survivor ethos

Like many of the shows I watch, I saw the final episode of Survivor this past week. That episode last Sunday ended in much the same way it always does. The last four people maneuvered to get to the final two, and the last two put up predictable arguments regarding why they should win a million dollars. The arguments usually follow one or two patterns.

1. I was ethical, so I should win the money.
2. I was sneaky but smart, so I should win the money.

Given that the insight into the human condition is a large part of why I watch the show, I want to provide some explanation as to what insights the final episode provide me to people in general. These are generalizations and are not all complete truths.

First, everyone either thinks they are ethical or they are extremely blatant in their dishonesty. There is no such thing as a contestant who voluntarily acknowledges that his or her ethics were compromised until they are called on it. I say this because people who brag about their sneakiness didn't have the ethics to compromise. To me this is a constant reminder that people are by nature selfish beings.

Second, people are hypocrites. I am always surprised at how many people are flat out offended that someone lied to them, when they themselves lied to others.

Third, people don't understand how others perceive them. Every time I hear one of the final two talk about their ethics, I start counting down to the moment when one of the jury members gives them a long and painful speech about how they don't even know how to spell ethicks. Even if I were ethical, I wouldn't mention it unless I knew that I knew that I knew that everyone on the jury agreed with that sentiment.

Any time I am tempted to think people are naturally good at heart I just think about Survivor. Most people will trade in their ethics for a million dollars. I often fear I'd be one of them. It may seem like a good tradeoff at first, but the soul is worth so much more than that.