Uncovering the Id.

In the wake of the New Year attacks on women in Cologne, I’ve heard the simple and predictable response: ‘These men are animals.’

Well, yes, I agree; I would personally like to see them caught and locked up forever. But it isn’t enough. I fervently believe that beneath the surface of every human being lurks an animal. The history of both military and civil conflict is surely evidence enough of that. The three questions that spring immediately to mind with regard to each and every one of us are:

1. How far beneath the surface does it lurk?

2. What does it take to bring it to the fore?

3. Once invoked, how realistic is it to expect the animal thus released to exercise human restraint?