I have no idea whether or not “cavemen” (i.e., “cavepersons,” “cavehumans,” “cavedwellers-with-highly-developed-frontal-cortex”) made fires at cave entrances to ward off wolves and other predators. Seems it would have been a good idea since “Property Protected by Such-n-Such Security Service” signs were unavailable at the time. (They wouldn’t have had the electricity to run the security systems, anyway) So, let’s say “Yes, cavemen did build fires at the cave entrance.”
Why should I have had this thought? Well, someone asked me why we’ve not put the same effort we are now putting into defeating Covid-19 into stopping something like child abuse or criminal recidivism. Entire countries have shown some unity in tackling the current pandemic. Couldn’t populations have pooled resources to tackle any persistent problem that has altered for the worse the lives of so many? I think the answer lies in the fire-at-the-cave-entrance mentality.
The inner brain operates emotionally by comparison with the outer brain. The inner brain responds to dangers (the stereotypical flight, fight, or freeze response). With so many retreating into their “caves” during a period of social distancing and self-quarantining, the modern versions of cave-dwellers act from fear, building sanitizing fires to ward off a perceived immediate threat. Building the fire in front of the cave and withdrawing into the cave for protection is an inner brain response. Solving the problem of child abuse or criminal recidivism doesn’t affect or potentially affect everyone. Nor do other problems, such as drug abuse, spousal abuse, and alcohol abuse affect all though they can threaten small to medium to large segments of populations. Covid-19, in contrast, threatens, every human on the planet.
When the threat of Covid-19 passes and people emerge from their caves to once again go about their daily lives as usual, the need for a unified effort will wane. The other, less pressing, problems of society will not rise in the general public’s concern, that is in the concern of all those inner brains. Sure, people will say that abuse of any kind is “bad” and that recidivism is a blight, but they will rationally conclude that neither is so pressing an issue that the entire country needs to mobilize to wipe it out. Look at the failures of other cerebral ventures, such as the War on Drugs. Sure, warring against drug abuse as a health concern makes sense, but by comparison with warring on a pandemic, it doesn’t rise to the same ubiquitous level of inner brain concern to which Covid-19 has risen.
Now, cave-dwellers would say, is the time for a response from the inner brain. We can handle some rational approach to those abuse and recidivism issues in some thoughtful way later. We promise to think about them (if we survive) and maybe even take stronger action under a more unified commitment. Right now, however, everyone is busy building the fire because the wolf is at the cave entrance.
Why should I have had this thought? Well, someone asked me why we’ve not put the same effort we are now putting into defeating Covid-19 into stopping something like child abuse or criminal recidivism. Entire countries have shown some unity in tackling the current pandemic. Couldn’t populations have pooled resources to tackle any persistent problem that has altered for the worse the lives of so many? I think the answer lies in the fire-at-the-cave-entrance mentality.
The inner brain operates emotionally by comparison with the outer brain. The inner brain responds to dangers (the stereotypical flight, fight, or freeze response). With so many retreating into their “caves” during a period of social distancing and self-quarantining, the modern versions of cave-dwellers act from fear, building sanitizing fires to ward off a perceived immediate threat. Building the fire in front of the cave and withdrawing into the cave for protection is an inner brain response. Solving the problem of child abuse or criminal recidivism doesn’t affect or potentially affect everyone. Nor do other problems, such as drug abuse, spousal abuse, and alcohol abuse affect all though they can threaten small to medium to large segments of populations. Covid-19, in contrast, threatens, every human on the planet.
When the threat of Covid-19 passes and people emerge from their caves to once again go about their daily lives as usual, the need for a unified effort will wane. The other, less pressing, problems of society will not rise in the general public’s concern, that is in the concern of all those inner brains. Sure, people will say that abuse of any kind is “bad” and that recidivism is a blight, but they will rationally conclude that neither is so pressing an issue that the entire country needs to mobilize to wipe it out. Look at the failures of other cerebral ventures, such as the War on Drugs. Sure, warring against drug abuse as a health concern makes sense, but by comparison with warring on a pandemic, it doesn’t rise to the same ubiquitous level of inner brain concern to which Covid-19 has risen.
Now, cave-dwellers would say, is the time for a response from the inner brain. We can handle some rational approach to those abuse and recidivism issues in some thoughtful way later. We promise to think about them (if we survive) and maybe even take stronger action under a more unified commitment. Right now, however, everyone is busy building the fire because the wolf is at the cave entrance.
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