Human Nature

Human nature is so often discussed, and so often defined that I cant help but feel cheesy, and cliché as I am typing this, but I feel that this is an important idea to discuss.  Nothing else throughout the course of human history has been more powerfully described as has human nature, nothing has ever been described so callously, or with such an august aura around it.  Human nature is obviously not a tangible thing, nor is it written down empirically anywhere, no document can claim its true origins, and in fact nobody can prove that such a thing exists.  It cannot be categorized, and its existence cannot be proven, and yet, throughout our literature and hundreds of other forms of media nothing is more indelible, so lasting.  One could spend a hundred lifetimes ruminating on the duality of, for lack of a better expression, the nature of human beings, and find no answer.  Why is it that a species separated from all other animals for our ability to think, so vigorously indulges in exploits of a physical nature?  How can the smartest of all species on this planet be the most eager to quell our fellow humans lives?  How can we react in such a trenchant manner to murder, rape, and other so-called "immoral" activities, when we as a species attempt to commit, and celebrate, genocide everyday, through the guise of patriotism? If human nature is just what we think it is, an undeniable map of human behavior, how are all of these questions anything but irrelevant?  I could sit here and belch platitudes all day long, but perhaps it would be more useful for individuals to begin to realize that not every person is the same, and not every person should be the same.  Perhaps its time to throw this "human nature," garbage out the window and realize that individuals have free thought, that individuals are in control of their own actions, and that human nature is nothing more than our species excuse for submitting to natural instincts that we are to ignorant scared, or stupid to recognize.

Greatness

It is human nature to seek out excitement, in that sense we are truly implacable creatures, in every aspect of our lives we search for this excitement, and will only be briefly appeased by it once we find it. It is this part of our nature that makes sports an integral part of our lives.  To almost every American, there is nothing greater than the stentorian roar as any particular team, or individual, exhibits unbelievable prowess at the absolute pinnacle of competition in their particular sport or game.  The greatest asset that any sport has to capture fans is its ability to create pageantry, and excitement.  The prowess needed to create this excitement is only truly possessed by a select few in every sport, in the decorum exhibited by Jack Nicklaus as he won his sixth green jacket, in the exuberance of Michael Jordan, under extreme duress, as he lead the Bulls in Game 5 of the 1997 Finals, or in the unbearable antipathy involved in the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry. A facsimile of this excitement cannot be found anywhere else, and is a major factor in what makes the greats, the greats.  In actuality, the importance to the fans, and the everyday person is nothing more than infinitesimal, but the excitement leads to true, palpable, unimaginable greatness, greatness that can truly live on forever in the memories of the fans who experienced it.