This endless misery seems to be the normal human condition

Since humankind has been killing itself in small increments or large chunks for at least since recorded history and since there seems to be no end in sight, it leads me to believe that we are a bloodthirsty race. Homo sapiens are, by predilection, killers. Wish it weren't so, but there it is. All evidence to the contrary is, at best, empirical and scarce. Our greatest role models (Jesus Christ, Buddha, Mohammed, Gandhi, etc.) set the bar for "right" living but too few of us heed the lessons. So we simply stumble through life with our guns loaded and cocked and looking to shoot the first thing that moves our way.
Huxley's "Island" expressed the inherent flaws in utopian societies, to wit, people get bored with the status quo.
No matter how comfortable or safe we make a society, it seems that people need to have conflict in order to grow or thrive.
I prefer peace to war, no doubt about that, but I cannot think of a day that's gone by in my entire life when nothing "evil" happened. Can you?
Now I have sought refuge in the mountains and on the beaches, hiding from the world and enjoying my little island of solitude and, during those periods of time, have realized something akin to nirvana or bliss. But it passed. It always passes and that's the rub, ain't it.
But life goes on. And as a Nixon operative once said, "if it don't kill ya, it'll make you stronger."
I'm watching the dying embers of "The West Wing" unfold. The election episode has finally arrived and it feels like a funeral, somehow.
But I'm still impressed with the actors and the writers and the quality of the show. I'll miss it. Wish it didn't have to go.