civilization

Excerpts from The Trump Diaries: Civility and Courage

The new conservative movement, led for four years by the Trump administration, has made a mockery of social norms that have held this country together, that have made it possible for us as a nation to work together despite differences.  These attacks on social norms are often dismissed as unimportant, but the fact of the matter is, is that social norms such as consideration and courtesy make up the foundation of civilization.

But the apathy towards the unraveling of common courtesy and consideration for others is perhaps more dangerous than the unravelling itself.  As the world has watched the political discourse of America devolve into personal attacks, blatant lies, alternative “facts”, and even criminal slander, Trump has done nothing other than fan the flames of tribalism and nationalism and his own psychopathic agenda.  Worse, this reinvention of politics into a team sports, primarily bolstered by the conservative movement since Eisenhower, adds fuel to the already out of control fire of lies that continue to undermine the concept of a common good.

If there is a solution to the mess that Trump and the conservative movement continue to create it will have to include civil, political discourse and the acceptance of an objective reality (i.e. alternative “facts” are simply delusional lies at best).  But it must not include bowing down to the lies, the greed, and the stupidity that have come to define the Republican party, Donald Trump and his followers.  Courtesy does not mean kowtowing and consideration does not imply acceptance and tolerance at any and all costs.

Logic

Logic will not save us but it is not because it cannot. It is unfortunate that logic cannot save us because as civilizations are built upon the shoulders of giants they are destroyed by the hands of fools

The fools among us turn their crooked backs on logic and cut the branch upon which they sit. Those who do not put a price on logic are those who do not put a price on anything of value. At best they are stupid and at worst they are liars and cheats.

Those that dismiss logic are those that dismiss the importance of not only being and doing good but of their own potential, their very lives; and perhaps most importantly, they dismiss those that do.

Truth is Like Poetry: 12

Problem: Social Disconnect

While individuals have historically relied primarily on family and tribal ties, in modern societies we have been given the opportunity to broaden our horizons because of agriculture and economic systems.  From there, technology has further allowed us comfort and lastly ease in acquiring comfort.  Now modern societies and individuals seem to be slowly losing the historic ties to one another that we’ve had throughout history.

      Today it is not uncommon to see people with a cellphone in their hands almost all of the time, or seemingly talking to themselves (and not paying attention) while on walks with their dogs and/or children, or with friends.  This lack of connection with our environments and with each other is becoming ubiquitous and as it grows our very real need for each other is forgotten.  The problem is that we actually need each other in many ways.

      First, in order to have a civil society we must ourselves act civil.  To act civil we must be responsible and courteous citizens.  These are processes that are necessary not only for individuals, but for groups of individuals.  The internet, rather than actual discussion has taken over much social discourse.  Individuals text while in the company of others.  And the longer that this goes on, the more normalized it gets. The more normalized these slights become the less connected we become with the world around us.  While these seeming slights are seen by many as little nothings, they make up a large portion of what makes societies civil in the first place: our actual connection to those around us and the environment that we find ourselves. 

      As civility wanes because of social disconnections, we are slowly slipping into uncivil practices that then become more normalized.  It is a vicious cycle.

Solution:  Clubs/family connections, social mindset change, and tech company regulation

            The solution to social disconnect must start with individuals’ decisions to live their lives in healthy ways.  Individuals must understand that the “latest fad”, the “newest shiny object” in the arsenal of our consumeristic societies is not always worth the price we pay.  This will, perhaps, happen with time, but it will need to be pushed along by individual’s understanding that they are being fenagled, fed their opinions, and are to great degree, influenced by others, especially sales and marketing.  The decision to “think for one’s self” is influenced a great deal by technical companies.

            Recently most of the social-media giants have been found out to actually be the sellers and buyers of a us as products.  Many if not most of their dealings could be considered immoral at best, and illegal at worst.  For these reasons strict regulation of what tech companies can and cannot say and do must be enacted.  Again, the reminder that this solution is not about censorship, but about the capitalistic motivations behind tech companies.

            Perhaps another solution is to create a society in which the concept of family is once again put central to society.  The family unit in past decades has been the victim of poverty, drugs, consumerism, and general malaise caused by the infatuation of money by society.  This needs to change.  These solutions are not simple nor should they be.  We have allowed ourselves to be herded and corralled.  Now we must make the decision to be free once again.

Civility

During these trying, political times it is easy to forget that we all want the same things. At least the sane among us. Travel anywhere in the world and this simple statement will be proven time and time again. Talk to your neighbor and you will find out that is applies. The things that we all want is safety, security and a little happiness. How do we get these things? Civility.

Somewhere down the road we have duped ourselves. We have decided civility is simply the basis of all other goods, that it will always be, that it will always exist. This is our mistake. And another mistake that we often make is that being civil implies agreeing or even liking someone else. It does not.

Civility is a fragile state that exists only when people realize that we all define the society in which we live. The question is what kind of society do we want to live in? There are only two answers: a civil one or an uncivilized one. So what does civility require?

In the Ancestor’s Tale, Richard Dawkins studies the evolutionary fact that we are all related and that we do not have to go so far back in time to realize that. Civility requires that we all realize that we are related and that we have to live together. Civility also requires that we discuss differences and call out obvious wrongs, but it also requires that we realize that differences are not all bad and that some wrongs are not so obvious. Civility requires rational thought and the understanding that if we do not work together that we will all fail.

Civility takes time, but without civility we may not have that much time left. I may not like my family all of the time, but they are the only family I have. And so it is with humanity.

Space

spaceSpace is amazing thing.  We create things to create space; we place things to create certain spaces and we rely upon people to give us space.  Space surrounds us; it makes up most of the universe and yet we are surrounded by barriers.

Once asked the job of government the answer was simple: to create space for a civilized society.

Once asked why read, the answer was simple: to create space in our minds for imagination.

Why learn?  To create space for curiosity.

Why be curious?  To create space for progress.

We all need space to ourselves and to allow space for others.  This is not just tolerance; we must not tolerate stupidity or incompetence.  But we must leave space for those who do not want to be or to remain stupid; to be or to remain incompetent.

There must be space for them and the change that they search for in the space that they live in.

There must be space for change; and it is in the spaces that we create that life happens.