Or Else What?

"Those who abjure violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf."
-George Orwell
  From Notes on Nationalism


Here's an interesting take on the necessity of violence to guarantee peace and force to guarantee order. The underlying principle is that without the credible threat of violence laws are just suggestions and rules are just words. It's another look at the "sheep, sheep dogs, and wolves" analogy with an emphasis on the concept of violence from the system rather than the types of individuals within such a system.

Jack Donovan: Violence is Golden

The opposite of such a system would be one without any threat of force at all, which would be sustained by a moralistic, example-setting leader who guides a people strengthened by internal discipline. This type of governance is outlined by Laotze (and embraced by pacifists and hippies alike):

"The more rules you have, the more unhappy people are:
And the more weapons there are, the worse things happen.
The more we want luxuries, the more we abandon simplicity-
And the more laws you pass, the more we will break them.

So the sage says: I do nothing, and the people come together;
By leaving them alone, I let them be on the path-
Bu not using my power, they become rich in themselves.
And if I want nothing, they will return to the essence of their being."
-Daodejing Chapter 57, trans. by Man-Ho Kwok

While almost altruistic to a fault, this is the type of governance I wouldn't be hesitant to support...if it were practical. But it's not. Like the Haight Street experiment in effective socialist communalism, Laotze's vision could only work on a small scale. This brand of governance would be both impractical and ineffective on a nation as large as ours. Why?  Because in America there are too many people and, in a way, we are too fractured culturally to have the societal cohesion necessary for something like this to work. Say what you will, but for the time being that's just the way it is.

On a lighter note, here's an interesting article on a new addition to the Norwegian prison system. Maybe a hybridization of their system and ours would work better than the one we have now.

A Few Rules for Life

A very good friend of mine is a retired high school teacher. To the best of my knowledge he taught mostly English, but after 40 some odd years his last class was one on sociology. Why he ended on such an odd note I'll never know. The funny thing is that he had the perfect personality of a sociologist. Too bad his doctorate was in Sinology.

To the average high school student like myself none of the following made any sense. As time goes by, however, one or two of the rules will pop into my mind involuntarily. Most times, it's when I least expect it. Who would have thought that an off the cuff sociology lesson would still be running strong 6 years later?

I've often wondered what would happen if I could get these rules published. After all, if Maurice Sendak can get Where the Wild Things Are into print, surely I could get a few phrases on the shelves of your favorite bookstore. With our society's love of sound bytes, blurbs, and portable aphorisms, I'd probably see the book in a Barnes & Noble in no time. However, I don't think I'd be comfortable profiting off of something someone else taught me when every time I think of a rule I think of the teacher. Credit's due where credit's due.

The numbered lines are the rules, and the italicized in-betweens are corollaries that I've pulled out of the notes I took (and still have) from that class. I've found that just because they aren't actual rules doesn't mean they don't apply.


                         Life Rules for His Last Class
                         By Dr. Antonio Carmone

I. Never let anyone tell you how long is short or how short is long.

II. Always synthesize: your degree of genius is based off of how well you can synthesize.

The only way to be extraordinary is to be extra-ordinary: that is, above the ordinary.

III. The metaphor is sublime. If one is a metaphor, one is above the extraordinary.

Metaphor is vision. 
Most people have direction. Very few truly have vision.

IV. Wonder.

V. You have six senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell, and instinct.

VI. Spontaneity is a gift.

VII. Only you should know the lowest levels of your persona.

VIII. The truth is both beautiful and ugly- to say that it is always either is untrue.

IX. See things as a whole, for to do so is vision; but never forget to appreciate specific detail.

Never always say yes about a thing, never always say no about a thing. 
Always distinguish.
Change changes the adaptation process.

X. We may not have to agree or disagree, but we must always be aware, for our happiness and unhappiness lies on this decision.

Do not plane against the grain of the wood.
You cannot pass judgement on values.

XI. Never fall for the argument ad hominem.

You can be compelled by the norm.

XII. Be a big burner (have passion), but know when to moderate the flame.

XIII. Never let anyone cut you down to their size.

XIV. "Would to God the gift to give us/ To see ourselves as others see us..." -Frost

XV. A sociogram is the eyes to another person's soul.

Don't let anybody stalk your mind.

XVI. Never fall for the argument "either/or".

XVII. Never let anyone hang the guilt complex on you.

Take these for what they are and do with them what you will...and next time you realize that you're synthesizing several concepts into one bigger idea, feel free to chuckle a little. You might be a bit of a genius after all.