Insights from my Encounters

Insights from my Encounters

By E. Stanley Ukeni

The Free Range theorists

During one of my many wanderings I met a group of men, from whom I discovered that there are those amongst us who nurture the flawed notion that the Creator had not intended humankind to gain knowledge of the concept of good and evil. These unabashed revisionists of providential intent often vehemently argue that the notion of right and wrong are mere artificial construct designed to tame, or perhaps even emasculate, the natural human instinctive appetites for self-gratification.

It is they who pedal the radical and unconventional ‘free range’ theory that, among other notions, imply that humanity should be left unhindered to act as their individual conscience dictates—uninhibited by restrictive rules of conduct, or laws and edicts, which are used to contain and control their actions. They fancy and relish us all living in the manner of the ancient nomads.

My resounding response to these none conformists is that if it was never the intent of the Infinite Creator for His mortal creation to evolve in their understanding and conducts, He would have denied humanity the capacity to acquire knowledge and wisdom—and to evolve rules of conduct to govern their affairs, and to tame their inherent tendencies to excesses.

Heartless Brutes

In my casual encounters with the lords of the global capitalist financial systems—who hold sway over the destinies of large groups of the human population, I heard decisive arguments that such virtues as honor, selflessness and generosity are not natural traits of the human constitution. These financial Titians forcefully admonish that such alien character traits as love, fidelity and kindness must not, by any means, be encouraged in matters of trade, commerce or war.

To these heartless brutes, I responded that, if the Divine Lord of all life had not wanted His favored creation to be virtuous, the seeds of noble aspirations would not have been sown deep in the human consciousness—and the human conscience would have been devoid of the longing for goodness and compassion.

The Simple Lifers

Then, by a chanced encounter, I stumbled upon a community of self-proclaimed ‘Simple Lifers’. These charmed men of nature and untamed passion ascribed to an alien philosophy that set them apart from the conventional society, by their fringe conducts and manner. The faithful of this community of, so called, free thinker are unabashedly nonconformists—and they revel in their fringe lifestyle.

Their elders pleasantly ushered me into their sacred sanctum and offered me food and wine. I was quite impressed by their generosity and their charm. Then, the elders ventured to convert me to a faith that would cause many to frown—and yet others to ponder with intrigue. Their coercion began subtly, but then evolved into soft persuasive indoctrination. They tried and tried, with eager zeal, to induce me into believing that it was not natural for people to aspire to gain deep insights of the abounding mysteries of the universe.

Then boldly, I probed for a deeper understanding of the rationale for their faith. In response, one of their elders argued that the simple life—wholly content with mere harmonious coexistence with nature, is the only truly worthy lifestyle.

Unimpressed by their hollow rhetoric, I scoffed at the vain attempt of these fringe elders to indoctrinate me into their misguided faith.

My response to their flawed argument for a simple life is that if the immutable intent of the LORD of lords was to predestine humankind to an existence that is restricted to a single-minded focus on the temporal needs of the individual or collective, humanity would never have been bestowed with a conscious awareness capable of grasping and articulating the immense potentials of the outer universe…and mankind would never have been granted the ability to measurably comprehend the workings of primal nature.

Authored by E. Stanley Ukeni, ©2015. All Rights Reserved.