Rats

John Calhoun was not the first to wonder about the detriments of population density problems or overcrowding, but he did design a creative experiment which used rats to demonstrate what happens when animals do not have a healthy balance of space and community.

In 1964 (my information is based on a few websites including the thoughts of Dr. Edmund Ramsden from nihrecord.nih.gov) Calhoun created an eleven by fourteen foot cage divided into four rooms linked with ramps and set up to give between 32 and 56 rats freedom to roam between the rooms. The rats were given all the food and water they wanted, but they were denied any extra space.  It didn't take very long for an alpha male and nine females to take control of two rooms leaving the other two rooms for the dozens of rats left over.

What ensued was fascinating and Calhoun observed these things as the colony of rats began to grow:

1. "(There was) violence and aggression with rats in the crowded pen 'going berserk, attacking females, juveniles and less active males.'"

2.  "There was also 'sexual deviance.'  Male rats became hypersexual pursuing females which weren't even in heat."

3.  "There was a breakdown in maternal behavior.  Mothers stopped caring for their young, ceased building a nest and even attacked their young."

4. "Even when populations dropped, and more space became available, the community never recovered."

Calhoun's research has been used many times over in popular culture, including the 1982 animated picture The Secret of NIHM, but we can extrapolate a few issues that occur in a contemporary culture that has moved increasingly urban, but moreso, in my opinion, global.  We see the aggression in our young people, not just the males, but females also.  It's portrayed in every aspect of our 'entertainment.'  Violence, aggression, young males attacking females, juveniles and less active males.  Sexual deviance is rampant: pornography (not a new thing) has infiltrated every part of visual sight; sex used to be a very private, intimate event, now it seems to be the most public of things.  Hypersexual males pursuing females through requests for nude pictures, sexting, etc...  Mothers and fathers, have, in some cases, ceased building nests for their young simply turning to give their children screens as parental substitutes.  It is not a surprise any more to have the news anchor tell us the statistics of child abuse in our 'cultured' society.

Part of the problem of lack of space is not having any rest time, no reflection, no time to recover from work.  This is a universal problem in the 21st century not just because the human population has exploded, but there is no separation between us and our neighbors.  Because of our current technologies, we are, in some ways, rats in a cage.  Constantly in each other's faces (books), continually monitoring the visual activities of others via youtube, or any other social media websites, there is no space for us to withdraw and remember what it is that makes us human anyway.

Calhoun's assertion is that not all of the rats went crazy - some of them were able to carve out their niche, even in the crazy state of 'ratopia', and balance both social and private life.  Similarly, many in our contemporary culture have figured out how to balance life and not just by avoiding social media or spending countless hours in front of screens.  How do they do it?  What is the secret to balance?

I think I saw it during my childhood days in Rake, Iowa.

Once per year, Rake would celebrate its Norwegian heritage by hosting the Mange Tak days.  We used to call it the 'Mangy Dog' days, but Mange Tak means 'Many thanks' in Norwegian.  The community would give thanks by celebrating throughout a weekend by parades of tractors and floats, old cars, horses, bands and other such delights.  But, my favorite part occurred at the small park on the northwest side of  Rake right beneath the sights of the watertower.  The community would gather for a picnic and to the north side of the shelterhouse, a grid, perhaps 8x8 would be marked out with white lines.  Standing in the middle of the grid was a cow and residents of Rake would purchase squares (it wasn't required, but many did) where if the cow felt it was the right time would leave its feces in one of the squares.  Wherever the patty landed, the owner of that square received the money.
Cowchip bingo.

Oddly, people would stand in the sun surrounding the bingo 'court' and wait for the solitary cow (minding its own business, but the residents waiting for it to do its business) to take a dump.  At times, people would try to scare the, um, digested remains out of it, but generally the cow just took its time.  In my own memory, this sometimes lasted for hours.

And a good thing, too, because as the Rakivites stood there in the sun, I think they unconsciously began to remember why they were there in the first place: to share in community.  They talked and laughed at length, not about work, or farming (maybe a little about the weather) but how families were going, who was dating whom, etc...  And when the cow did drop its present, the winner would shout victoriously while everyone else realized that they had won also.

In Acts 2, as the day of Pentecost dawns, Peter, and the other disciples, comes to a realization that the only way humans are going to make it through life is if they begin to understand why they are there and how they will live together.  He quotes David from Psalm 16:

I saw the Lord always before me.  Because he is at my right hand, I will never be shaken.  Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body will rest in hope because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay.  You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.

What I love about David's thought is that there are multiple paths in life - not just one.  In it we are given the gift of choices and in those choices we understand that God goes before us and stands beside us, and, at the end, fills us with joy each time we are in his presence.

How do we escape tearing each other to shreds in this world of overcrowding (not overpopulating - there is a difference)?

Just my opinion but here are a few:

1.  Intentionally turn off phone/computer/social media/TV - anything that puts you somewhere else.  Be present and reflect on how God is with you today.

2.  Turn up ears and listen to those who are in your life - your family and friends.  Ask deep questions about what is important.

3.  Turn to neighbors for help.  When we ask those who live in close proximity to us for help, we not only honor them by making them feel helpful, but we build trust to ensure community.

4.  Turn over stress.  We rest in hope.  This world is a darkened window and we can briefly (sometimes) see beyond.  Remember that the outcome is already won in Christ Jesus.  Your stress only fogs up the spiritual window.

So, my thoughts turn once again to those master artists from the mid-1990's Smashing Pumpkins.  From their song Bullet with Butterfly Wings:

Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage.

Even if we live in a cage, we don't have to consume each other.