Have you ever noticed how difficult it seems to be to maintain any sort of collection of human beings in a communal relationship for any length of time? There are countless examples throughout our history as a species where we can see this pattern in action. We have primitive stories of hunter gatherers collecting into communities all the way to our current situation of a world filled with nested groups of individuals in an increasingly complex interconnected mess of drives and conflicts that seems driven toward destruction. Why this tendency toward destruction? Why this constant battle between Order and Chaos, between the stability it takes to keep things together and the chaos that is birthed out of that stability that threatens to destroy it? Why did God allow the serpent into the Garden of Eden?

In the short story “The Ones who walk away from Omelas” by Ursula K. LeGuinn, the author provides a haunting image of a society that has the appearance of a utopia initially. Then, as the story progresses we learn of a dark secret. A child is locked in a broom closet in abject suffering. They are malnourished, weak, filthy, and miserable. Further, everyone in Omelas is aware that their “utopia” is dependent on the suffering of this child. At a certain point in their development all citizens are taken to see the child, and then they have a choice to make. Will they stay in the society and accept the cost they have all agreed is necessary for the continuation of that society or will they join the titular “ones who walk away?”

In The Giver by Lois Lowry, the community similarly is a seeming utopia where everything seems great at first, until we get more insight through the eyes of Jonas. The story begins with Jonas trying to find a word for an emotion he is feeling in regard to the coming ceremony in which he will be given his assignment in the community, and eventually finding the word apprehensive. When he shares this feeling during the nightly ritual of sharing emotions during dinner with his family, his parents immediately show concern and dismiss his sister in order to talk with Jonas more. They proceed to attempt to reassure him that whatever the Elders decide will be best and that they observe and know each person and what role they will best serve in the community.

In both of these stories we see the dynamic tension that exists between the individual and the collective, between self and other. This duality is at the root of so much conflict and confusion in our inner and outer world on a personal level as well as a societal level. Order and stability can be wonderful, they allow a common purpose to drive a community to grow and build cohesion which can lead to an incredible ability to achieve goals since everyone for the most part shares those goals and can harness each of their own wills to work together for that aim. This is similar to the cells that collectively make up our bodies that all work together with one mind to achieve the goals of performing all the functions that keep us functioning. When even a single cell in this system becomes rogue things like cancer can wreak havoc on the ability of the organism to continue functioning as a unified whole. This explains of course the historical drive toward Order. Order is the cohesive principle that seeks to align reality to a common purpose and guide development to achieve that purpose. It is the Logos, the Word, the Tao. However, like the symbol of the Tao, the yin-yang symbol with it’s dark and light halves and each containing a piece of the other within itself, Order contains within it Chaos. The serpent enters this Garden of Eden called Order and brings something strange and new into the picture. Suddenly, this chaotic element comes up against this rigid order that has developed and challenges it. Like Jonas challenging the norms of his community as his awareness expands, or the ones who walk away giving up the community of Omelas because they cannot accept the compromise necessary.

Overemphasis on order and stability leads to a repression of individuality and freedom that stifles critical thinking and the inner drive to challenge societal norms and question ideals. This leads to a degradation of moral judgment and responsibility needed to avoid “the banality of evil” that is made possible when conformity is valued too highly for its role in servicing stability and order. Hannah Arendt wrote an essay titled “Thinking and Moral Considerations” in which the conclusion is the connection between thinking, morality, and human behavior and how important it is for us to genuinely engage with our world, considering different perspectives and imagining consequences for our actions so as to act morally and responsibly. Of course, this very ability is what is tamped down in societies too focused on maintaining order and stability, such as those we have labeled authoritarian or dictatorial. We are seeing this trend accelerate in modern times as the Chaos that seems to pervade our lives drives more and more of a push toward striving for Order. However, this leads to repression and suppression of the Chaos that persists and grows because of the resistance to it. This is ushering in a new trend of more and more authoritarian governments being assembled as people desperately seek some sense of purpose and order to guide their lives in a very chaotic and dangerous world.

Nazi Germany has served as a very haunting reminder of a time when this dynamic led to very damaging and tragic consequences. The rigidity and order that Hitler imposed on a society that was in disarray at the time allowed for him to ascend to great heights of power. However, fascism leaves no room for the freedom of the individual. All is in service to the State, to the collective. The supreme leader must be obeyed above all in order to maintain the stability that he was able to impose and avoid disintegration caused from outside infiltration or dissent. Fascism thus seeks to “build a wall” around the Garden in order to keep the serpent out. However, once the final brick is placed in the wall and those within turn to look upon their beautiful garden the serpent is once again within the walls.

Eichmann in Jerusalem is a book written by Hannah Arendt which coined the term “the banality of evil.” It is focused on Adolf Eichmann, a major organizer of the Holocaust. Arendt concludes based on observing his trial that he was not a monster or demon, but a normal ordinary person who lacked the critical thinking and empathy that would have allowed them to question the system they were participating in. This faculty is exactly what is diminished by the overemphasis on order that leads to suppression of the individual and their capacity to challenge the societal norms they exist in. If we are to have any hope as a species to continue to exist on this planet we must desperately seek to integrate the induvial drive for freedom and a need to challenge systems of thought as well as the need to collectively work together to build things and maintain them.

The serpent cannot be avoided, killed, or locked in a dungeon. He must be allowed into the Garden and we must acknowledge and learn what he wants to teach us. We must choose Love rather than Fear.