Which Is It: Nature or Nurture?

I have been following a discussion Michelle has had going on about gun control. Michelle has done a lot of homework on that topic, and her blog seems to be a magnet for debate with 339 comments (Whaaaaaat?!) on the discussion over 5 posts at the time I began putting this together. The first post is here if you are interested.

What was fascinating about the discussion was how the original question—are gun free campuses a good idea in light of the Oregon shootings—splintered off into several different discussions: that gun related crime increases where gun laws are the toughest, the rationale of the second amendment, the effect of culture on crime, the morality of hunting, and even the virtues of vegetarianism!….the very definition of rabbit trails.

As I followed things and reading the comments, I felt the need to write out some of my thoughts in response to what I was hearing. My own response is another tangent, and because of how long it took me to get my thoughts together, I did not think it fair to tack it on to the ever branching tree of discussion over there.

Why do we believe that we need protection? Why can’t we get over ourselves? What is the root problem of violence? Is it who we are, or is it who we choose to be? Or to put it in more sterile terms: is it nature or nurture?

There is a lot to be said for it being nurture. Personally, I think it is an undeniable fact that we live in a culture that glorifies and even revels in violence. It is how we entertain ourselves. The majority of the top grossing movies this year are ones that center around fighting, war, and violence: Jurassic World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Furious 7, American Sniper, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, and Ant-Man are all in the top ten grossing films this year totaling more than $2.1 billion from more than 260 million ticket sales between them in the US alone. Look at the best-selling video games of 2015. 7 of the top 10 are rated “mature” for violence. Then there is TV: Game of Thrones, Homeland, NICS, CSI, American Horror Story, How to Get Away with Murder, Castle, Arrow, Daredevil, Blind Spot, Gotham…the list goes on. We love being entertained with murder, mayhem, and things that go boom.

If that is how we like to spend our leisure time, is it any wonder that we see so much violence happening outside the studio green room? It is pretty difficult to argue against that.

Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek and its spin-offs showcase the belief that humanity could morally evolve to the point where war, hunger, and poverty would be wiped out. Yes, people are flawed, make mistakes, and do some really horrible things; but these could be overcome with reason, logic, the right guidance, and time. In essence, the problem with humanity is one of immaturity. If we would only just grow up we would realize how dumb and stupid we are behaving and start acting like civilized adults leaving those foolish ways behind us. But don’t take it from me, take it from Captain Picard himself.

The question is, is this the root of the problem or the fruit of a deeper problem? What if the problem runs deeper than habits, culture, and lack of guidance? What if it is who we are? After all, the great irony of Star Trek is that the plot often revolved around the very issues that supposedly were evolved beyond. No matter how much it was asserted that such things were in the past, they never seemed to get away from them.

One of the interesting threads in Marvel’s Daredevil, now a hit show on Netflix, is the relationship the Catholic Matt Murdock (aka the Daredevil, the hero of the story) has with his priest. In the episode “The Path of the Righteous,” the priest finds a battered and bruised Matt Murdock sitting in the pew of the church.

“Confession? Latte?” the priest asks.

“Not today, Father.”

“Probably for the best. I’ve already had four cups. Decaf. But you know, there is still a bit of caffeine in there they just can’t get out. Some things are just too engrained I guess.”

The context makes it clear that the Father is talking about more than coffee. No matter how hard we try to be good, to do the right thing, there is still a bit of the devil in us that we can’t get out…it’s just too engrained. I think of the line from Terminator 2: Judgement Day,

The thought of needing to protect ourselves and our things from other people goes back as far as history records. If there is a society of people in the history of the planet who have not known war, I have not heard of it.

Nurture is part of the problem, it can and does make the problem worse. We have to be concerned about nurture. But if we think that more education, money, and leadership will solve the problems of violence, hunger, war, and poverty we are in for a surprise.

Is that not our experience? Literally trillions of dollars have been spent on these issues by the US alone, yet these problems are all as strong and real problems as ever. The real problem, it seems to me, is that we are all of us bad and broken who know that we should not be and try to be otherwise, not that we are basically good and have lost our way.

If there is anything that bears this out, it is our inability to keep the law. Is there anyone with a license to drive that has not at one time or another ran a stop sign, gone over the posted speed limit, or made an illegal U-turn? Can any of us say we have not stolen something? Can any of us say that we have not lied? It may well be true that we have not broken every law, but there is no one who can say they have kept the law perfectly. Show me a person who says they have never broken a law or standard their family, community, or government has set, and I will show you a person with serious truth issues! Laws do two things: they show us what behavioral expectations are, and that we don’t keep them. Law does not produce law keepers, it reveals that we are law breakers.

This is why the idea of making guns illegal or so hard to get and carry that they are virtually illegal to own and carry end up producing the opposite intent; this is why we lock our cars, lock up our valuables, and get identity theft protection; this is why we take steps to protect ourselves carrying defensive items like mace, and why some want to carry a firearm. This is why the framers of the Constitution broke the power of the government into three separate branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The reason was to mitigate against the abuse of power. This is why the second amendment was written, the authors of the Bill of Rights knew that the tendency of people in power was to abuse it.

We know in our hearts that people are law breakers; and while most will not try to hurt or attack another person physically, it is foolish to think that no one will. And since we have no way of knowing who that will be or when a person might decide to do that, or what laws they may break, or how far they are willing to go, it is not unreasonable to be prepared. We know from experience that people cannot be trusted to follow the law.

I know some of my readers may be wondering why I have not gone all biblical on this issue. The Bible certainly backs up the idea that the problem of violence is more than just nurture…that it is in our nature. The primary reason I have not is because I think this issue is blatantly apparent to observation and I wanted to try and show that. As one theologian put it, original sin [i.e., that we are all law breakers] is the only empirically verifiable Christian doctrine. The Bible explains why this is so, but you don’t need the Bible or have faith in Jesus to know that it is so. Reason alone is enough.