By Natasha Josefowitz, Ph.D.
LA JOLLA, California–Do you sometimes wonder why we have so much violence, so many wars, gang fighting, genocide? Well, I know: I saw it on TV on National Geographic.
This is what I saw: Using underwater photography, cameras focused on a rock with a large sponge attached to the top of it. Next to it, a small sponge started to grow on the rock—the larger sponge looked noticeably uncomfortable, leaning more and more towards the smaller sponge, and started emitting some small bits of a cloudy substance towards it.
After a few days, or was it weeks (it was a time-lapse camera), as the smaller sponge was getting still bigger, the large sponge leaned way over, blasting its neighbor with a thick cloud of something obviously toxic which made the small sponge tumble off the rock. The sole remaining sponge straightened itself out and continued to keep vigil over its territory. I could, of course, anthropomorphize further and add, it looked proud of its victory.
On another National Geographic TV special, some chimps were having a peaceful afternoon. The tribe was getting quite large, and so half of it split off and started its own group a few trees away. This apparently is not uncommon among many species.
As soon as the new group found its own territory, a battle began between the formerly congenial chimps now fighting with and screaming at their newly minted enemies, territoriality leading to violence.
We are genetically linked to our primate cousins, sharing some 98% of our genes with them. How much DNA we have in common with sponges, I do not know, but as every living thing on earth is linked in some fashion—we are also related to sponges if we go back far enough in time.
What do these two stories tell us? That it’s hopeless? That we are programmed to act out our territorial imperative?
In a way, the answer is “yes.” To wit: our world history. From tribes fighting in Africa to terrorist attacks, we seem doomed to continue our sponge heritage. Are we equally programmed to seek the adrenalin rush we get when we slow down to get a glimpse of the accident on the highway and watch both mesmerized and horrified at the evening news showing another atrocity somewhere in the world? Whether it was public beheadings where crowds gathered and cheered or the public burnings at the stake of so-called witches, people showed a morbid curiosity going back even to Roman times.
Why the popularity of violent movies with vampires, ghosts, monsters, and evil men wrecking havoc on our screens? I turn away from these scenes, as do many of my friends, but obviously, a large number of people show an appetite for this kind of fare. Perhaps it is to reassure ourselves that it is not us in that scene, that we are safe, just looking from the outside.
The adrenalin rush from seeing scary or violent movies is a primitive response mostly found in young people. The hippocampus, not yet fully developed until the mid-twenties, is the seat of impulse control and rational decision making, hence the preponderance of risky behaviors in that age group and also the vicarious excitement felt at experiencing emotionally laden events.
Our society is promoting violence with our movies and video games, much of it geared to children. Studies have shown that when children are shown violent scenes, they tend to be more aggressive. When children who are shown videos where someone is caring and compassionate, they treat people with tolerance and forgiveness. Those who are shown neutral scenes do not change their behaviors. Knowing this, it behooves us to demonstrate kindness, caring, and compassion and to influence the media to promote the same, at least to our children.
Jonas Salk once came to my class at S.D.S.U. and told my students that we are in the process of evolving into a more civilized society—where the human race will act more civilly, more ethically, with more compassion and tolerance, and with good education for all. That, according to him, has already begun with us, with you, with your friends, with intelligent and mentally healthy people who abhor violence and only want peace and the opportunity to work, to contribute, and to make it a better world for all. Let us hope this will keep spreading.
*
Josefowitz is a freelance writer. This article appeared previously in La Jolla Village News