Simultaneous (Live)

We, in the modern age operate under a dangerous misconception regarding our heritage
If one should ask the average citizen whether or not they believe humans are more highly evolved than our ancient ancestors
They will more often than not express the belief that we are indeed far, far superior
Surely we are more sophisticated, more capable of reason
Than the hunter-gatherers of 13,000 BC
More civilized than the marauding Vikings of a thousand years ago
We imagine these peoples as ignorant, primitive and barbaric
We are not those people

But in fact, Homo sapiens sapiens, modern humans
Inherit a gene pool with the earliest hominines like the Australopithecus
Who lived two and a half million years ago

We possess no significant physiological differences from the Cro-Magnons or the Neanderthals
Nor does evidence suggest our tendencies towards the barbaric have lessened over time
On the contrary, present day humans are capable of the same self-destructive behavior
The same crimes against humanity
The same violent power struggles as our ancestors
We appear to be doomed by our DNA to repeat the same self-destructive behaviors
Our fore-bearers have repeated for millenia
If anything, our problem-solving skills have actually diminished
With the advent of technology and our ubiquitous modern conveniences

And yet, despite our previous position towards fear-driven hostility
Towards what we anachronistically termed primitive behavior
Another instinct is just as firmly encoded in our make-up
We are capable, as our ancestors were
Of incredible breath-taking acts of kindness

Every hour of every day, a man risks his life at a moment's notice to save another
Forget for a moment the belligerent benevolent billionaires
Who grant the unfortunate a crumb of cost-free cake
I speak of pure acts of selflessness
The mother who rushes into the street to save a child from a speeding vehicle
A person who runs into a burning building to reach a family trapped on the upper story
A man who can barely swim, who dives into a lake to rescue a drowning stranger
Such actions, such moments, such unconscious, selfless decisions
Define what it is to be human

Should the oceans rise
Should the sky come falling down
Should the islands tremble beneath us
See our better nature blossom

Should the sun rain fire
Should hell on earth freeze over
And our inner beast wake hungry
See our better nature feed them

Should the sun rain fire
Should hell on earth freeze over
And our inner beast wake hungry
See our better nature feed and calm them

Find a way through, around or over
Find a way through, around or over
Find a way through, around or over
Find a way through, around or over

Find a way through, around or over
Find a way through, around or over
Find a way through, around or over