A Spark, Not a Statue

This isn’t a polished answer — it’s a spark I’ve been sitting with. Maybe it will catch something in you, too.

I’ve been asking: Why do war and exploitation keep winning? Money explains part of it. But deeper down, it feels tied to something in the human psyche: our tendency to follow authority rather than cooperate as equals.

Why We Follow

For most of history, survival often meant obedience. Tribes followed chiefs, armies followed generals, villages followed priests. Obedience was safety. Defiance could mean exile or death.

That survival code is still in us. Experiments like Milgram’s showed how far ordinary people will go when told to obey. And maybe that’s why we often project the ultimate authority upward — into God.

But if there were a truly loving God shaping reality, wouldn’t life look different than it does? Instead, it feels like humans created authority structures — divine and political — and those hungry for control stepped in to exploit them.

The Cost of Obedience

Obedience is easy. One voice gives the orders, and we fall in line. But that ease comes at a cost:

• Authority rewards control, not care.

• Fear becomes the fuel of power.

• War thrives because it strengthens authority’s grip.

It’s no accident that war and hierarchy reinforce each other.

A Different Spark: Co-Creation

What if obedience isn’t our destiny, just our conditioning?

• Cooperation requires trust, patience, creativity — harder, yes, but richer.

• Every co-op, assembly, or community that shares power shows a glimpse of what’s possible.

• Maybe maturity as a species means shifting from being followers to becoming co-creators.

If there is no God, then we are free to build meaning together. If there is a God — and that God is nurturing — wouldn’t the invitation be the same?

Sitting With It

This isn’t final. It’s a spark.

What if the next stage of humanity isn’t obedience, but co-creation?

That’s the thought I can’t shake — and maybe it’s the path out of the authority trap.

Spark Questions for You.

• Where do you see obedience shaping your own life — even in subtle ways?

• What’s one small act of co-creation you’ve experienced that felt more powerful than following?

• How do we tell stories that make cooperation more attractive than obedience?