadic ancestors found purpose and meaning in protecting and providing for their tribe.
In an early human tribe every person was needed to help the tribe survive. Everybody mattered. In our society today, millions of people feel like they are not needed, and many elderly feel alienated, shunned, and discarded. But in early human tribes everyone was essential for the continued survival of the tribe, from the youngest child (who would ensure the future of the tribe) to the oldest adult. Elders could teach the young and help raise children, and also use their experience and wisdom to guide the tribe. Spencer Wells explains why elders were important in early human communities:
Old people are good to have around. A reliance on teaching and learning, rather than instinct, is one of the things that distinguishes humans from other animals. Most of our early lives are spent learning, and it isn’t until we are well into our twenties that most of us feel that we are in command of sufficient knowledge to be able to synthesize and teach others. The older we get, the more knowledge we accumulate, and the more we can help our offspring to benefit from our experience. Grandparents … have “been there and done that”—and, crucially, lived to tell the tale. Having grandparents around also allowed higher fecundity, since (as any new parent can tell you) they can care for children while younger generations go about their lives. This includes continued childbearing … Anthropologist Kristen Hawkes has suggested that grandmothering—the act of a child being cared for by its grandmother—may have played a substantial role in the population expansion of modern humans.27
We may have different national identities, but just as every river flows into our world’s interconnected oceans, every nation is part of the interconnected universe I call the cosmic ocean. The metaphor of our universe as an ocean has been used by other philosophies and religions before me,