It didn’t have to be this difficult ...

As I look at the leaping increases in inequality, the grasping greed and fear of rampant “conservatism”, and the moral backsliding of selfishness and materialism that manifests as, amongst other things, democratic decay, the thought that crosses my mind is: 

It didn’t have to be this difficult ...

Almost every single analysis I’ve read focuses on the actions of the elite of the elite, but the truth of the matter is that they are able to exercise that power because we let them. 

We don’t need to have revolutions as much as we need to learn to speak up for decency when things show signs that they could be about to start going wrong to prevent the need for a revolution later. 

In my lifetime, I can remember when economic rationalists starting destroying our social fabric - but that only could happen because politicians aligned with that “philosophy” could get votes and business leaders could impose the fallacy of everything have a monetary value and cost that should be weighted on a soulless scale - and community leaders went along with it ... 

I had arguments with a shire clerk (who represented one of the company's main clients - oops) in the 80s that trying to convert everything to a dollar value was impossible, but he was so taken in by the ... simplicity? glamour? apparent comprehensibility? of simple numbers rather than human feelings and hearts and souls that he was like someone entranced - or drugged (I’ll have more to say on that at my main blog ... see here). 

What if people had said 

“no, that doesn’t seem right. I don’t have the words but I’m not going to vote for you/go along with you because it isn’t right”?

What if people had reacted the same way when patriarchy came into existence? 

Instead of tolerating or acceding to problematic behaviour/notions (I can still remember talking to the head of a company who appointed the worst ever manager I have experienced, who basically admitted they gave him a go to stop him nagging them - instead of having the courage of their convictions and saying “no, we don’t think you’re the right fit we want for that position. Now stop nagging us”) or supporting it, what if community - or at least community leaders - had said no ...

There is a need to address the actions of the powerful now - unquestionably (see this, for example). 

But having done so, we also need to learn to stand up for decency, humaneness, and being human. 

Then, if we can win back our world, well have a better chance of keeping it. 

And to learn that and do that in the future (for who ever of us survives the climate crisis and other existential threats), it is important to consider why people did support these nonsensical - no, harmful - notions. 

Did they want to be rich? That’s greed. 

Did they want social status? That’s insecurity. 

Did they want to be looked after? That’s laziness and fear.

Did they think they would be looked after or share the glory of their master? That’s amathia and/or naïveté.

Do they still want/or think any of those? That’s a challenge to us.

Those are all personality characteristics - as also exhibited all the ranters who decry emotions or speak unemotionally when they claim their perversion of “rationality” will make the world a better place. 

It hasn’t at any time in the past, it isn’t now, and it won’t in any future we humans may have left to us - or some of us, at any rate. 

We need to learn to speak up for decency when things show signs that they could be about to start going wrong.

If they are of any use of interest, the activism information links from my former news posts are available in this post. 

 

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Finally, remember: we need to be more human being rather than human doing.