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Many Voices, One Song
By
Dr.
Anthony G. Payne At the heart of
each of us are 3 primal drives that give rise to and inform most, if not all of
the human behavior (Individually and collectively). Click here to read http://14ushop.com/wizard/3PrimalDrivesEssay.html
. In science and many other fields, reductionism of this sort helps us see what
is fundamental to many aspects of reality. However, while "unified field
theories" in physics, psychology, or what-have-you make explicable what was
previously inexplicable, unveiling a beauty and simplicity beneath the surface
that is awe-inspiring and even fruitful at many levels, it isn't always
possible to take mechanism (however meaningful or purposeful) and forge tools or
methods from it that advance human culture. For example,
consider the Periodic Table or the alphabet. For all the richness inherent in
them as foundational, they gain their greatest utility in combination. Elements
combine to make compounds that are the building blocks of all things. Letters
take on a power to transform or inform when combined into units with an agreed
connection to physical objects, abstract ideas and such. We can take physical elements and
build skyscrapers on the one hand, and thermonuclear bombs on the other. And
with words we can fashion social orders that champion freedom, fairness and
tolerance on the one hand, "empire and death camps on
the other, "and many permutations in between. However, knowing
the underlying or fundamental mechanisms or laws from which our world proceeds
can favorably influence the social, political and economic tapestry we
weave. Consider the 3 primal
drives: All of us want to acquire certain basic things crucial to survival (and
more), preserve what we manage to gather about us, and perpetuate it so as to
benefit our progeny and the community that nurtures and protects them. We can do
this using rational and moral means so that fairness and mutual benefit are
emphasized, or we can opt for something else entirely. From village to
nation-state to confederations of nation-states, all kinds of mechanisms and
structures have been fashioned to facilitate the satisfaction of human drives
and needs. Some are met
through local means, some through national devices, some transnational, while
others are met or placated or constrained through religious or fraternal
franchises, committees or unions convened for specific ends, and so forth. However, they all deal with
meeting or satisfying some aspect of the human condition, and this most often
through the allocation and judicious use of material and/or human
resources. In a way, all these
various local entities and networks of entities (state, national or
transnational) are functional algorithms of a sort means of solving problems
and/or meeting needs and/or helping folks cope -- through semi-invariant
procedures. Some merely point the
way to viable solutions and are thus more heuristic in nature. And some combine elements of both (Known
as a "heuristic algorithm" or of being "algorithmic" in scientific
parlance). Those mechanisms,
approaches and institutions (Hereafter referred to as "devices") that give us
a leg up in meeting needs, solving problems, and coping do us an additional
service when they facilitate helping us create meaning for our lives or at least
set the stage for freeing us to do so.
Consider the "welfare office experience": The monies that keep indigent
people alive is welcome, yes but is oftentimes delivered with out the warmth,
concern or guidance that helps steer folks onto the road to
self-sufficiency. A church,
synagogue or mosque that provides money or food to the disadvantaged often adds
a needed "human touch" missing from government offices. While most of us
would readily agree with the idea that these devices could be improved or
reformed, powerful arguments exist indicating that many of them should be
scrapped or abolished altogether.
Like musicians trying to finely tune their instruments, we are
perennially engaged in trying to achieve the most appealing, melodic tones
possible. Somehow we hope
that between local efforts and national ones, the resultant symphony will be a
harmonious and beautiful. Of course, in order
to create a wondrous symphonic work, the members of the orchestra (people and
the society they comprise) must agree on how the orchestra will be run, how the
music will be written and revised, and who will set the pace for the ensemble
(The orchestra leader). In
the Each of these has
its devices for handling resources and meeting the basic needs of its
citizenry. Some work fairly
well, though they foster inequities and the marginalization of certain classes,
ethnic or racial subgroups, or the like. For example, the American
democracy has built, finagled, and (yes) grabbed tremendous power and wealth,
but not without creating all kinds of inequities and injustices both at home and
abroad. The American people
are arguably the most materially prosperous people in history, yet have a
healthcare system that in many ways trails behind the Canadians, Japanese and
others. Americans buy and mortgage
more and more material things, yet are more depressed and anxiety ridden than
perhaps at any point in the past century.
Life grows longer and in some ways more secure, but quantity appears to
be ascendant over quality. The
capitalistic spirit unbridled competition -- the gridiron mentality -- has
permeated everything from the boardroom to the bedroom to the playground. The American system appears poised to
fulfill Karl Marx's prediction that capitalism corrupts, implodes, and then
collapses (This is not to argue that necessarily offered a better set of devices
for meeting a peoples needs and potentialities. But his
extrapolations his predictions do seem uncannily
accurate). The Japanese
democratic experiment, on the other hand, has managed to create and sustain a
middle class that encompasses 95% of her people, made comprehensive national
health care available to most, and has forged a social order that has one of the
lowest crime rates in the industrialized world. There are signs that these devices are
beginning to falter, but even so the Japanese willingness to adapt to
contingency coupled with the group-driven ethic of their hardworking people may
patch up and keep the Japanese sociopolitical engine running far into the
future. While the devices
that help the democracies press forward appear to work well to varying degrees,
the same can not be said of dictatorships (secular and theocratic). One of the
major flaws inherent to all totalitarian systems is that the devices that help
the people meet their needs belong to a political machine that imposes a reality
on people that is at variance with their nature. Hit, cage or force an animal to follow a
specific agenda or pattern that is inconsistent with or even contrary to its
nature, and you will eventually get a depressed,
disgruntled, angry animal that snarls and strikes back as best it can. People, of course can and do adapt to
this unnatural social "machinery", but not without experiencing various kinds
of emotional and mental pain and angst. Quality and quantity of life are
compromised in lands ruled by the shackle and whip, where people conform solely
out of fear of the horrors that await dissenters in state-sanctioned torture
chambers and prisons. The
leaders of these malignant enterprises also appear given to define or impose
what they feel makes life meaningful -- or at the very least interpret from
religious or secular sources or both what gives life meaning. State-sanctioned
devices and the political machine that creates and/or sustains them generally
should not engage in attempts to define (much less impose) what gives life
meaning. They can provide
purpose in many instances or foster conditions that are conducive to finding
purpose, but not meaning itself. And truly progressive governments will strive
to achieve and maintain conditions that are in harmony with human nature, that
help folks meet their basic needs in a fair and equitable fashion, and which
affords their citizenry the opportunity to seek out what gives their lives
meaning. Of course, a congress or
parliament comprised of elected representatives of the people can't help but
reflect some shared and individual notions of what gives life meaning, though
prudent governmental bodies strive to limit such influence in making laws and
such. To do otherwise risks
having a minority viewpoint compromise the best interests of the majority or
vice versa.
But what of private or sectarian
devices? We all have them. They are our means of coping, meeting
our basic needs, even flourishing be they religious, secular or a blend of
both. Most of us belong to a local
band (Think back to the symphony analogy) a small collective or branch of
a larger one whose devices we utilize or become a part of in order to achieve
certain ends (Material and otherwise).
So long as these bands do not inflict harm or violate the laws the
citizenry has agree to live by, such devices thrive and fulfill the purposes
ordained by their constituency (They are "moral"). Up to and including providing
meaning in life or facilitating finding such meaning. They may be playing
different tunes, yes, but as they compete in the "marketplace of ideas" most
wisely choose not to play a tune that attracts rather than offends those outside
the band (If not for the sake of tolerance, then to keep from scaring off
prospective converts or members). The question
arises, could all the bands (peoples) of the world tool together a musical piece
that would be played by all without sacrificing or compromising their
individual, favored anthems and tunes?
Can the world community achieve a utopian harmony and maintain it?
I'd Like To Teach The World To SingDuring
1971 Coca Cola launched a commercial that featured a musical group called "The
New Seekers" singing a cheery, upbeat tune titled "I'd Like To Teach the World
To Sing (In Perfect Harmony)." The
lyrics include ones that beautifully capture the appeal of a utopian kind of
harmony: I'd like to teach the world to sing Exactly what is
involved in collectively writing (as it were) a global song of harmony? Which is to say, transcending the many
differences, xenophobic and ethnocentric tendencies, religious quarrels, and
such within and between nations and groups, in order to achieve a peaceful,
peace-loving and peace-preserving global
community? Too,"well".utopian?! I'm sure the creation of an
enduring democracy in a land of people boasting a multitude of languages,
cultural traditions, and religions must have seemed just as unlikely back in the
18th century. But the American experiment took root and
flourished. How did a nation
of diverse nations succeed in forging a viable social and political order that
basically (though gradually and haltingly) subsumed and bound together all its
constituents, worked to transcend differences (though not without great pain),
and maintain a species of harmony that (though often frayed) has yet to come
unraveled? Is the American
system the end result of good geography, good ideas and good luck (As in seizing
opportunities)? In part, yes.
But from its birth there was
laid a foundation without which the many strands would have been unlikely to be
wound together to form the one strong rope it has become: An express vision or template that all
who call themselves Americans would embrace and defend. This vision or template
included many elements such as the preeminence of basic articulated freedoms and
rights for all; the rule of law; a democratically elected, representative
government with constraints on the power exercised by its main branches; and so
forth. Now this is not to say that the success
of the "American way" is a mandate for it to become the
" Do I propose to
now lay before you the framework for such a transnational vision or template?
In a word,
no. The purpose I have
in mind for this brief foray into "politics" is to (hopefully) get you
thinking and talking about the foundational elements that should go into the
composition of a transcendent "global symphony". Surely it must be a work that is written
by all the peoples of the world and not imposed by the powerful or any one
interest or confederation of interests.
For if it can't be freely
and joyously sung by everyone, it is almost certain to spawn misery and
darkness. If it is not a universal
symphony, "..it may well be a funeral
dirge. Submitted for your
consideration on © 2004 by Dr.
Anthony G. Payne. All rights reserved worldwide. Return to Home Page |