Monday, March 2, 2009

The Burning Question

Every now and then a question arises that sears itself into our consciousness; a question so potent and existential in substance that we are forced to stop and think. Typical questions in this field are: What is the meaning of life? Is there life beyond our planet? Does God exist, and if he does, why is he such a twat?
Such questions can consume the average thinker. Well, another one has been raised, that for so long has been overlooked:

"Are we human or are dancers?"

Many will never have considered this question as an issue. I have always had a nagging feeling that there might be a problem here. I could never crystallise the question as succinctly as this but I always questioned the simplicity of the belief that we are "human". Now, quite brilliantly, the Killer's, a pop group with a number of records in the Hit parade, have piqued our curiosity.

Looking at the question, it begs a whole raft of other questions. Does it allow for some of us to be "humans" and some of us to be "dancers"? Minor celebrity Lionel Blair is quite insistent that he is a dancer, as is Wayne Sleep and Bez. If they are insistent that they are dancers, and were able to present proof that they were dancers, does this mean that we are all dancers - with latent ability to dance? It is an interesting question.
Perhaps more intriguing than this is the mind boggling possibility that this is a visible step in human evolution. A question that is quite often levelled at evolutionists is "why aren't we still evolving"? Despite the more subtle ways that the human body evolves and adapts, an evolutionary step of becoming a dancer would certainly be a landmark step in human evolution. From here the logical next question would be - "Would our evolution as dancers be similar or would we be subject to the same bio-diversity as the finches on the separate Galapagos islands?" Better put, would "dancers" develop differently in different societies e.g. British "dancers" would become adept Morris Dancers, whilst Austrians' became Waltzers? If this is the case, what would happen when "dancers" from different societies clashed? Could we expect to see conflict or coexistence and would we have the inevitability of weaker "dance" groups e.g. voguing, being condemned to extinction by more dominant forms e.g. The foxtrot?
"Human" history doesn't bode well for such a clash of cultures. Perhaps we should disregard this precedent as we cha cha cha into an unknown future.
I applaud the Killers for bringing such a "killer" question to the world's attention, but I feel they may have unleashed a philosophical power they can't control.

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