Mistaking the old for the outdated

At our own peril

I was struck by something profound, yet simple, the other day. It hit me like a sack of potatoes while on my morning walk (where most insights tend to originate).

We mistake the ancestral for the antiquated.

The thought whirled around my mind and refused to go away even after (politely) asking it to. Much like this rash I’ve been battling for ten years or so.

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Neomania is a hallmark of American culture. We are obsessed with the new — trends, movements, gadgets, et cetera. But much of the progress we get excited about isn’t really progress at all.

I fear we mistake the old for the outdated at our own peril.

Let me explain.

You and I are alive today for one simple reason — the survival of our ancestors.

Yet, we like to think we’ve evolved to outsmart those barbarians. It’s tempting. I mean, come on, they didn’t even have Dial-Up Internet or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

But these barbarians accomplished a feat we may not — survival.

Much of what our ancestors did that we consider irrational, or worse, stupid, was the exact opposite. So perhaps it isn’t so wise to laugh at how they lived. Even better, maybe we could learn a thing or two.

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Let’s take transportation for example.

Our ancestors had the most primitive means of getting around. Any guesses? I’m no historian but I believe it was walking.

But today, we pity the fool who doesn’t have constant access to what I call WAMs (walking avoidance machines) — bicycles, cars, planes, ships, Segways, hoverboards, oh my!

You may be wondering, “What simpleton walks these days? That’s so 70,000 BC.”

Yet our ancestors got around just fine for millions of years with the original WAMs — their feet.

And they avoided two modern afflictions caused by our new forms of transportation: bumper-to-bumper traffic and obesity. I doubt they’d envy us for those.

Maybe they knew all along that there were more efficient forms of transportation but feared what might become of us if we became reliant on them, so they declined.

So why do we have this nagging obsession with the new? It’s a question worth pondering.

Maybe there’s some hidden, or not so hidden, benefits as to why our ancestors did things the way they did.

Perhaps they would have scoffed at the neomania that inflicts their descendants even if they had the opportunity to utilize the tools of modernity that we like to think make us “civilized”.

I could be wrong. Who knows?

Maybe the ancient Romans would have had a blast riding around the streets of Pompeii on hoverboards while stuffing their faces with Big Macs. But I struggle to believe such a ridiculous proposition.

I wonder if we do more harm than good by constantly trying to outsmart our ancestors.

Their way of life may seem barbaric to us now, but you can’t argue the fact that it worked. Remember, you and I wouldn’t be here if it didn’t.

So let’s avoid mistaking the old for the outdated.

Photo by julien Tromeur on Unsplash

Can you think of other examples where we mistake the old for the outdated?

This topic fascinates me so I’d love to hear what comes to mind for you.

Likes and comments below.

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