Arguing to Death: Socrates in America

Here's an excerpt from a superb article in the Dec. 17 edition of the "Economist."

In 1968 Stringfellow Barr, an historian and president of St. John's College in Maryland, wrote a Socratic critique of American discourse: "There is pathos in television dialogue: the rapid exchange of monologues that fail to find the issue, like ships passing in the night; the reiterated preface, 'I think that...,' as if it mattered who held which opinion rather than which opinion is worth holding; the impressive personal vanity that prevents each 'discussant' from really listening to another speaker".

Complete article:
http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15108704

The Artwork of Shepard Fairey

Contemporary artist, Shepard Fairey, is good at making a statement. His ability to attach irony to modern symbols, iconography, and themes in order to critique social and political ills is unmatched. From sardonic renditions of currency designs to satirical propaganda posters, Fairey's artwork is both visually engaging and thought provoking.

Every person needs four things

1. Something to do
2. Someone to love
3. Something to believe in
4. Something to look forward to

(From legendary college football coach, Lou Holtz)

The Idea of Progress

As we journey through the ages, we realize that our concept of progress inevitably falls short again and again.

http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15108593

Why Get an Education

I sometimes hear people reveal their esteem for education primarily in terms of how it can increase earning power. Yes, making a living is important and education is the best means to making a higher salary, but there are so many additional reasons why an education is important. A rigorous education provides the foundation for a conscious and fulfilling life as well as for responsible citizenship. If we are only educated in technical skills with a neglect for the development of our capabilities for reasoning and discernment, then we become mere cogs in the modern industrial machine. We fail to exercise the active agency and social resistance to make discriminating choices about what ideas or products we embrace, how we view others and behave towards them, what we value, and what we refuse to pay attention to. Education teaches us how to recognize and appreciate beauty. It helps us to question our assumptions and recognize our biases. It helps us to organize our thinking and develop the skills for communicating effectively. An education gives us the power to interpret our world from different angles, improve our relationships, and avoid the deception of those who would try to control us for their gain. For these reasons, it is important that mothers and fathers, artisans and business people, technicians and scientists are educated not only in the technique and best practices of their individual roles, but in a general understanding of the world in its physical, spiritual, and social aspects. Getting an education helps us to become better human beings.

Moral Discipline is the Foundation of a Civilized Society

"Self-discipline has eroded and societies are left to try to maintain order and civility by compulsion. The lack of internal control by individuals breeds external control by governments. One columnist observed that “gentlemanly behavior [for example, once] protected women from coarse behavior. Today, we expect sexual harassment laws to restrain coarse behavior. . . .

“Policemen and laws can never replace customs, traditions and moral values as a means for regulating human behavior. At best, the police and criminal justice system are the last desperate line of defense for a civilized society. Our increased reliance on laws to regulate behavior is a measure of how uncivilized we’ve become.” (D. Todd Christofferson, "Moral Discipline," LDS General Conference Oct. 2009)

Little Pleasures and Hard Work

You will understand that I am bragging when I say that my children are farmers...Last summer my granddaughter, Virginia, who was eleven, put in some long days on the [tractor]. She was good at it, and all of us are pleased with her. She told her mother: "What is good about hard work is that it teaches you about little pleasures." She said that when the weather was hot and a little breeze came, it made her happy and she was grateful. I think this is something very important to know. I hope that, when the time comes, this knowledge of little pleasures will preserve her from the common assumption that pleasures have to be big, expensive, and dangerous. I am thankful that she could learn this in the same way that her parents and grandparents learned it. I am thankful that we have continued so far. (Wendell Berry, "Citizenship Papers," 2004, Counterpoint Press)

The Space Between

“Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest human beings infinite distances continue, a wonderful living side by side can grow, if they succeed in loving the distance between them which makes it possible for each to see the other whole against the sky.”

-Rainer Maria Rilke

Faux Friendship

A fascinating article about the state of friendship

http://chronicle.com/article/Faux-Friendship/49308/

Poetry and Marriage by Wendell Berry

The meaning of marriage begins in the giving of words. We cannot join ourselves to one another without giving our word. And this must be an unconditional giving, for in joining ourselves to another we join ourselves to the unknown. We can join one another only by joining the unknown. We must not be misled by the procedures of experimental thought: in life, in the world, we are never given two known results to choose between, but only one result that we choose without knowing what it is.

Marriage rests upon the immutable givens that compose it: words, bodies, characters, histories, places. Some wishes cannot succeed; some victories cannot be won; some loneliness is incorrigible. But there is relief and freedom in knowing what is real; these givens come to us out of the perennial reality of the world, like the terrain we live on. One does not care for this ground to make it a different place, or to make it perfect, but to make it inhabitable and to make it better. To flee from its realities is only to arrive at them unprepared.

Because the condition of marriage is worldly and its meaning communal, no one party to it can be solely in charge. What you alone think it ought to be, it is not going to be. Where you alone think you want it to go, it is not going to go. It is going where the two of you - and marriage, time, life, history, and the world - will take it. You do not know the road; you have committed your life to a way.

Education and Democracy

"The founders of our Republic envisioned education as providing for all citizens the necessary apprenticeship in the understanding and practice of democracy. To make democracy safe we must have universal schooling; to make schooling safe for education we must have democracy. But since the founding of our country the study and practice of democracy in our schools has weakened. We must return to the primary purpose of education and ensure that it is indeed for everyone."(Goodlad, John I., Corinne Mantle-Bromley, and Stephen John Goodlad, 2004, "Education for Everyone: Agenda for Education in a Democracy," Jossey-Bass.)

Reverence

Reverence is a key component of a happy and balanced life, and it also forms the backbone of a healthy and cooperative society. But unfortunately, reverence is largely absent in modern society. There's a pervasive lack of reverence for other people, for the earth, for spiritual knowledge, for life, and for ourselves. Reverence is gratitude and respect for the whole of creation and for one's humble position within that great system. Reverence means patience in forming judgments. Reverence means recognition for the contributions and value of different individuals in one's community. Reverence means recognizing the value of other communities with differing ideologies. Reverence is generosity of spirit. Reverence is selflessness.

Imagine a world of reverence.
There is no violence to the earth. Imagine how clean the air is. There is no violence between people. Imagine how peacefully conflict is resolved. Imagine how people do business. Imagine how they recreate. Imagine how they worship--their lives are a continual practice of worshiping the sacred.

Convenience can be the enemy of relationship building

Within the United States we often hold convenience up as a virtue unto itself. What is intended to make our lives easier, however, can actually consume some of our best opportunities to build relationships in subtle ways.

Example 1: A young married couple with one car coordinates their schedules to get each other to school, work, and other commitments. While it may be a bit 'inconvenient' to have only one car, working together to find solutions to their transportation challenges brings them together as a couple. They spend more time with each other and are more involved in each other's lives.

Example 2: Parents hire a nanny to take care of their children. While this may give them more time for career, personal development, or other pursuits, it will rob them of the simple moments that build relationships: making breakfast, tying shoes, wiping runny noses, teaching children how to pick a good apple at the grocery store, etc. It is in the daily routine that we grow together. It is also in the daily routine that we catch those unexpected moments of great joy and humor.

Example 3: A family plants a garden to grow vegetables. It will require watering, weeding, and nurturing for months before they will be able to eat the food. They could just run to the grocery store and buy those same foods at less expense and at greater convenience, but their choice to cultivate a garden will provide opportunities for all to learn the law of the harvest and the value of work. They will also be able to enjoy the delicious fruits of their labor and deepen their connection to the rest of creation.

Modern day conveniences have certainly provided some great opportunities and simplified our lives in terrific ways. Being perceptive about the consequences of each convenience decision helps us to be wise in what time saving technologies we allow into out lives.

Blame and responsibility

The following NY Times video discusses how Pakistani musicians blame the West for Pakistan's problems.

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/11/11/world/1247465633296/tuning-out-the-taliban.html?ref=world

Blaming a scapegoat is a common way to avoid the real work. You see the same thing happening in the U.S. with the right blaming "the liberals" for America's problems or vice versa. Focusing on the true problems and recognizing that you may be contributing to them is the work that few dare to tackle. People frequently blame the 'crooks in Washington' for America's political problems. It is we the people who elected those 'crooks.' Our complaints with their behavior can be traced to deeper systemic problems within our society. We need to be better citizens. A more responsible practice of citizenship will do more than blame or complain. It will start by reflecting at the individual level to see that one's own behavior meets the standards that democracy requires. From there, one's labors should emanate to one's family and community. One will seek to positively contribute to these units by being educated, involved, and aware. One must also espouse the virtues of integrity, hard work, and charity. Building the foundation of a strong nation must start with our own stone.

Thomas Friedman expresses his concern about the current state of governance in the U.S. and what the solution must be.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/22/friedman-worries-about-am_n_366648.html

Be yourself

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

I owe a great amount of my personal happiness and success to listening to myself and then embracing the path onto which it guides me. The forces of socio-cultural influence bear down with incredible strength upon our will. But our internal compass may often require us to negotiate the tension we feel vis-a-vis our external system and choose against the demands of that context. A commitment to humility and truth will serve as dependable guides in this process.

Clinging to a false belief

"We persist in the belief--against our religious tradition, and in the face of much evidence to the contrary--that if we leave our children wealthy we will assure their happiness." (Wendell Berry, "A Continuous Harmony", 1972, pp. 126)

Nurture

We can easily be deceived by the illusion of control. To understand the principle of agency we must develop the wisdom to perceive what is an appropriate use of our effort. The modern world has made this especially difficult because we are surrounded by machines that are built to do exactly as we command them (and even they frequently malfunction). We cannot control our relationships or other people. Whether it be our relationship to the earth, the elements, our neighbors, our friends, our family, or our God, it is through respect, patience, care, gratitude, and believing that we nourish our association. The use of agency is an act of faith essential to creation. Ugui, the Kung Fu master from the movie "Kung Fu Panda," teaches this principle to his student Shifu.

Ugui: Look at this tree, Shifu. (Indicates the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom) I cannot make it blossom when it suits me, nor make it bear fruit before its time.

Shifu: But there are things we can control! (Slams a fist into the tree, making several peaches fall) I can control when the fruit will fall! (A peach then hits him on the head, unnerving him, then he catches a peach, cuts it in half, takes the pit and slams it into the ground) And I can control where to plant the seed! That is no illusion, Master!

Ugui: Ah, yes. But no matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach.

Shifu: But a peach cannot defeat Tai Lung!

Ugui: Maybe it can - if you are willing to guide it, to nurture it, to believe in it. (Covers the seed with dirt, thus beginning its growth.)

Shifu: I need your help, Master.

Ugui: No. You just need to believe. Promise me, Shifu. Promise me you will believe.

Shifu: I...I will...try.

Humility

Humility is the path of happiness. We cannot see ourselves and our relationship to creation in true clarity unless we recognize our dependence upon and interconnectedness with the whole. Divisions between a man and his brothers replace harmony with self-justification and pride, while empathy is stifled by independence. Those who follow Jesus Christ's injunction to become as a little child liberate themselves from the self-concern and an obsession for control that inhibits their freedom to give and receive love.

Thoreau on riches

"The rich man...is always sold to the institution which makes him rich."

-Henry David Thoreau

(in "Civil Disobedience")

Three movies to elevate your perspective

Each of these movies offers a valuable lesson in decision making. They raise questions about our motivations, our prejudices, and the values that govern our lives.

1. 12 Angry Men

2. The Bridge on the River Kwai

3. Sophie Scholl - The Final Days

Reverence for the pursuit of knowledge

"A man goes to knowledge as he goes to war, wide awake, with fear, with respect, and with absolute assurance. Going to knowledge or going to war in any other manner is a mistake, and whoever makes it will live to regret his steps." (Carlos Castenada, The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, 1968)

While I doubt that anyone can have an "absolute assurance" of the consequences of their going to war or their pursuit of knowledge, Don Juan makes a powerful point with his analogy. Knowledge has the power to destroy or to create. If those who seek knowledge desire to be good stewards of their discoveries, they must approach their quest with reverence and humility. They must remain ever vigilant against the counterfeit conclusions and vain assumptions that would deceive them. Not all knowledge is truth. Knowledge will take your ignorance and innocence, but it does not have to take your optimism or virtue.

The Power of Ideas

From Wendell Berry's "A Continuous Harmony"

"If you aren't for us you're against us, somebody is always saying. That seems like a sad little pair of options, insofar as to any kind of intelligence the possibilities ought to be numerous, if not infinite. Intelligence consists in being for and against such things as political movements up to a point, which it is the task of the intelligence to define. In my judgement intelligence never goes whole hog for anything public, especially political movements. Across the whole range of politics now (and I suppose always) you find people willing to act on the assumption that there is some simple abstraction that will explain and solve the problems of the world, and who go direct from the discovery of the abstraction to the forming of an organization to promote it. In my opinion those people are all about equally dangerous, and I don't believe anything they say. What I hold out for is the possibility that a man can live decently without knowing all the answers, or believing that he does--can live decently even in the understanding that life is unspeakably complex and unspeakably subtle in its complexity. The decency, I think, would be in acting out of the awareness that personal acts of compassion, love, humility, honesty are better and more adequate responses to that complexity than any public abstraction or theory or organization. What is wrong with our cities--and I don't see how you can have a great civilization without great cities--may be that the mode of life in them has become almost inescapably organizational.

"It used to be that every time I heard of some public action somewhere to promote some cause I believe in, I would be full of guilt because I wasn't there. If they were marching in Washington to protest the war, and if I deplored the war, then how could my absence from Washington be anything but a sin? That was the organizational protestant conscience: In order to believe in my virtue I needed some organization to pat me on the head and tell me I was virtuous. But if I can't promote what I hope for in Port Royal, Ky., then why go to Washington to promote it?

"What succeeds in Port Royal succeeds in the world." (Wendell Berry, "A Continuous Harmony", 1972, pp. 49-50)