This is the third one of your essays that I've enjoyed reading. I find your work to be well-written, thought-inspiring, and informative. The first two essays I read were Anxiety in the Western Mind and Bullshit We Call Leadership.
The subject matter in this essay is something that I think I might know a little something about. (Or, am I lying to myself?) My claim to a measure of expertise lies in two very fortunate life events. The first is that I have the good luck to be an Alcoholic who is enjoying recovery through AA. The AA field guide, titled Alcoholics Anonymous, goes to great lengths about the need for honesty in recovery. As a result, over the past 40+ years of my sobriety, I've attended many meetings where the subject was about the necessity of being honest and the consequences of lying, especially to one's self. The second stroke of good fortune that gives me insight into this subject is that around 29 years ago, my eldest daughter gifted me with a grandson who is Autistic. (Asperger's Syndrome). He does not lie. He doesn't get lying. He is very high-functioning, but I suspect his candor challenges his social life.
Your essay is very thought-provoking. I started reading essays and posts outside my normal interests because I wanted to understand why we, as a people, find ourselves in the mess we are in. More importantly, how do we get out of this mess? My gut tells me that understanding is the solution.
We all lie, our egos demand it. Often, we are unaware of the fact that what we are telling ourselves is untrue. Almost everyone lies to us. Lying creates distrust. As you pointed out in your essay, we no longer see each other as assets; we see each other as competitors. Like-minded competitors are on our team. The other team is the bad guys. We have bad players on our team, but that's OK because they are on our side. All of the players on the other side are bad. Sheeeesh!
I think what we are experiencing is the end, and I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. We are not good stewards of our planet. We don't care enough about our fellow man. We seek happiness through the acquisition of stuff and ignore the many gifts given to us. I'm presently rewriting (for about the 8th time) a science fiction novel about aliens who are buying our planet with the intention of evicting us when they get full ownership. They are allowed to do this (by the intergalactic justice system) because we claim ownership, thus making it possible to transfer ownership of the planet, and because we're deemed "not smart enough" to be worthy of populating such a beautiful world. I'm enjoying writing this, but I doubt it'll ever get published.
This is the third one of your essays that I've enjoyed reading. I find your work to be well-written, thought-inspiring, and informative. The first two essays I read were Anxiety in the Western Mind and Bullshit We Call Leadership.
The subject matter in this essay is something that I think I might know a little something about. (Or, am I lying to myself?) My claim to a measure of expertise lies in two very fortunate life events. The first is that I have the good luck to be an Alcoholic who is enjoying recovery through AA. The AA field guide, titled Alcoholics Anonymous, goes to great lengths about the need for honesty in recovery. As a result, over the past 40+ years of my sobriety, I've attended many meetings where the subject was about the necessity of being honest and the consequences of lying, especially to one's self. The second stroke of good fortune that gives me insight into this subject is that around 29 years ago, my eldest daughter gifted me with a grandson who is Autistic. (Asperger's Syndrome). He does not lie. He doesn't get lying. He is very high-functioning, but I suspect his candor challenges his social life.
Your essay is very thought-provoking. I started reading essays and posts outside my normal interests because I wanted to understand why we, as a people, find ourselves in the mess we are in. More importantly, how do we get out of this mess? My gut tells me that understanding is the solution.
We all lie, our egos demand it. Often, we are unaware of the fact that what we are telling ourselves is untrue. Almost everyone lies to us. Lying creates distrust. As you pointed out in your essay, we no longer see each other as assets; we see each other as competitors. Like-minded competitors are on our team. The other team is the bad guys. We have bad players on our team, but that's OK because they are on our side. All of the players on the other side are bad. Sheeeesh!
I think what we are experiencing is the end, and I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. We are not good stewards of our planet. We don't care enough about our fellow man. We seek happiness through the acquisition of stuff and ignore the many gifts given to us. I'm presently rewriting (for about the 8th time) a science fiction novel about aliens who are buying our planet with the intention of evicting us when they get full ownership. They are allowed to do this (by the intergalactic justice system) because we claim ownership, thus making it possible to transfer ownership of the planet, and because we're deemed "not smart enough" to be worthy of populating such a beautiful world. I'm enjoying writing this, but I doubt it'll ever get published.
Please, keep up the good work.
My son is an Aspie so I know what you mean in that regard.