Addendum to yesterday: The image of a leader (or a concept), standing like a statue at the center of controversy, employs a multi-sided tug-of-war. With each faction working to pull the leader toward them (down) the other side counter-balances, forming guy wires (spokes) of strain that work to center, maintain, and stabilize the controversy.
Tag: community
- Theme: Self
Contrary individuation counterbalances into stagnation
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1–2 minutesOur contrariness is our path to sovereign individuation: “You can’t tell me what to do.”
Soon no one is in charge, and nothing gets done. Social distinctions flatten, and it is hard to see how we compel systems reliant on unity (infrastructure).
As hierarchy collapses into chaos, perhaps we should reconsider our correlation of individual freedom with contrariness.
- Theme: Culture
Uselessness is worse than death
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1–2 minutesThe idea of being useless is somehow worse than the idea of death: to be useless scuttles social standing and personal ambition.
Being useless is to be alone and irrelevant in our society, which reveals our primary dysfunction. - Theme: Self
Evil: Incompatible illusions
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1–2 minutesEvil is when my illusion is incompatible with your illusion.
(All cultural constructs and ideologies are illusions we invest ourselves in because we are afraid of death.)
*from Ernest Becker
- Theme: Self
Strength Erasing Diversity
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1–2 minutesWe are taught "absolute power corrupts," but simplify the concept into a more daily reality: strength leads to abuse.
We can further simplify the concept of strength into physicality (a more Spartan view of strength). At the same time, mass consensus (The Cultural Revolution in China) leads to tyranny by "cutting down the tall poppies;" the strong or unique.
It is easy to attenuate "strength" into a physical characteristic, but the more insidious power is to erase diversity in the name of unity. - Theme: Growth
“Act Natural”
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1–2 minutesOf course, “acting” is not being. To be “natural” is to behave as though unburdened: an artificial state for any human.
Further, we assume “natural” to be associated with authenticity or sincerity, but acting natural merely parodies your culture by alluding to a false “normal” ideal.
- Theme: Culture
Asymmetrical Aims of Culture and Technology
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1–2 minutesTechnology moves rapidly forward, providing new options through speed and extended agency.
Culture (religion and tradition) remains slow, providing stability and attempting to secure identity against the void of meaninglessness.
When a culture uses technology, it adopts asymmetrical aims: to stabilize through speed. The problem manifests when converts leave rapidly: the speed of adoption is directly proportional to stabilization. - Theme: Self
Losing yourself in the community
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1–2 minutesThere is a fine line between self-acceptance and communal spirit.Self-acceptance means keeping your responsibilities separate from others to be genuinely who and what you are. Having confidence in yourself allows you to have confidence in others, prompting community spirit with your comrades.
However, it is easy for self-acceptance to revert to social acceptance. Make sure your community action affirms the "I" rather than giving it away. - Theme: Self
negative utilitarianism
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1–2 minutesThe promise of utopia is based on more happiness. But, the master planner’s conception of happiness is an abstract wish in the distant future.
Instead of focusing on the potential positives, Karl Popper suggests we look to falsification to prove and solve problems we have today concretely.It is not as glamorous as a holistic sweeping change, but it avoids today’s idealistic hubris for steady improvement.
- Theme: Self
Rethinking politeness
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1–2 minutesPoliteness may be beneficial when navigating social systems, showing deference and respect, and reducing anxiety with decorum.
Yet it is also a set of protocols. It mediates personal interactions until you can no longer be sure exactly who somebody is: politeness can be a mask, disguising the real you.