Has humanity learned anything from the tale of the Tower of Babel?

Have you ever paused to think exactly why mankind can’t seem to agree on very much these days?

Could it be that one’s evolution is made of faulty circuitry, and we have not quite made it to that land of cooperation where all prosper and search for answers to make this world a better place?

Or could it be that we are just dumbfounded by our desire to rule kingdoms with our own pride and aspirations of greatness and control of others?

Not so long ago, after the world was created, some books were written to suggest to us that mankind owns the root of its failures, and its greatness is almost always coupled with some dire thinking which helps to contribute to its demise.

Some even say it is man’s pride that gets in the way of his prosperity.

Have you ever heard the story of the Tower of Babel?

It is a fairly interesting story that might even have some consideration in today’s world, given the lack of progress in regard to mankind’s willingness to get along. It is based on an ancient myth and parable that maybe explains why there's so much confusion in the world today.

This story has its beginning around 100 years after the great biblical flood destroyed most of the world, and Noah’s descendants were trying to get their act together in the Book of Genesis.

Whoever wrote this story had a most interesting take on mankind’s history, as this accounting was described in Genesis 11:

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words; … "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly," … "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."

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It appeared that they objected to God’s instructions to "disperse and multiply" after the flood and wanted to make their own decisions in life. God, it seems, was not very happy with mankind’s decision making.

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. … Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.

So now, that unity of one language, and the possibility of getting along together down this road of life, was shattered. Not being able to understand each other, man was destined to walk in a world of confusion and lack of cooperation because no one spoke the same language.

When I look at today’s world and consider this myth and parable, it seems that notion of teamwork was a problem a long time ago, and remains so today. Is it because we all speak different languages, or is it because we just plain don’t like getting along much?

Although the Tower of Babel's namesake is not really mentioned in the Bible, babbling is related to it and is defined as "a confused noise made by a number of voices."

Now one might begin to think that where once there was a unity of voices, God decided to disrupt because of mankind’s pride to be greater than heaven itself.

As a prison warden, I always had to attend meetings to discuss issues and problems, and even when we spoke one language, the behavior of mankind still always seemed to take us in different directions on occasion.

Sometimes, I wonder when reading this story if God hasn’t taken that initial edict of speaking with strange languages throughout the world a step or two further in our modern world.

Surely it seems today in politics there is much babbling.

And Russia, China and the United States seem to babble quite a bit as well.

And have you considered that anyone who owns or uses a computer has become their own giant king or queen in their own little kingdom and now can espouse their own opinionated contributions throughout this world at any moment of any day?

Was this yet another edict from heaven to confuse us?

Add a few news broadcasts, some TikTok reels, and propaganda from sources such as Twitter, Instagram and text messaging (all found on telephones kept in our pockets) and I’d say one’s communication and confusion today has been extended far beyond those lads and lasses in the old biblical days.

I’m beginning to think down here that God up there perhaps has stirred the pot of linguistic stew one more time.

How about another serving?

Pete Waters is a Sharpsburg resident who writes for The Herald-Mail.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Humanity's inability to communicate is one of our greatest troubles