If approval rating be the essence of work... keep selling, pushing, manipulating ...
Marketing, selling, merchandising, packaging, advertising are all words that are commonly used. Public relations began with Edward Bernays. PR, innocuous and mild, a neutral phrase, speaking of the stuff of life, relationships, contact and having a good time, entertainment, mingling beyond the circle of known. But the intent behind PR was always seeking an advantage, selling, marketing, breaking down the restraints, defences, storming the citadels ... the hazy but powerful dominos where human beings made decisions.
The sinister aspect of the phrase, and the subsequent evolution, is that it chose to invalidate whatever a human being was. It chose to tell him / her that he was incomplete, vulnerable, crumbly, fragile.... And to become better, improve, complete, stronger, less fragile, all he / she needed had to do was follow a code... replace the old code of frugality, need based acquisition with dream and desire based purchases. And part of the myth was that this was the road, to daily purchases, daily indoctrination, this was the powerful world that could not be resisted... and this was the only way it can be. For every one person who does not buy, succumb or doubt, there will be hundreds who buy and feel good. The individual who thinks is doomed to be encircled, embattled with own fears and doubts, and finally the fragility will move him and he too will conform... the power of numbers, over individuals, trends over choice, and the conveyor belt of change over serenity of the slow rhythms of life.
Yes it is about speed, fast better than slow! And speed leaves one breathless, the happiness of getting away... staying still is dull, boring, old fashioned, primitive and certainly not contemporary, modern.
Krishnamurti says, "Better is the enemy of the good!" The mirage of improvement distracts from the essence, the need for fundamental transformation of the consciousness, The brain has a program of happiness, sorrow, sadness, excitement, anger, fear, hate, envy and and seemingly urges of desire, avoidance of pain .... And what does the market recommend? Betterment, improvement, satisfaction, a move away from this difficult quagmire, a distraction, some shiny lights and eye-catching visuals, ear-catching sound bytes and fringes that speak like ghosts to our unconscious ...
The idiom of the market runs deeper! Discussions are about winning an argument, contesting another's view and pushing, convincing, selling a view, convincing the other of a point of view.... has made its impact felt on educational efforts as well. This process of convincing the other of the superior, competing conclusion, product, idea is in direct contrast to the investigating, questioning, delving deeper approach.
Is is good for me to fill my son's, daughter's head with ideas I have about the world? Or tell them exactly what they have to do to lead their lives with success? Is not education about sharing a worldview? Engaging, finding out, discovering?
Approval of the other has taken over reliance on oneself... be it the colour of clothes, or the beauty of one's work, the other is present, glaring, smirking, smiling or approving, endorsing, patronising! I cant do anything without thinking of what the other would think of it, how it will be received, whether there will be thumbs down! And in this fear filled setting I seek freedom, creativity and self expression... and chase a mirage that simply does not exist. If I cannot listen to the other and myself, I am lost! If the other cannot listen to me, I have no relationship.
Unless there is a pliability that lets me listen to the other, unless there is a robustness stops me from deep invalidation, I cannot walk the road to happiness. The fear of the other or the protection of the self from the assault of other views will knock me down at every turn. Unless, I can see the ways in which the market and people influence me, and others, I cannot be free of it.
This leads to an interesting question - what is discussion, conversation, engagement with another? Is it that I need to convince people of my position? Express my view and seek approval? Is it that I need to convince others of my view or vice versa? If neither of these is it just a little 'give and take', a compromise, a trade, a negotiation. Give me what I want and I will give you what you need.
Can there be a conversation where we are not trying to convince another of anything, not selling anything, not talking down or talking up? Can we talk listening to each other as intelligent human beings who have views, all partial, and seek to learn about ourselves and the things being discussed? Without this there will always be an asymmetric relationship and power will hover in the shadows to show one's hand at a suitable moment through rejection, through oppression and ridicule, or just plain co-opting.
Can relationship exist with power, fear, domination or subservience? And how do we relate to each other fully, with non of this, speaking, listening and maybe discover affection....?
Marketing, selling, merchandising, packaging, advertising are all words that are commonly used. Public relations began with Edward Bernays. PR, innocuous and mild, a neutral phrase, speaking of the stuff of life, relationships, contact and having a good time, entertainment, mingling beyond the circle of known. But the intent behind PR was always seeking an advantage, selling, marketing, breaking down the restraints, defences, storming the citadels ... the hazy but powerful dominos where human beings made decisions.
The sinister aspect of the phrase, and the subsequent evolution, is that it chose to invalidate whatever a human being was. It chose to tell him / her that he was incomplete, vulnerable, crumbly, fragile.... And to become better, improve, complete, stronger, less fragile, all he / she needed had to do was follow a code... replace the old code of frugality, need based acquisition with dream and desire based purchases. And part of the myth was that this was the road, to daily purchases, daily indoctrination, this was the powerful world that could not be resisted... and this was the only way it can be. For every one person who does not buy, succumb or doubt, there will be hundreds who buy and feel good. The individual who thinks is doomed to be encircled, embattled with own fears and doubts, and finally the fragility will move him and he too will conform... the power of numbers, over individuals, trends over choice, and the conveyor belt of change over serenity of the slow rhythms of life.
Yes it is about speed, fast better than slow! And speed leaves one breathless, the happiness of getting away... staying still is dull, boring, old fashioned, primitive and certainly not contemporary, modern.
Krishnamurti says, "Better is the enemy of the good!" The mirage of improvement distracts from the essence, the need for fundamental transformation of the consciousness, The brain has a program of happiness, sorrow, sadness, excitement, anger, fear, hate, envy and and seemingly urges of desire, avoidance of pain .... And what does the market recommend? Betterment, improvement, satisfaction, a move away from this difficult quagmire, a distraction, some shiny lights and eye-catching visuals, ear-catching sound bytes and fringes that speak like ghosts to our unconscious ...
The idiom of the market runs deeper! Discussions are about winning an argument, contesting another's view and pushing, convincing, selling a view, convincing the other of a point of view.... has made its impact felt on educational efforts as well. This process of convincing the other of the superior, competing conclusion, product, idea is in direct contrast to the investigating, questioning, delving deeper approach.
Is is good for me to fill my son's, daughter's head with ideas I have about the world? Or tell them exactly what they have to do to lead their lives with success? Is not education about sharing a worldview? Engaging, finding out, discovering?
Approval of the other has taken over reliance on oneself... be it the colour of clothes, or the beauty of one's work, the other is present, glaring, smirking, smiling or approving, endorsing, patronising! I cant do anything without thinking of what the other would think of it, how it will be received, whether there will be thumbs down! And in this fear filled setting I seek freedom, creativity and self expression... and chase a mirage that simply does not exist. If I cannot listen to the other and myself, I am lost! If the other cannot listen to me, I have no relationship.
Unless there is a pliability that lets me listen to the other, unless there is a robustness stops me from deep invalidation, I cannot walk the road to happiness. The fear of the other or the protection of the self from the assault of other views will knock me down at every turn. Unless, I can see the ways in which the market and people influence me, and others, I cannot be free of it.
This leads to an interesting question - what is discussion, conversation, engagement with another? Is it that I need to convince people of my position? Express my view and seek approval? Is it that I need to convince others of my view or vice versa? If neither of these is it just a little 'give and take', a compromise, a trade, a negotiation. Give me what I want and I will give you what you need.
Can there be a conversation where we are not trying to convince another of anything, not selling anything, not talking down or talking up? Can we talk listening to each other as intelligent human beings who have views, all partial, and seek to learn about ourselves and the things being discussed? Without this there will always be an asymmetric relationship and power will hover in the shadows to show one's hand at a suitable moment through rejection, through oppression and ridicule, or just plain co-opting.
Can relationship exist with power, fear, domination or subservience? And how do we relate to each other fully, with non of this, speaking, listening and maybe discover affection....?
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