On Human, Human Race, and Humanity

Sure you have heard the word “humanity” (kemanusiaan). When you hear it, what is the first thing that crosses your mind? I imagine you will visualize a scene somewhere with poor people – By the merciless economy or by the wrath of mother earth – helped by social workers of any professions like doctors, military, etc. Hence the words “Dana bantuan kemanusiaan” or “Misi kemanusiaan”. Well of course it is not false, but not entirely correct either. Using it in such way as I mention above will narrow the potential of the word in which it only represents the “sympathy” part of human quality while human qualities are much more than just sympathy.

Humanity has the word “human” within it, it represent every part of the quality of human. Therefore it describes humans along with its histories, achievements, discoveries, religions, cultures, philosophies, and every other aspect of “human race”. Every greatness of human race is a part of humanity, yet every wickedness, savagery, trickery is also a part of human race. The politics between the rulers of the nations are part of human’s histories. The savagery of war is also a part of human history. Those are the way of the mortals and therefore also represent by the word humanity.

Many of you of course will feel uncomfortable with the idea that humanity can also be associated with the negative aspect of human being. If the word has been used for a good cause like those that I mention above, how come it has a bad meaning at the same time? But let me gives you an example. When a man has done something bad and he regret it, yet can do nothing about it, what would most people say to calm him? “Don’t be too hard on yourself; you are just human after all”. When we somehow getting careless, or worst have our emotions, or lusts and desires out of control, we are doing a bad thing in many living standard of human, but that is a part of being human, we make mistake, we get careless. Even In many prayers, phrase like “Have mercy on us dear Lord for we are imperfect, and perfection only belongs to You” appears in many religions. As a human we realize our limitation, and should have embraced it as a part of being a mortal living.

Humanity represents human being as a whole. When you hear the word humanity, you can’t just think of it as good human qualities, even if Webster told you so at the fourth meaning of humanity, because it would be cheating. To separate the negative aspect of human from the terms humanity is a denial, a rejection towards reality, because the nature of human being itself is not perfect. If it is perfect, then it is not human, it has surpassed human, It isn’t humanity anymore, it has become a being beyond humanity. It is Godliness.

So humanity neither represent goodness alone, nor badness alone. It has no polarization of the good and the evil. It has no standard. But nonetheless it is a great word; a concept with profound meaning. It is greater than the many concepts that represent goodness alone like virtue, wisdom, humility. It is only surpassed once again by the concept Godliness.