Too Busy Being Right to Be Perceptive

Humans often live as though we exist in a narrow, straight hallway. We can go only forward, back, or not go at all. Historically, we’ve felt powerful when we walked upon what we accepted as THE truth. In fact, the controlling powers punished or executed people whose viewpoints were different from the dogma they found useful or profitable. (Socrates dared to ask his students politico-philosophic questions, so he was poisoned.) Control is heady wine. Political power still bestows the ability to hide or disguise uncomfortable information. The masses have been indoctrinated over the centuries with “truths” that defy question—absolute “truths” in every field of study. “We’ve never done it that way!” exclaim the traditionalists as new perspectives are suggested. “You’re listening to the devil. You’re radical!”

When anyone suggests we may not be privy to the entire picture, we gag on the idea, even though we can’t perceive the whole picture because we don’t have access, or the facts lie beyond our abilities to understand. We were doing so well at passing on those same old ideas! We can hardly conceive of all the manipulated information we’ve swallowed without question. But those old “truths” haven’t always served us well. We’re still killing one another, wasting resources that could’ve built a safe, healthy world, and using citizen power like toilet paper. We’re still pretending we should be divided.

Ancient rulers relied on their control and armies to protect them. They were generally murdered, because power is seductive enough to outweigh prudence. We’ve advanced from those days, but not far. The availability of digital information (albeit much of it doctored for personal gain) has changed the equation to an extent. Granted I’m inexcusably naïve, but I was shocked when I learned that even today different religions provide their followers with a custom translation of the BIBLE from ancient Aramaic, a translation that can use particular words to favor doctrine biases. People have essentially rewritten the BIBLE? Who are they worshipping in that case? What were the original religious roles of women that are no longer represented as legitimate? Were we really meant to be naughty ladies, mothers/servants, or some combination thereof, PERIOD? When did we stop being partners and sometimes leaders? No wonder many men and women today find intelligent women discomfiting, a threat to be discouraged.

Science and education suffer from being boxed in. Historically, many fine minds have been silenced for merely suggesting new ideas. When I was in elementary school, I remember my teachers laughing at the idea that the earth’s surface could move on tectonic plates. Ha ha. Clubs of people still insist the world is flat. As a teacher myself, I was distressed when I learned that progress statistics on standardized exams brought in money from corporations that grew richer from fabulously expensive, dreary text books designed to prepare future workers, while underachieving students could be pushed out of school as untrainable without regard for the cause. Who were we serving?  Now, quantum physics and related fields have shaken traditional science so that people are beginning to wonder just how intelligent animals and plants are, while some humans can gleefully destroy earth’s surviving resources and imprison fresh insights because some of the thinkers originated in distant corners of the world and may sound different.

As I watch attempts to investigate what may be evidence of extraterrestrial presence on earth, I’m sad to realize that finding new resources for weapons is a higher priority than sharing information with those who first perfected practical uses for those exotic resources. Profit and control win yet again. Talking is under-rated as a means of advancement because we have trouble conceptualizing what advancement could look like. Communication is a way to bridge differences and open fresh partnerships. Communication is a way of demonstrating respect verbally and nonverbally, over distances and in person, and enjoying higher forms of love. We have the power.