I love the lyrics to the song "Darwin's Acid" by Baba Brinkman (who gave us the Rap Guide to Evolution). Listen to the song and read the lyrics below...
Darwin's Acid
In 1859 Darwin spilled the first splashes
Of his universal acid, and the effects were like magic.
Burning human arrogance into ashes
In pretty much the same way that Copernican math did.
No, the stars don’t shine just to improve the view from earth.
No, we’re not the centre of the universe.
No, we weren’t created in the image of Jupiter.
No, we’re not so special, and yes, the truth hurts.
But that’s how evolution works – once it’s been applied.
The acid burns into the superstitious side
Of the human mind, and fills it with light.
It even dissolves the original sin of pride.
That pride that says: “I’m a special creation
And my creator has given me dominion over nature.
And he has the power to replenish his creatures.
So if species go extinct, he can recreate them later.
And if he doesn’t, well that’s just part of his plan.”
Ah, but Darwin’s acid is hard to withstand.
It plucks the arrogance deep from within the hearts of man
And teaches us never to build our houses on sand.
But instead to try to understand why we’re here.
Just one species among millions in this biosphere.
With millions of ancestors behind us, whose fighting spirits
Combined to give us this great survival gear.
These minds, these limbs, these incredible tools
Perfected by millennia of competitive use.
And yes, these attention-seeking genitals too.
Without them, these human forms could never improve.
It’s such an elegant view, full of breadth and grandeur
And yet, some people react with depression and anger
and say: “It’s so unsympathetic, it's so viciously random!
What’s the point of compassion, or ethical standards?
If this is all just a game that these organisms are trapped in
Genetically adapting to environmental factors
Then there’s no responsibility for individual actions!
It's nihilistic! Where’s the governing dynamic?”
Well, once again Darwin gives us some answers.
He says yes, everything from violets to violence to viruses
It's all just organisms adapting to environments.
If you’re alive, it’s because your ancestors were the best survivalists.
They were the finalists in the genetic Olympic Games.
Every one of your ancestors survived to reproductive age
And they were all better than their competitors at getting laid.
Otherwise, you just wouldn’t be sitting here today.
Some say it's cynical
But I find something inspirational in this vision of Darwin’s
And it goes like this: organisms are not isolated
Organisms are part of an environmental mix
So your decisions affect evolution – it isn’t directionless.
Now, before you dismiss me as a mad environmentalist
Just try to imagine how natural selection applies
To countries that have industrialized.
Companies live and companies die
And when customers buy based on a company’s green plan
That affects the economy, just ask Alan Greenspan.
See Cultural evolution is ours to reinvent.
Wait, can we affect current events? Yes We Can.
And when we choose who to sleep with and reproduce
Our sexual choices affect the gene pool.
So it’s simple, all we need to do is refuse
To sleep with mean people, and things will improve.
Especially women – on you the pressure is greater.
Because men will always do what it takes to get into your favour.
That’s just in our nature, so if selfish behaviour
Was a sexual graveyard, the effects would be major!
In each of these cases, our intentional efforts
Can play the part of environmental pressures.
I can say: “This is a space where a peaceful existence
Will never be threatened by needless aggression.”
I can say: “This is an ecosystem where people listen,
Where justice increases over egotism.
I can say, this is a space where religions achieve co-existence
And racism decreases with each coalition.”
This is my vision of Darwinism, and how we factor in.
Each of us is a part of the environment; we all pass through it
And then we change it, and affect the way that others adapt to it.
And afterwards we get to look back and see how we impacted it
And maybe have a laugh if our sense of humour is still alive.
And what did Charles Darwin do? Darwin threw some light
On the origins of mankind, and he left us with skewered pride.
But he taught us that, yes, there’s grandeur in this view of life.
There is grandeur in this view of life,
And the fact that it also happens to be true is nice.
“There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one, and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning, endless forms most beautiful, and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.”
- Charles Darwin, Origin of Species
