Whose Fault is it Anyway?

While at the beach this morning I noticed two paddle boarders in the distance.  A man and a woman.  I wondered again if I could do that.  It looks like fun.  After a while they took a break and walked their boards along the coastline on their way back to their starting point.  While lying on my towel, I heard a piece of their conversation.

Woman: "I used to think people were inherently good and now I don't believe it."

Man: "I think it was Aristotle and someone else who said, 'Does man corrupt society or does society corrupt man?' I think Aristotle said that and then someone else," he repeated.

It was quiet for 1/2 a minute as they passed by and then:

Man: "You have to look at the animal kingdom for the answer."

I no longer could hear their conversation and they got back on their boards and paddled away.

I started to think about what the man had said about the animal kingdom and in order to draw a conclusion to the argument one must look there for the answer.  I disagree.

There is no corruption in the animal kingdom.  The animals just are.  They are themselves.  A big cat doesn't debate chasing down a gazelle for a meal.  It isn't right or wrong.  The cat doesn't feel regret or remorse for his actions.  The cat's thought processes are limited to survival and procreation.

Man understands the concepts of good and evil.  Man understands what it is to inflict pain.  I don't deny animals feelings but they are basic.  The idea that we should look to them and how they live in  order to decide whether man corrupts society or does society corrupt man is flawed.

In order for society to be corrupted it would have, at some point, been without corruption first.  How would society become corrupt?  Man.  Man is capable of manipulating his surroundings for better or worse.  It is instinctive and man chooses how to act, how to behave, and what to produce.  Just as a baby automatically reaches for his parent for protection and love, so is man's sense of right and wrong, unless one is a psychopath but that is an aberration from the norm so not a part of this argument.  Man's decisions shape society.  What happens next is up for grabs.  Do I want to pick a flower to give someone joy or pick a fight to ruin someone's day?

We are the cause.  Society is a reflection of our decisions - corrupt or clean.