Propagation
Everything bears within itself the seeds of its own propagation.
Wherever we look in nature we see one particular principle repeating itself, and that is: everything bears within itself the means of its own propagation. Corn kernels produce fields of corn, coconuts produce coconut palms, and Tongan chickens produce eggs from which baby Tongan chickens hatch. Like produces like. Nature has endowed her creations with both the mechanism and instinct to reproduce themselves.
That ‘like produces like’ could be the most fundamental observation of nature that we can make, and it is sometimes called the Law of Propagation. But while it is an obvious law to some, it seems that for many people the concept is either too simple to be meaningful, or too simple to even be seen. But its simplicity is what makes it powerful and applicable in every context. ‘Like produces like’ is a concept that can be extrapolated in any and every direction. The area that I’d like to explore it in now, however, is the area of human relationships.
When we acknowledge the Law of Propagation we can see that violence can only breed violence, aggression can only breed aggression, and war can only breed war. We also understand that the possibility of any of these behaviours bringing peace is as remote as the possibility of a Tongan chicken hatching from a coconut. ‘Like produces like’ means that only peaceful actions can bring peace.
It means that we can’t overcome anger with anger, evil with evil, or hate with hate. If we kill our enemy, then sometime in the future it will be their turn to kill us. And if they choose to do that, to make the same mistake as we made, then sometime in the future we will be presented with the opportunity to kill them again. Unless we understand the senselessness of retaliation, we will be condemned to a cycle of slaughtering and being slaughtered from one generation to another.
Let’s look at the following statements. In a national political context we might be told, ‘Our military will defeat this oppressive regime and bring peace to this country’ or ‘Capital punishment rids society of its worst criminal elements, and as such, it is an important part of achieving a peaceful and law-abiding society.’ Or in a family context we might hear ‘He gets a smack whenever he’s aggressive with other children so he’s left in absolutely no doubt that it’s the wrong thing to do.’
According to the Law of Propagation, not only do none of these statements hold up, but worse, they will produce results that are the exact opposite of those being pursued. You can’t wage war to make peace; you can’t take human life to make a law-abiding community; and you can’t cure aggression with aggression. The Law of Propagation prohibits it; it’s simply not possible. If we think it is, our focus is too narrow, or we’re only thinking short-term.
But just as the Law of Propagation tells us what’s not possible, it also tells us what is, and as such it is an enormously empowering concept. The Law of Propagation guarantees that if we sow tolerance we will reap tolerance; if we give respect we will earn respect; if we give love we will receive love. Give out what you want returned to you, or do unto others as you would have them do unto you. And because this law is absolute, we can act on these things with absolute certainty about the outcome.
The Law of Propagation enables us to plant corn to multiply corn. I know it sounds simple, but it’s really quite a-maize-ing.