从羔羊到兰博 然而,想想一种文化缺乏女性力量的后果。还记得我们在第7章全怪基因中谈到的倭黑猩猩吧?它们不像在其他种类的黑猩猩社会中,雄性会束缚并且欺负体型更小的其他雄性和雌性;雌性倭黑猩猩会互相团结,并且在此过程中,彻底消除了群体性欺侮现象。这并不是说雌性控制了雄性,而是它们用自己集体的团结平衡了雄性的力量。 黛安•艾斯勒在她后来出版的《国家的真正财富》一书中,启迪性地引用了美国社会活动家、早期女权运动领袖伊丽莎白•卡迪•斯坦顿的话:“这个世界上还从来没有过一个真正有道德的国家,因为在妇女退化的过程中,生命之源本身从源头上就被毒害了。” 这种毒害可以从当今的美国社会中感同身受。在这里卑劣的行径不仅得到了容忍,而且还被有意地培养了,以至于温顺的人在这里完全就没有希望。可怜的耶稣。如果他现在复活了的话,他自己都不会认出自己的。在过去的两个世纪中,宗教权威们已经设法把他的形象从羔羊(Lamb-o)变成了兰博(Rambo)。从圣经的记载中我们可以得知,耶稣实际上体现了一种阳刚与阴柔特质的平衡。耶稣有足够的力量掀翻换钱人的桌子,有足够的坚定去忍受被钉十字架,然而他却宣扬爱,祝福缔造和平的人。与此相反,那些持有“上帝、枪与勇气”立场的基督徒们却把更多的能量用在从精神上欺负温顺者上,而不是用在维护他们的遗产上。 From Lamb-o to Rambo Yet, consider the consequences of a culture devoid of feminine power. Remember the bonobo chimps we talked about in Chapter 7, It’s in Your Genes? Unlike other chimp societies in which males bond and bully smaller males and females, bonobo females bond with each other and, in the process, eliminate communal bullying all together. It’s not that the females dominate the males, but rather they use their collective solidarity to counterbalance male power. In her more recent book, The Real Wealth of Nations, Riane Eisler offers an enlightening quote from Elizabeth Cady Stanton, an American social activist and leading figure in the early women’s rights movement: “The world has never yet seen a truly virtuous nation, because in the degradation of women, the very fountains of life are poisoned at the source.”21 That poison can be seen and felt in present-day American society where meanness is not only tolerated, but cultivated so that the meek really don’t stand a chance. Poor Jesus. If he returned now, he wouldn’t recognize himself. Over the last two centuries, the religious right has managed to transmogrify his image from Lamb-o to Rambo. From Biblical accounts, we know that Jesus actually embodied a balance of masculine and feminine traits. Jesus was forceful enough to overturn the moneychangers’ tables, steadfast enough to endure crucifixion, and yet he preached love and blessed the peacemakers. In contrast, those Christians who adopt the “God, Guns, and Guts” posture spend more energy on spiritually bullying the meek than in safeguarding their inheritance.