"Mad Dogs and Englishmen"

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The words "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" come from a song written in 1931 by Noel Coward, an English playwright. The full sentence reads, "Only Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the Noon Day Sun". I believe it had something to do with the idea that the wise people of India stayed out of the noonday sun, but Englishmen did not. Noel probably knew that back in the 1830's mad dogs roamed the streets of London causing rabies and hydrophobia in humans. It was considered a particular British problem.  Perhaps, comparing the British in India to those mad dogs was not exactly a compliment!

The recent incidents where some young people were planning to "open fire to kill citizens" in Halifax, and Isis were busy beheading Christians in Libya, makes me realize that we have not yet solved the problem of "mad dogs". If an outsider from another celestial body could take a global view of our world would he or she be forced to the conclusion that the most dangerous predator to mankind are other humans. Perhaps, no other animal species can make that claim!

 Do humans crave violence like they crave sex? Indeed, aggression seems to be a common trait of vertebrates - even male rats fight over food and females! The common reasons for violence have not changed much over the centuries. The human animal has always fought over resources, territory and food. (And obviously, over religious beliefs!)

My Dad's hobby was raising Cocker Spaniels. There was great excitement when a new litter was born in the dog shed. We kids were not allowed into the kennel until after all the pups were born.  But I noticed, that when it came to 'eating time', there would always be a piling-on and inevitably one poor pup would continually get cut off. The 'runt', as we called it, had difficulty surviving and was often rejected by its mother.

In school and  university there was always someone to pick on. Indeed, no matter where, there will be someone who is treated as an outsider. Do we do it just to feel superior or to feel good for some reason?

Perhaps evil is one of our survival instincts or is it the result of our education, leaders or  propaganda. As an octogenarian I still find it difficult to understand how mankind can be so evil and violent...domestic violence, brutal tortures, genocide, ethnic cleaning. Yet, I must admit I prefer action movies and books, but not the extreme stuff of course! Perhaps it's just a question of testosterone! Whatever, it does bother me some that I have a taste for Tom Clancy, Wilbur Smith, David Baldacci or Lee Child. Actually I am convinced that it is because of their  superior writing skills!

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the Russian historian, novelist and critic of totalitarianism once wrote, "The line between good and evil lies in the centre of every human heart - not in the abstract."

Perhaps, there will always be "Mad Dogs" among us who will do much more than go out in the noonday sun!

And that's Dick's View of the World this Week

Did you know?

The egg-laying chickens in California recently moved into new digs. By law, all chickens must have enough space to move around and stretch their wings. That's a 73% space increase!  Perhaps Toronto has found potential buyers for its tiny downtown condos!