Rant

Jane Jacobs said in her book "The Coming Dark Age" that the disappearance of the middle class is the cause of the abyss of ignorance that constitutes such a period. My guess is that such a period is somewhat of a time of egoistic safety and power for those stuck in the trap of "wealth equals good." In my opinion, all the greedy people could have ten or more times what they think they don't have if they took others with them, i.e. promoted global popular wealth at least to just over the point where each person could have some leisure from economic pursuits and be insured of health and elder care. Along with that would have to go some education, a terrifying prospect for bankers. Such global enhancement would mean cooperation and a seeming reduction in personal power for those who control comparatively vast amounts of money.

I think that personal power without an underlayment of wisdom is a very destructive aberration of the human psyche, as far as it is based on separatism and blindness to the underlying Unity of Nature, and therefore of our ties with each other. Such might be the corporate, and especially the banking mentality of today, which in one documentary was shown to be sociopathic. But if anyone can see the "other" as an aspect of their own self, how could they do harm? Who would deliberately harm themselves? Yet the illusion of being discreet individuals allows many to seek dominance rather than cooperation. One of the forms of this dominance is the destruction of the educational system, especially any aspect of it that fosters the ability to think rationally or feel deeply. It may be why we have gone from first in education in the industrialized world to 29th in 20 years. This may very well be one of the factors in the growing, unfilled gap between the very rich and the very poor in this country.

Many look to the "American Dream" of making it on yur own. And of course, this does work, but again, it seems it is for the few. Rugged individualism also, as an American ideal, is a wonderful phase, and necessary, but it is a teen years phenomenon, necessary only for separation of the sense of self from identifying with the parents. A mature adult has a sense as well of community to which he can fully give that sense of uniqueness he has acquired through trial, and a sense of that community's interdependence with Resource. Yet we are popularly trained to be emotionally reactive, thalmic based cash cows for the comfort of the few and the destruction of all. "Be the best that you can be" should not only be the motto of the US Army recruiters, but of all the educators and their students. But in order to do that there has to be a major reassessment as to the ends and means of society, and therefor of what individuality truly means. Historically, this has happened mostly on a one-by-one basis, and we have for the most part crucified one way or another those who would lift us up, all under the auspices of fear agitated by those who would loose their economic comfort. As a good friend said, "money (of the very rich) stops progress," and this seems to be so for the general population as they are drained of economic resources by miseducation and the ideal of comfort, as corportions infest the public thoughts with false ideals, and the lack of education stops the supply of ideas and patterns fostering wisdom and insight.