Tolerance
ByIn response to mediasamuel.info’s message on the guest book 14/11/09
It’s not that I don’t want to walk for a cause, it’s just that it was never my prime intention. However the possibility was always there. I’m uncomfortable with the notion that I or anyone partaking in most endeavours must have a cause or if not could be discriminated against for not conforming to some ones politically correct marketing needs.
However, as I have stated before, something bubbles within. See enough and live long enough, something is always going to end up bubbling to the surface at some point. If you have been over the website you might have noticed that I have started to ramble on about certain topics that I’m passionate about. You are about to see more on the subject here very soon.
You talk about me having touched on how I found it striking that no matter whom I meet or where, below the thin cultural veil we are all remarkably alike. Same needs, same hopes, same expression of kindness and good will. And yes, people do need repeatedly reminding of this fact. Yet when we confer in groups, something happens. We follow different rules. We allow a collective decision to decide our point of view, beliefs and ethics. Our opinions quickly fall into line.
In evolutionary terms it’s not hard to see how this would benefit any given group or tribe. However, once those tribes and groups have grown to the point where they are standing shoulder to shoulder, what used to be of benefit now starts to work against us. I’m not sure group think is wrong, I just think we are following the wrong themes, the wrong ideologies. Ideologies that might once have worked for us, today are not equipped to cope with the challenges we now collectively face.
Group think lines the group up for manipulation. A charismatic character that understands the mechanics of this phenomena is capable of controlling it. This might be a malicious act or not. ‘Memetics’ describes a natural process of spreading ideas from one human mind to another following Darwinian rules. It’s not wrong or right. Some of these ideas will be better suited for survival in the meme pool than others. But memes are about memes, they are not about humans. They do not evolve with our survival in mind, but are parasitic in nature. We are capable of creating successful memes that are detrimental to our survival in the long run.
Yes, as individuals we are splendid chaps. But our world operates largely at the group level. So if your question becomes, “Why do we act in such a barbaric fashion, why are we not able to live in peace, when on an individual level it would appear everyone wants the same thing?” Group dynamics, group think and the way our brains are wired are parts of the answer. The solutions are a little tougher to identify. A good starting point, I would argue, is to start focusing on, and pushing support for, the notion of reinforcing peoples ability to think critically and independently. It’s one of education and awareness. This means relying more on rational input and less tolerance for clearly irrational/pathogenic ideologies. Those ideologies that somehow feel they are immune from or above our critical faculties. We need a revolution of the mind.
Tolerance may need to be better defined, less of a paintbrush and more of a scalpel. Your ideas on tolerance and your very strong statement regarding the Royal family are cases in point. Tolerance is a nice idea, but I’m not sure we know what we are doing with it yet. I would argue we cannot afford to be tolerant of all ideas.
