TOO MUCH TO BEAR

I’m having a case of writer’s block. I want to take on something that will be either enlightening or entertaining but at best all I do is think about dismal people doing dreadful stuff. It’s like all those years in Chicago waiting for the Cubs to win a World Series. After 108 years they won the big one, a World Series Championship in 2016 but the wait was almost too much to bear. I won’t make it another hundred years for human cultures to get the news. People are still pissing in the wind and blaming each other. Not a lot good going on here just now. 

Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist-anthropologist (researcher & author) and has, for a decade plus, been a profound influence on not only what I believe but even more so on how I try to process information. If one truly wants to get to the truth then they must be willing to be proven wrong and change. It requires an open mind and that is an incredibly difficult challenge. Without exploring that adventure any farther I would get to the point. 

Evolution (human) has equipped us with intellect, imagination, language and creative genius that is unmatched in the rest of the animal kingdom. Still, for a human culture to function successfully there needs to be some rules. Over time one’s culture will collectively determine some beliefs and behaviors to be Right or Wrong; not so much correct or incorrect. Right & Wrong have moral caveats as to what is acceptable and what is not; and humanity as a whole requires that set of rules (Moral Code) or else that culture breaks down (looses its way). 

Haidt researched every known culture (current & ancient) to identify and group categories that require Moral rules; he found five. Morality in every known culture includes issues about Caring {compassion vs indifference}, Fairness {ideas of justice & rights}, Loyalty {belonging vs betrayal}, Authority {Social order & Obedience} & last, Purity {physical & spiritual}. Taking each one separately, think of expressing that moral rule like reading a speedometer where 100 would be the extreme approval (for something) and 0 the extreme opposite. Not surprising, the five moral categories identify areas of conflict between modern day world views. Not surprising, liberal thinkers score high in Compassion, Fair play & Individual loyalty. On the other hand, conservative thinkers score high on Loyalty to nation & political party, with Authority by vertical hierarchy & obedience and the 5th is Purity, both physical (racism-gender bias) and spiritual (Israel-Hamas). The back story on physical purity is really interesting going back to prehistory; has to do with body fluids and spoiled food. It's kind of gross but makes for good reading. In any case, as a species we favor what is pure, as we understand it. 

    Simply, it seems the mind comes without any Right or Wrong programming, only a blank template with empty spaces. As we accumulate experience the blank spaces get filled in according to what our culture dictates. Most cultures frown on physical intimacy between siblings; why doesn't seem to be important, it just is what it is. Moral issues are generally fueled by feelings that resonate as either Right or Wrong and those feelings run deep. Haidt gives us a view and a perspective that is profoundly insightful and thoroughly prepared but it doesn’t always leave you in a safe place. We are amazing animals but so are salamanders and dragonflies. God was a good idea when nobody could read or write and his shamans were all conservatives. Haidt’s work leaves me feeling a lot better informed but not any better about my own kind.

I remember the Viet Nam era when Conservative was a dirty word. Now it’s the other way around, so liberals are now Progressive. Morals can and do change over time but the moral categories seem constant. So I lean to the left under a blue banner. My loyalties bend toward others who have moved on from medieval beliefs and behaviors. I don’t know how I turned out this way but if I believed in omniscient, omnipotent dudes my prayers would be full of gratitude for landing where I did. But I would still have a long list of edits and upgrades for his system. How come God’s preference is conservative punishment but Jesus’ behavior is compassionately progressive?