Dogmatic Revision Inertia

I wrote this twelve years ago and it is even more pertinent today than it was then:

I have been devoting some thought toward the paradigm paralysis that is infecting western society and causing us to accept two dimensional and short sighted leadership despite the overwhelming evidence that our culture is in decline. Somehow we have arrived at this point in time where our culture’s materialistic ambitions have appreciated beyond our spiritual values. If the planet is going to have a minimal chance of survival, people are going to have to adjust their definition of quality of life to include the quality of the air they breath, the water they drink, the food they eat, and the company they share.

Values can be classified into two groups: Personal Values and Cultural Values. I believe that as individuals, on a whole, our personal value system tends to be compatible with a peaceful, healthy planet. Our cultural values however, contradict our personal values and are actually systematically destroying those personal values. The crux of the matter is that cultural values tend to be doctrinal and ideological in nature and rooted in political and religious dogma making them very difficult to change. Where does one begin?

If, as individuals, we begin demanding our leadership represent our personal values, cultural values would shift to reflect this ideology. The problem with dogma is that it is taught and passed down from teacher to student. Very little creative thought is applied to qualify learned dogma and it tends to be accepted without question. In order to deconstruct accepted dogma, one must be motivated to consider alternative tenets.

Part of the problem with trying to initiate change is obtaining access to the people who need to listen. Typically lectures and dissertations are only attended and read by others who already have an interest in the subject or issue being presented. These people are already convinced and therefore not our primary target. This is why post secondary institutions are a hot bed of activism. Many students have a veil lifted from their eyes when they are forced to read and research assignments on subjects chosen by their programs, not themselves. Anyone in a teaching position has the power and responsibility to lift that veil of indifference from each and every one of their students. Dogma must become rooted in empirical experience and a priori deduction as opposed to the acceptance of indiscriminate convictions.

The bottom line again is accountability. If we become accountable as teachers for eliminating mindless indifference and if we become accountable as individuals for demanding representation of our personal values by our leaders, our society will begin to adopt cultural values that are more in harmony with our planet’s needs.

“No country or people who are slaves to dogma and the dogmatic mentality can progress, and unhappily our country and people have become extraordinarily dogmatic and little-minded” - Jawahairal Nehru (1889 - 1964)

Election

So I participated in the Climate March yesterday. Full confession - it wasn’t my first and it won’t be my last.

I’m not a big fan of protests but we are running out of options to get some ideas through to those in charge. The scientists have spoken and it is pretty much unanimous - we’ve screwed up our environment and we are about to pay the price. The time for change is long past and so it is now or never. Yet the people with the power and responsibility to guide us in the right direction seem reluctant to change the destructive course we are currently on.

Whenever I hear a politician utter the propaganda that we need to temper any positive change for the environment with caution so that we do not affect the economy, I am dumbfounded. Do they think the science cares about the economy? You can’t eat the money in your wallet and you can’t buy food that is not available. We need to think about what is truly important and when I do that, I do not see anything more important than Mother Earth. Everything we have is due to her - INCLUDING OUR PRECIOUS ECONOMY! Destroy her and we destroy ourselves.

Vote for your future, our children are depending on you.

“The general population doesn’t know what’s happening, and it doesn’t even know that it doesn’t know.” – Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)

It Is Time

The past provincial election ramped up the divisive rhetoric about the provincial economy and the climate change disaster. The current federal election is proving to be just as divisive along the same issues.

I don’t understand the “Alberta First” attitude when it comes to the oil industry. Our economy is in the mess it is in because we have no other industry in this province. If a politician really wants to put Alberta first, you would think they would be running on a platform of economic diversification, not doubling down on coal and petroleum. For a province that is traditionally conservative, you would think there would be more people speaking out about the over-subsidization of the oil industry. As lawyer Eugene Kung famously said: “The idea of building this [Trans Mountain pipeline] expansion, which essentially locks in production and expansion of the oil sands for the next several decades, is the exact wrong direction we need to go. It'd be like building a Blockbuster Video franchise in 2012."

The point is, oil is past its prime. Holding out for just one more boom is basically the low hanging fruit that gets gobbled up by politicians with no plan or ethics. That strategy only serves to get them elected, it does not serve the future of the population they supposedly represent.

My livelihood has always depended upon the petroleum industry. I have lived through many booms and busts and my family benefited and suffered accordingly. I don’t understand why we continue to allow our politicians to lock us into an economy that is dependent upon a dying industry. Yes jobs are on the line but we don’t see blacksmiths lining up for subsidies to keep their industry alive. It is tough but we need to adapt. Economies must evolve.

“My formula for success is rise early, work late, and strike oil.” - J. Paul Getty (1892 - 1976)

Respect

Respect can be a difficult concept to truly understand. Everyone, even psychopaths, eventually will figure out how to show respect. It is one of those things we learn to do to get what we want. Just because you can show it doesn’t mean you know it.

Respect is something either you have or you don’t. There are not degrees of respect. When you know respect it permeates into all your actions, not just some of them.

The planet needs less selfishness. We don’t even have enough people showing respect let alone knowing respect. Everything doesn’t have to include the “what’s in it for me” proposition. The best way to help yourself is to put others first. Think before you act and make sure your actions reflect your values not your wants and for everyone’s sake, please learn to recognize the difference.

“If we lose love and self respect for each other, this is how we finally die.” - Maya Angelou (1928- 2014)