My Life Matters

The basic reality of all life and or every individual person is, that their life matters.

The survival instinct trumps all others. It is this instinct that keeps us alive, then motivates us to create, to build, to love, to procreate and to be. I matter to myself more than to anyone else.

It is this reality and this instinct that is seen in the fight/flight phenomenon. When faced with danger, we instinctively either run from it or prepare to fight it. It is the basis of human survival.

This instinct is only modified by love. When we fall in love and another person becomes a part of ourselves, that instinct grows to cover them as a part of us. We will protect them as part of our self. And then we have children and that instinct grows to cover them also.

So, the nature of survival is personal and individual, yet can grow to cover that which is an extension of ourselves. Our family matters, even more than our own life at times. My life matters, yet our lives as a family matter also.

Add to that the nature of community, of tribe, of the extended family and we can all understand the extended circles of that commitment to identity and survival. To say that Black Lives Matter is understandable, but the significance of that exclusive statement can only be experienced if you fit the narrative. You have to be black to understand the passion for survival that is transferred from the individual to the group.

The problem here is that, the larger the extension, the less the personal passion for individual survival. That is, human lives matter, but if they are distant, unknown, unseen and there is no personal connection of ongoing relationship, any statement of inclusion becomes mute. They may matter philosophically, but there is not expectation of sacrifice on my part to provide for their safety and security. The circle only goes so far.

So back to the original instinct: My life matters. Do not threaten me or I will move away from you or fight you.

And here is the problem. When you identify any group within humanity as mattering more than any other, whether that identification is by actual value of perceived emphasis, you exclude all others as having the same value. So, to say that green lives matter, you are creating a contrast and an identity deviation that separates and contrasts.