A new year, a new approach

An obnoxious purple dinosaur once remarked that sharing is caring, and despite my aversion to the character himself, I will freely admit, he does have a point. Sharing can take on any number of forms, and there is a line when crossed turns sharing into interference, so we should generally follow his advice, but not blindly. I mean, one of the reasons I blog is to share ... my questions about people and life, my thoughts about the world around me ... not because I primarily think that I have something of value to add to the already overburdened channels of communication we are subject to in our everyday lives, but because there might be someone here or there who stumbles across this or that and perhaps pauses to consider, think, question, or even seriously reflect. It doesn't matter (to me, at any rate) whether you believe in G-d or some other kind of Supreme Being or evolution and chance, the fact remains that we humans have minds and like the saying goes, minds are a terrible thing to waste. But let's face it, when we look out into the world, it's easy to get the feeling that more are being wasted than used, let alone used wisely.

One of the primary mind enhancers that we possess is the simple fact that our minds become better/stronger/more adaptable/insightful/open/critical/capable the more we use them. Please note, I'm not talking about the brain, which is a mere physical organ. No, I'm talking about whatever it is that goes on in/via/by means of that organ that we can't grasp with any of our physical senses. I'm talking about a quality of the brain -- albeit it a potential quality -- not some mere measurable quantity.

And so, instead of simply trying to explain things, or criticizing the faults in many people's thinking, or pointing out the flaws in logic that we are so often subjected to, or merely pleading that we should be less hateful and kinder to one another, I would like to invite you to participate in an often-claimed-but-rarely-exihibited, highly-praised-but-seldom-practiced, often-maligned-but-never-decimated, highly-suspect-and-highly-dangerous adventure called reflective critical thinking. As you suspect, all thinking-based activities are threateningly close to one's own thought processes and belief systems, and thus can be considered "philosophical". Philosophy, as Wikipedia or any dictionary will quickly tell us, comes from the Greek word meaning "love of wisdom". Wisdom is, sadly, in short supply these days, but you can only get it if you use your mind to explore the whys and wherefores of your world. That means, for better or for worse, that you have to take a few minutes now and then to retreat from the world of hustle-and-bustle, job-family-money, and stimuli bombardment to simply think about what you think.

Karl-Otto Apel, a German philosopher, once remarked that the practice of philosophy is in essence the scrutinizing and questioning of things that are self-evident (das Hinterfragen von Selbstverständlichkeiten); that is things we simply take for granted. Sometimes -- most times, I would maintain -- it is to our advantage to simply try and get to the roots of why some things are. It has two very huge advantages: first, it allows us to simply think a bit differently than we do every day (change can be refreshing), and second, it gives us an opportunity to take a closer look at ourselves without having to expose ourselves to others (insight can be, well, insightful).

And so, in the coming posts, should you encounter topics that are not what you normally expect or that appear to be more than obvious, I welcome you to take a closer look and give it all just a bit more thought. Nothing is as it appears, but everything is simply as we know it.

The power of questioning power

Most things come full circle ... well, they do if you allow them enough time to take their course. The question of power and the question of questioning power is one of those things.

When you get right down to it, "power" -- whatever it is, whoever is exercising it, in which form it comes or in which systems it disguises itself -- has one, and only one, "tool": fear. Power is powerful, because you are afraid. It is that simple.

One of my biggest heros, one of the individuals who walked this earth for whom I have the greatest and utmost respect, used to preface many, many things that he said with the simple words, "Fear not, fear not ..." In modern phraseology: "Don't be afraid ... ". Yes, yes, yes, we have gone through all the trivializations of this simple idea, and so we haven't come to realize just how trivial the idea is. And now, we return, after such a long diversion, to the root of the problem. How can you "speak truth to power", or question, even challenge, authority without real risk of repression? It's quite simple, really: ask questions.

Although I grew up in an age that scholastically lauded the Socratic method, questioning authority was simply something "you just didn't do". It was impolite, cheeky, pushy, cocky, and downright, insulting. Still, there are ways to simply "ask a question" that is none of these. What is more, when asked in the proper way, in the proper tone, at the proper time, a question can, and most often does, appear as a simple quest for knowledge and wisdom from someone who apparently and supposedly "knows". It is one thing to rebuke a claim, an assertion, a statement, but it is quite another to not respond to someone who is early seeking "to know".

Power always has the responsibility to answer a well-meant question, even if it may not want to answer at all. Power cannot simply reject a question, for to do so would expose it for what it really is: power for power's sake. Yet, we can learn from the three-year-old: keep questioning until the questioned can no longer answer, until his/her own power-based logic simply collapses upon itself. And, believe me, it will eventually do just that.

While fear is an extremely powerful tool, if not a weapon, it suffers from a significant, inherent weakness: it cannot stand in the light of Truth. I may not know the "truth", that is certain, but I believe (and Power believes) that Truth can ultimately be found. The way to the truth is questioning: pursuing the path, via the method, of perhaps the greatest philosopher who ever lived, Socrates.

Power knows how to utilize fear to its own advantage. Of that much, I am sure. However, Power is not immune from fear itself. And, if there is anything that Power fears, it is the power of the question ... the simple question. So, never, ever be afraid to ask "the next question", for it is always, without doubt, the most important question to ever be asked.

Question power before it questions you.

Question power

Power can be all-powerful ... well, at least it can be conceived as such. Most folks that I know would rather avoid any association with power, let alone a confrontation with it. As the Germans put it, "offering your forehead to power" (Macht die Stirn bieten), can reduce your height by about twelve inches (30 cm) and your weight by about 11 lbs (5 kg) very, very quickly. That is a tried-and-true method that power employs, but, as we saw, over time, as the shift from the merely physical to the more ethereal has taken place, a shift in "execution" of power has taken place as well.

In most places around the globe, we don't lop off people's heads anymore. Most peoples and nations have come to the realization that the same effect can be achieved with a lot less visual vividness. Sure, you can still imprison folks for long periods of time, knowing full well that "out of sight" (that is, not in the daily press" means "out of mind" (that is, forgotten). Or, you can simply "talk louder". The volume of mainstream media is always higher than anything an individual can offer. Another approach is to discredit the questioner: given enough money, I suppose, everybody's missteps can be found out and exposed, especially in the days of the Internet. What all of these "methods" have in common, however, is fear. You could be charged with a crime, even if you didn't commit one; most people are tried "in the press" before they ever get to trial. Convictions are then merely insurance. The mainstream media, since it is privately controlled, is more interested in profits than truth, so they can afford to make you a case instead of making a case for you, and they will benefit (i.e., profit) from it, in the end. What is more, given the lax security and the reluctance of most "good citizens" to challenge the "status quo", innuendo, even in cyberspace, can literally destroy an individual before s/he has a chance to defend him/herself. I know very few people who would be willing to risk going through any of that for any reason. You don't have to chop off heads to instill fear. At least, not any more.

Still, as long as fear dictates our lives, as long as fear is our primary motivation, whoever or whatever is in power will succeed. It has always been this way, and it will continue to be this way, unless we change. And, I'm pretty sure, that's really far down on the ol' priority list.

It's too bad, really. One doesn't have to start a rebellion, a physical, military, violent, armed revolution to initiate change. The most effective change is never public, it is private. Here's a very simple thought experiment: imagine that you had no fear of anything any more: what would/could you do? Think about it. Because we hang on too many "things" (our house, car, savings account, possessions, you-name-it) we are afraid that someone can or will come and take it away from us. It could be a thief, but it could be the "government". Why the "government" would want it, given that it extracts exorbitant taxes from you, often without you even knowing it is doing so, and it has you regulated, legislated, controlled, and subdued by the mass of legislation you have to live with. You are allowed to "talk a good (maybe even "tough") game", but if they decide you're done, for whatever reason, you're outta here. And that, dear reader, is the price you pay for (alleged) freedom.

And that's why I say, quite simply, question power, before it questions you.

The question of power

Lord Acton, who most of us have never heard of, once said something that just about everyone of us has not only heard, but said: "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." That's not a direct quotation, but it is a direct expression of the sentiment he wished to express. This is one of those old sayings, those "wise, old" adages, that we let slip from our lips without a second('s) thought, which may be why we don't really get it; that is, really understand what the good Lord was trying to say.

As I confessed last time, questions really got to me. But if there ever was a concept that occasionally rivaled that enthrallment, it would be the notion of "power". Here is another used and abused notion that everybody talks about, that everyone thinks they understand, but that is, without a doubt, one of the most illusive notions that we've ever come up with.

First, we have the concept of "enabling things to function". We need power to drive the steam engine and power to run our computers and keep the lights on. Power is what is talked about when we think of any kind of machine or gadget. We also relate "power" to "authority": those who can tell us what we may or may not do, what is permitted and what is not. And, we also use the concept to describe whoever or whatever can ensure that certain things happen, as in legislative power, or "the power of the pen". OK, in the latter instance there is no ensuring, but potentially a lot of influencing. When it comes to physical power, we have lots of good science to "explain" to us how it works, why and how machines are efficient or why some people can benchpress hundreds of pounds and others can't do a single push-up. When it comes to other kinds of power, though, we're pretty much lost.

Again, Shakespeare's Macbeth is ready at hand: it exemplifies Lord Acton's statement, hundreds of years before Lord Acton expressed it. It indicates that this is not a new problem we are dealing with. In the meantime we know (probably more than we want to) about the "power of the sword", "power of nuclear weapons", the (fire)power of the American military, the "power of the 'almighty dollar'", the (alleged) "power of the press", even the "power of persuasion", and many more. We quickly begin to realize what a complex and intricate concept "power" can be.

All of these phrases show examples, to be sure, but none of them, and certainly not any one of them, defines the notion of "power". Why? Because "power" is always the same and never the same, all at the same time. There was a time when "physical power", in any of its forms -- strength, superior weapons -- played the dominant role. There was a time when "political power", in any of its forms -- diplomacy, alliances -- was most important. And now, we live in a time, when the "power of perceptions" plays the dominant role. We all still have to deal with the same, old same-old, but it comes in ever-changing guises.

It doesn't amaze me at all that most folks feel powerless in the face of power.

The power of questions

Anyone who knows me knows there is one "confession" I must always make, especially when I meet new people or have the opportunity to work in new groups: I absolutely and unequivocally love questions. I do. I am fascinated by them ... mesmerized sometimes. They stir my imagination and unlock secrets. They are, without a doubt, the most powerful intellectual and analytical tool -- if used properly -- that I have ever had the privilege to use.

These days, I believe that questions are terribly underestimated and their true power has never been properly recognized.

All of this started, of course, when I was going through teacher training at college, oh, so many years ago. In "my day", there was only one, accepted pedagogical (teaching) method: the Socratic method. Lesson plans described a topic, a digestible amount of material, and the way to get the students from wherever they were to wherever the lesson was to take them was to be achieved solely through the use of questions. It was frowned up that the teacher provide any "answers", be it information or -- heaven forbid -- interpretations or declarations. It was up to the teacher to guide the students to discover knowledge for him or herself, solely through the use of appropriate questioning techniques. This is considered more than old-fashioned these days, but, truth be told, this was a very old method when I became exposed to it. If you want to see brilliant examples of how it works, I recommend reading Plato. His writings are nothing other than Socratic dialogs (for Socrates always plays the main role), and they are every bit as informative and didactic today as they were at the time they were written. Some things simply refuse to change. (And anything that does, and anything that stands the test of time like questions do, deserve a second, third, or even an infinite number of looks).

And when did this fall out of favor as a teaching method? I don't know. I suspect, however, that it was about the time that "somebody decided" that the results of standardized tests or the regurgitation of factual knowledge was more important than the ability to think, to explore, to discover, and to search (for the truth). Oh, I'll be the first to admit it: questions can be uncomfortable, as any parent on the planet will tell you. There isn't a parent alive or dead who hasn't been exasperated (positively or negatively) by their 3-year old who will not give their questioning a rest. Once you fork down that "why" path, there is never an end in sight. Nor should there be. What we don't do as parents, or what enough parents don't do, or what most parents do not encourage, is that they continue asking those questions. If there is one ability in our children that we should never, ever discourage, it's the asking of questions. I firmly believe that the world would not be in the shape it is, that we would not be confronted with all the challenges that we have to deal with, if we had been encouraged as children to question more.

To me, it's never really been a priority to just "keep on trucking". No, for me, it's important to "keep on questioning."

The myth of sanity

Over the course of the last several posts, I've been using the word "myth" in its most current, generally accepted meaning: an understanding that is at odds with actual reality. We like to think that things are a certain way. We continually tell ourselves that they are that way. We might even go so far as to maintain that things should be that way. But, in the end, things are like that at all. They are quite different, but we have difficulty admitting that in reality, things are much different.

We like to think that we're our own persons, but for the most part we're not. We like to think we take personal responsibility for our actions, but more often than not, we don't. We like to think we're self-sufficient and that others have just as many chances and opportunities as well do, that we share that believe and similar values, but we don't. We like to tell ourselves that justice is blind, that we're all in this together, that we're safe and free because of the things we believe and hold dear, but in each and every instance over these last posts, we have seen that it really doesn't take much effort at all to break down the facade, to unmask the truth, and to that things aren't like we think they are, and they are certainly not like we would like to believe they are.

And therein lies the dilemma which we are considering today. Our common understanding of myth is very similar to our understanding of the term "fantasy". There is a sense of wonder and make-believe that flows in here. We make up our own version of what-is because, let's face it, it makes everything so much easier to deal with. Life's tough. It's not getting any easier. The number of issues and problems we are confronted with is getting larger not smaller. We'd like to be cut a break. We then tell ourselves that things aren't all that bad and that we're really not all that far off the mark, but at night, before we fade into sleep, we are nagged and haunted by doubts and uncertainty. We suspect, regardless of how much we tell ourselves to the contrary, that what we believe in, what we would like to be true, is, in fact, unreal and not true at all.

We keep on believing anyway. We lie to ourselves. We deceive ourselves. We act in some strange accordance with our beliefs, but our beliefs let us down. We can only hope, and many have given that up as well. But acting on the basis of a fantasy, not reality, is what is medically considered and what everyday common sense tells us is insane.

When we do look "out there" what are we confronted with? Crime, violence - both sanctioned and criminal - murder, rape, pillage, plunder, extortion, hostage-taking, kidnapping, scruplessness, greed, anger, hate, lack of empathy for just about anyone or almost everyone. And so we retreat even further into our illusions: I accepted Jesus so at least I can a Go-To-Heaven-Free card (or not), my military is protecting me, the police are keeping me safe, and the Huxleyan drug we're fed to keep us in line is called Fear, pure and simple.

If all this isn't insane, I don't know what is. To believe we're still sane may be the biggest myth of all.