In the same forum where I first spotted the critical reflection that we can’t be a great nation with Sandy Hook type tragedies came the response that our nation has nothing to do with it. The shootings at Sandy Hook were the result of flawed human nature. Certainly human nature is variable, and within that variety lies flaws, but the “flawed human nature” argument can be used to excuse any society from any consequence.
Historically, “flawed human nature” critics and “great nation” apologists are cut from the same cloth, at least since the Enlightenment. This only makes sense. The more human nature is the problem, the more we need civilization or “great nations” to save us from ourselves. Meanwhile, those people benefiting by those objectives that can be measured for a “great nation,” such as wealth and influence, are likely to become “great nation” apologists.
Yet the real deal here is that human nature is varied, including both flaws and perfections. Human nature also is adaptable. Put variability and adaptability together and you have a superb survival strategy as a species. Yet we also are a supremely social species, and our survival depends on that as well. You would not expect bacteria to survive by altruism; historically, or at least prehistorically, humans could not survive without it.
Because of our varied complex natures, most humans can adapt to many different social structures. We can adapt to a small community that thrives on altruism; we can adapt to a great nation of wealth and power. The one draws out intimacy, responsibility and equality throughout the society; the other imposes an anonymous hierarchy with a diffusion of responsibility. Only one of those two social structures acts as a safeguard against tragedies such as Sandy Hook.
Those who would look to a “great nation” as a solution to social problems and those who would excuse “great nations” because of “flawed human nature” are really alike in important ways. Both are wrong. Whether we are a great nation or not should be unimportant and besides the point when critically reflecting on how to move forward from Sandy Hook. It’s OK that we are a great nation by measurable objectives, but wanting that greatness will not make us kinder, more empathetic with each other. Such altruistic traits do come naturally, but only if we prioritize first in our lives the type of social structure that nurtures them.
