Baba Brinkman - Darwin's Acid lyrics

In 1859 Darwin spilled the first splashes Of his universal acid, and the effects were like magic Burning human arrogance into ashes In exactly 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 The 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 One species among millions in this biosphere Each with millions of ancestors, 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 living forms could never improve It's such an elegant view, full of breadth and grandeur And yet, some people react with depression and anger Like: "It's so unsympathetic, so viciously random! What's the point of compa**ion, or ethical standards? If this is just a game that organisms are trapped in Genetically adapting to environmental factors Then there's no responsibility for individual actions! Where's the governing dynamic?!?" Well, once again Darwin gives us some answers He says yes, everything from violence to violets to viruses Consists of 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 lived to reproductive age And they were all better than their competitors at getting laid Otherwise, you wouldn't be sitting here today There's something inspirational in this vision of Darwin's And it goes like this: organisms – like us – 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 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 s**ual 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 'Cause men will always do what it takes to get into your favour That's just in our nature, so if selfish behaviour Was a s**ual 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 This is a space where religions achieve co-existence And racism decreases with each coalition" This is my vision of Darwinism, and how we all factor in Each of us is a part of the environment; we pa** through it And change it, and affect the way that others adapt to it And after 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 origin 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, 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