I've been thinking a bit about the world today. About why it is the way that it is. About ways it could be better (naturally), and how perennial a problem that is. There seems something...inevitable...about it all.
I suppose I ought to explain what 'it' is in the first place.
'It' refers to the inevitable growth of an elite, one that increasingly grows out of touch and eventually loses power in the process. 'It' is a world where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer (until disruption of some sort occurs, temporarily reversing that...only for a new group to wind up on top, and start getting richer).
'It' is this sense of inevitability, this sense that we're always fighting the same damn fight. And that, ultimately, it doesn't really help anybody. Not the top 1%, not the bottom 99%, nobody.
There is a certain sense of inevitability, because this age-old pattern repeats itself over and over again for the same reason - human nature.
It's not that the people on top are all greedy, selfish, and self-centered idiots. If I were in their shoes, I would probably see things the same way. Well, not now of course. I think I've had far too many years being on the other end for that. (Maybe. It is true that people change their opinions a lot based on who they're around, so if I somehow did join the 1% maybe I'd change more than I think.)
Some of it also comes from our own natural desire. For safety. Security. To leave our children in a better place. So of course that Ivy League graduate is going to ensure their darling child gets into the same school. And of course they'll pay for extra tutoring to achieve that, if necessary. And of course they'd support their child in all those extra-curriculars that look good on a college application. I'd probably do the same if I had the resources. And all of these activities are things my Little, from Big Brothers Big Sisters, has no hope at all of having. It's hard making sure she gets to band concerts, or to her archery practices and tournaments, and she's able to do so partly because I (someone who is not her mother, or grandparent, or the father she hasn't seen in years) helped drive her to these things any number of times.
What's funny in a tragic kind of way is that I don't really think anyone's happy with all this. I can't speak for everyone, of course. Humans are far too varied for that. And there's a reason why our Declaration of Independence only said we had a right to the "Pursuit of Happiness." We're pretty awful at figuring out how to actually be happy.
There are studies about what does, and they match my own beliefs rather well. Top-most factor is our social connections. People feel happy when they have strong ties to other people. Friends. Family. Not the artificial ties where you can't really be yourself, not the show people put on when they're pursuing success...the meaningful ties you get from being around people you have good relationships with.
Also, going back to the whole Man's Search for Meaning, it comes from feeling as though what you are doing is important. Meaningful. Serving some greater purpose than just yourself.
Which is why I find it kind of sad when our elites seem selfish and self-centered. Like...are you really, truly, and honestly happy? Here you are with everything society says are signs of success, and yet you seem somehow cut off from other people. Isolated. Stuck with superficial and shallow relationships where you can never really speak your mind, always have to portray some sort of image.
Of course, depressing as that all is, I do like to believe it's not inevitable. Even though I said that at the beginning. I suppose that's what I kind of like about some of the more topsy-turvy stories in the Bible. You know, the ones that go against everything we know about success and human nature. Like that Moses might have had a speech impediment of some sort. Perhaps even stuttered. That's hardly the image of a polished and charismatic leader. In some ways, it also reminds me of Chuang Tzu. Or, more particularly, this bit (copied from this translation):
I won't say I've experienced this for myself, but I have noticed that people can grow more or less attractive the more you get to know them. That is, an attractive person starts looking ugly as you realize they've got an ugly personality. And an unattractive person can start looking pretty darn good as you get to know them. So, too, can some people become leaders despite not having the perfect looks.
And yet our system is so focused on charismatic appearances!!!
To bring this back to the world today - to growing inequality, and an elite that comes across as self-satisfied and selfish - forcing people to be generous doesn't seem like the right answer. Then it's done for the wrong reasons, and breeds resentment. Yet I find it sad that so many people find reasons to shut themselves off from their fellow man.
We all become lesser, somehow, in the process.
I suppose I ought to explain what 'it' is in the first place.
'It' refers to the inevitable growth of an elite, one that increasingly grows out of touch and eventually loses power in the process. 'It' is a world where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer (until disruption of some sort occurs, temporarily reversing that...only for a new group to wind up on top, and start getting richer).
'It' is this sense of inevitability, this sense that we're always fighting the same damn fight. And that, ultimately, it doesn't really help anybody. Not the top 1%, not the bottom 99%, nobody.
There is a certain sense of inevitability, because this age-old pattern repeats itself over and over again for the same reason - human nature.
It's not that the people on top are all greedy, selfish, and self-centered idiots. If I were in their shoes, I would probably see things the same way. Well, not now of course. I think I've had far too many years being on the other end for that. (Maybe. It is true that people change their opinions a lot based on who they're around, so if I somehow did join the 1% maybe I'd change more than I think.)
Some of it also comes from our own natural desire. For safety. Security. To leave our children in a better place. So of course that Ivy League graduate is going to ensure their darling child gets into the same school. And of course they'll pay for extra tutoring to achieve that, if necessary. And of course they'd support their child in all those extra-curriculars that look good on a college application. I'd probably do the same if I had the resources. And all of these activities are things my Little, from Big Brothers Big Sisters, has no hope at all of having. It's hard making sure she gets to band concerts, or to her archery practices and tournaments, and she's able to do so partly because I (someone who is not her mother, or grandparent, or the father she hasn't seen in years) helped drive her to these things any number of times.
What's funny in a tragic kind of way is that I don't really think anyone's happy with all this. I can't speak for everyone, of course. Humans are far too varied for that. And there's a reason why our Declaration of Independence only said we had a right to the "Pursuit of Happiness." We're pretty awful at figuring out how to actually be happy.
There are studies about what does, and they match my own beliefs rather well. Top-most factor is our social connections. People feel happy when they have strong ties to other people. Friends. Family. Not the artificial ties where you can't really be yourself, not the show people put on when they're pursuing success...the meaningful ties you get from being around people you have good relationships with.
Also, going back to the whole Man's Search for Meaning, it comes from feeling as though what you are doing is important. Meaningful. Serving some greater purpose than just yourself.
Which is why I find it kind of sad when our elites seem selfish and self-centered. Like...are you really, truly, and honestly happy? Here you are with everything society says are signs of success, and yet you seem somehow cut off from other people. Isolated. Stuck with superficial and shallow relationships where you can never really speak your mind, always have to portray some sort of image.
Of course, depressing as that all is, I do like to believe it's not inevitable. Even though I said that at the beginning. I suppose that's what I kind of like about some of the more topsy-turvy stories in the Bible. You know, the ones that go against everything we know about success and human nature. Like that Moses might have had a speech impediment of some sort. Perhaps even stuttered. That's hardly the image of a polished and charismatic leader. In some ways, it also reminds me of Chuang Tzu. Or, more particularly, this bit (copied from this translation):
A man with a club foot, a stooped posture, and who had no lips explained his theories to Duke Ling of Wei. Duke Ling was so won over by the guy that he thought anyone who would be considered to have a perfect form would have to have the same neck and shoulders as him. A man with a goiter on his neck as big as a huge jar explained his theories to Duke Huan of Qi. Duke Huan was so won over by the guy that he thought anyone who would be considered to have a perfect form would have to have the same neck and shoulders as him. Therefore, when virtue is predominant, a person's physical form is forgotten. If people remember what was forgotten, and then forget what was remembered - that can be called true forgetting.
I won't say I've experienced this for myself, but I have noticed that people can grow more or less attractive the more you get to know them. That is, an attractive person starts looking ugly as you realize they've got an ugly personality. And an unattractive person can start looking pretty darn good as you get to know them. So, too, can some people become leaders despite not having the perfect looks.
And yet our system is so focused on charismatic appearances!!!
To bring this back to the world today - to growing inequality, and an elite that comes across as self-satisfied and selfish - forcing people to be generous doesn't seem like the right answer. Then it's done for the wrong reasons, and breeds resentment. Yet I find it sad that so many people find reasons to shut themselves off from their fellow man.
We all become lesser, somehow, in the process.
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