Happiness - Are We Worth Something As Human Beings?

If we can make ourselves anxious about the rejection and the absence of love of various people, we can also do it about another so-called danger: That of losing our value and our dignity, to miserably find ourselves at the level of idiots, fools, imbeciles, stupids and twits, and to act in ways that confirm-in our eyes as well as in the eyes of others-our worthlessness.

We may be convinced of the proverb, "It is better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt." Unfortunately, this anxiety is usually reflected by shy and timid acts which, paradoxically, often attract to us exactly what we wanted so much to avoid in the first place: The rejection and the contempt of others.

In this regard, here are two vital questions to ask ourselves:

• Are human beings worth something? - And if so, can they lose part or all of this value?

Sadly enough, most of us seem to be firmly convinced that not only are we worth something as human beings, but that we can also lose part or all of this value. As a matter of fact, we only have to refer to the many ways we call each other idiots and nerds, not to forget when we "compliment" ourselves in the very same way: "What an idiot I am!"

Let's think about it: We will never be anything but human beings!

First and foremost, you will most probably agree with me that if we have some value as a human being, this value is certainly the same for all since none of us is more "human" than another.

Secondly, none of us can lose our human value-if such a value exists-for the simple reason that to do so, we would have to lose part or all of our humanity. In other words, rabbit one day, rabbit forever; horse one day, horse forever; human being one day, human being forever.

Let's face it: Nothing-and I really mean nothing-can make a human being more or less than a human being. That we give all our possessions to the poor, simply live in an old bag and sleep on the sidewalk will not make us more human than if we aggressively refuse to give a few pennies to a beggar and also boot him/her up the backside.

The greyhound that runs faster than another is no more a greyhound than the latter. Similarly, the most deeply alienated human being, regardless if he/she has been locked up for years in a padded cell, is a human being as valid as any other-that is, if human beings as such are worth something. Besides, not only is this last item impossible to prove, but we may also come to the possible conclusion that human beings do not have any value that is assessable or calculable.

Needless to say, these considerations should not really prevent us from sleeping. However, it is when we think about the value others give us that things get tough. That is the topic I suggest we explore together in a future article.