Reflections on a Quarter-life Crisis

Finding the Lost Generation: Child Soldiers

Child soldiering can dramatically effect the psychological developmental of a child. The traumas of war, the separation from family, and the dangers of life in the military are common concerns of those studying the psychological wellness of child soldiers before, during, and after life in the military. While Western psychology may not fully capture psychological gains and conditions that evolve from child soldiering, it is important to understand all the research to establish policies and programs that benefit the rights of individuals whether children or adults.

While the physical and psychological safety comes to the forefront of most Westerners' minds when the topic of child soldiering comes up, the impacts of war on child go far beyond depression and PTSD. War affects the way a child grows up and the way he/she perceives the world. Reintegration for a former child soldier can be just as difficult as their war experiences because it involves a conscious alteration in the way one thinks. Although supportive families and communities seem to be the best vehicle for positive reintegration into civilian life, many returning soldiers suffer ostracism and stigmatization.

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

Life as a Child Soldier
The cognitive map of a child soldier can be vastly different from that of a civilian child. It is common, and almost necessary, for the military to become a kind of family for a child soldier who has been ostracized or abducted from his/her community. The following excerpt, written by a child soldier of Sudan, demonstrates this idea:
I knew more than ever now that the SPLA would one day save me. Babba had sent me away, Nyagai, my my brothers, and my sisters must have forgotten me, but the SPLA were still looking after me and would one day win back my country (Jal, 2009).
The military tends to treat their child soldier differently from their adult soldiers in that they "mold" the children into perfect soldiers. On this idea, the military could be viewed as ‘raising' their soldiers. For example, trainers will expose child soldiers to violence to harden them for battle and will impress their own values upon the children. This phenomenon is often compared to Stockholm's Syndrome in which abductees show signs of loyalty and trust towards their kidnappers.

Hostile Intent Bias

As expected, children who have participated in war activities are overall more aggressive than children who do not participate in such activities. Some children, however, are more at risk for attaining these temperaments; if a child had a hostile intent bias before entering the military, it is likely that the reinforcement that these assumptions are true can lead to extremely aggressive behavior. Aggressive behavior is more likely to develop in children who perceive their environment as dangerous and other people as malevolent and this is particularly true for children in war times. These same soldiers also use narrowed or distorted interpretations of their experiences. Because a child soldier does not have an enriched environment during childhood, they are less likely to observe and apply the right scripts in problem solving techniques outside of violence. For these reasons, much rehabilitation is centered on altering the way a child perceives the world and teaching problem-solving strategies in civilian life. While this is the most effective strategy in rehabilitation that affects all aspects of civilian life, it is also the hardest to accomplish.

RATIONALE FOR RESEARCH
While a number of factors exist that affect a former child soldier's ability to reintegrate into a civilian community, better outcomes have been correlated with the age of return of the child. Many theories exist to explain this correlation but two prominent, well-known theories are that a younger child is more resilient than an older child or a younger child is better accepted into a community after having served. In order to test a society's willingness to help a younger child over and older child, this study was created.
In addition to measuring the effect of age on reintegration, demonstration of aggressive tendencies was also included as a factor; many refugee agencies exclude child soldiers from eligibility for refugee protection on the basis that they pose a risk to their community so this factor was included to test its effects on willingness to help.
It is important to note the main limitation to this study: here we are measuring the willingness of acceptance of a mainly Western sample which is less ecologically valid for the purposes of actual reintegration.
It is also important to understand that most of the 'positive' and ‘negative' outcomes that we rate are established by our culture, not the culture in which the child lives. It is common to have a knee-jerk reaction to the 'atrocities' of child soldiering but only by understanding and respecting another culture can we ensure a better quality of life for all parties involved. For example, we may think that mistrusting all the people around you is detrimental to your health but many cultures believe that it simply a pragmatic e view on life. Although we do impose Western psychological concepts such as depression and trauma, these ideals can be fragmentary when applied to a different culture. Our idea of reintegration can be vastly different than that of another culture. It is important to approach these psychological analyses in the context of widely varying cultures each with their own values, customs, and attitudes.

SAMPLE & DATA COLLECTION
The study conducted was in the form of four general vignettes of child soldiers: Story A, B, C, and D. Each story took on four forms in which the character was: 1. older and aggressive, 2. younger and aggressive, 3. older and non-aggressive, 4. younger and non-aggressive. From these 16 stories, 4 material sets were formed. Each material set had one story from categories A-D and 1-4.

The four material sets were as follows:
W   X    Y    Z
A1 A2 A3 A4
B2 B3  B4  B1
C3 C4  C1  C2
D4 D1  D2 D3

Each vignette was taken from War Child (Emmanuel, 2009) and altered slightly to fit the specifications of its category. Some aggressive words were changed to ones with non-aggressive connotations and, of course, the name and age of the child in each vignette was changed. The four excerpts were similar in that they all indicated that the child had been in the militant group for 2 years, none discussed the actual violence done by the child, and all expressed some of the child's feelings and thoughts on the topic. Each story had to be different, however, so that the participants could not detect the experimental factors.
The "older" category consisted of boys 13-15 years old at the time of the interview while the 'younger' category consisted of boys 8-10 years old at the time of the interview. Each vignette indicated that the boy had been involved in the military for two years by the time of the interview.
Please refer to the actual vignettes and material sets presented later.
The vignettes were distributed through an internet network database. Subjects were randomly assigned to read either W, X, Y, or Z material sets. The subjects were instructed to take on the position of a representative of their country and rank the priority of each child soldier for refugee protection.
The total number of surveys completed were N = 124, with n = 31 for each material set.

RESULTS
According the results of this vignette survey research on child soldier reintegration and priority to help a child soldier, participants prioritized children who were younger and non-aggressive as having the highest priority for refugee protection compared to any of the other groups. On average, these children were rated as having a priority of 3.4 on a scale of 4. Older and non-aggressive children, on average, scored the lease priority, 2.9, but not much less than younger aggressive children, and older non-aggressive children who scored around 3.0.
After conducting a factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA), it was found that both age group and temperament affect the priority scores and that the two factors interacted with one another.

DISCUSSION
After the survey was conducted, some participants volunteered their thoughts on the choices they had to make. Most agreed that trying to prioritize the children seemed nearly impossible. This concept, however, brings up a notable weakness in the research. There is often a great divide in what ‘should' be done and what is actually done as well as striking differences in the way a participant would react in the actual situation described in the vignette. Furthermore, the idea that people cannot be prioritized and that everyone is born equal is a fundamental western belief that is not held by the whole world and is definitely note implemented in actions by all, thus making the research less ecologically valid.
As expected, the participants' rationale behind their choices tended to cluster around 3 main points:
1. Younger children are more resilient than older ones and so are more likely to be able to reintegrate
2. Aggressive children would pose a safety risk to the community
3. Aggressive children may be "too far gone" to be reintegrated back into civilian life.

REHABILITATION AND REINTIEGRATION INTO SOCIETY
Upon returning to civilian society, a former child soldier has many tough adjustments in habits and views on the world. In fact, many youth report that the return to their village was as stressful as their experiences in the military had been. It has been determined that most returning child soldiers suffer from PTSD, depression, and/or anxiety. While these psychological issues are of concern to western psychologists, most returning soldiers report their most pressing concerns as an inability to earn money, fear of rejection, stigmatization, being unsuitable for marriage, and more.
It is also notable that some soldiers rate their experiences positively in that it helped build their chracer, increase their resilience, open the door of opportunity, provide leadership experience, as well as commitment to a meaningful cause (Brett & Specht, 2004).

CONCLUSION
While the physical and psychological safety comes to the forefront of most Westerners' minds when the topic of child soldiering comes up, the impacts of war on child go far beyond depression and PTSD. War affects the way a child grows up and the way he/she perceives the world. Reintegration for a former child soldier can be just as difficult as their war experiences because it involves a conscious alteration in the way one thinks. Although supportive families and communities seem to be the best vehicle for positive reintegration into civilian life, many returning soldiers suffer ostracism and stigmatization.
Current policies regarding child soldiers are inconsistent with many psychological findings. The convention on the Rights of the Child established that person under the age of 18 may participate in war activities. Children who enter the military on their own accord because they belief in its efforts, however, tend to have positive psychological outcomes. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees currently exclude culpable child soldiers for refugee protection on the basis of safety for others. This policy, however, deters child from leaving the military because it supports stigma and ostracism while denying any form of help for reintegration into the community.

REFERENCES
Barber, B. (2009). Adolescents and War. New York: Oxford University Press.
Brett, R., Specht, I. (2004). Younger Soldiers: Why they chose to fight. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
Erikson, E. E. (1968). Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York: Norton.
Jal, E. (2009). War Child. New York: St. Martin's Press.

1 comment »

A Way Out?

"You are cynical, my friend," the young physicist said to me jokingly while pointing with the one finger he had lifted off of his half-empty beer. I light-heartedly agreed with him though I understood that he was more right than he knew. "Why so cynical?"

My two semesters of physics brought me about 10 minutes through the conversation but, after that, I was lost. I took a sip of my rosé and scanned the bar while the physicist yammered on. He was about 5'8", just a couple inches above me in my kelly green patent leather peep-toe pumps. I looked at him as he talked but listened very little to what he was saying. His wrinkly blue button-down attempted to mask the dinginess of the white t-shirt underneath, worn-out from too many washings; the last button wasn't align. Wasn't this guy a physicist? Couldn't he button his own damn shirt? I opened my mouth to tell him about the button mishap but realized he was really only talking to himself and had practically forgotten I was there. I paused for a moment, mouth ajar, and re-assumed the listening position. I smiled as I judged the greasy tips of his hair... I mean, why were the tips greasy? Doesn't the grease come from the roots? Shake it off, Tara. The boy is talking to you. He went for a sip of his beer (which he had been nursing for longer than socially acceptable) and I pounced on my opportunity to interject. "Oh, so you're here for the research in Cern... A couple of friends and I are going to have an end-of-the-world party the night before they turn it on and if the world still exists the next day, we can have a celebration party for it," I said, giggling and not letting the wine in my hand prevent me from my over-zealous hand motions.

"Well the world really isn't going to end, I hope you realize. We've done this experiment many times before on much smaller scales. This one has just received a lot more media attention."

Yeah, guy. It was a joke. Do you think I'd be here reluctantly tolerating you right now if I actually believed the world was going to end? Ok, I'm out for real this time.

I scanned the room looking for my way out of this conversation, or lack thereof. The combination of the lighting and the paint gave the room a terra cotta appearance which surprisingly fit with the juxtaposed wood floor and wavy art deco bar which I leaned against. My peripheral vision spotted Damien not too far behind me chatting with some of the others from the group. His jacket was already draped over his arm although I could tell he just recently come in from the cold by the lack of redness in his face. He smiled warmly at the others in the group and I could hear his laugh over all the others'.

The physicist was still feverently talking at me so I took a backwards step along the bar, putting myself into a convex groove of the counter. With his next couple of hand motions, he moved a step closer bridging the recently formed gap. Another attempt on my part was fruitless so, finally, I excused myself to the ladies' room.

I smiled politely to the girl waiting in line in front of me. "Bon Soir," I said tipping my head in her direction. She reciprocated a smile as the door behind her creaked open and my new friend was gone. I teased my hair in the mirror, tossing it about. Voluminous. After dabbing a bit of crystal red lip gloss, I ascended the bar stairs and nonchalantly scanned the room for Damien. Ding! Ding! Target found.

I downed a sip of my wine and wiped the corners of my lips. The thin wine swayed in my glass as I tried to gracefully approach him while not revealing that I was consciously trying for this. "Hey boy," I said with a coy, secretive smile, "How ya doin'?"

"Not too bad. Those guys you were talking to were, well, short," he teased.

"Yeah, you're right. I like my men about 6 feet and half an inch."

"Well, isn't that a coincidence? That is my exact height," he retorted with a grin.

I lifted my wine and turned my body to leave, "Hmmm... quite the coincidence."

He winked and shook his head at me. I still hadn't decided if I liked the winking but our encounter caused tingles in the bottom of my spine which overwhelmed my dislike of the winking.

Leave a comment »

A New Epidemic

Apathy: The Epidemic

Symptoms & Signs

Hypointeresosis, more commonly known as apathy, is the third largest killer of the American spirit, second only to physical death and jadedness. Its symptoms include tardiness, inconsistency, undependability, wishy-washyness, predictability, and indigestion. Its onset tends to be around the age of entering sophomore year of college and, without treatment, can continue until old age and cause premature death.

Apathy has the best treatment outcomes when identified early. These early indicators, however, can be hard to notice as they often occur in groups of people and are commonly mistaken for routines or ruts. Those that have a high resistance to the disease are a clinician's best tool in identifying the disease early. One can notice the rise in the prevalence of apathy by decreased attendance to meaningful events and sloppy appearance. The caregiver that identifies this symptom must be quite perceptive as its beginnings lead the observer to believe that the victim is aware of and cares about the world around them but the disease surfaces when plans fade and the spark of enthusiasm has fizzled. The same symptom can be identified in a person who has lived with the disease for many years with statements such as "When I was your age, I wanted to become a lawyer and travel the world saving lives; now I am the manager at the Athlete's Foot." In terms of overall populations, a caregiver notices the increase in apathy by excessive e-mails canceling events due to lack of participation and little attendance in any event that doesn't involve alcohol or the possibility of earning money.

Causes

The causes of apathy are completely unknown and continue to be a medical mystery that has been around since the dawn of modern politics. Many psychologists have attempted to pin the cause of hypointeresopathosis but never finished their research. Some theories include lack of stimulation and activities in cities and not enough work to do while in college.

While the causes of Apathy are unknown, it is the root of many other diseases which include but are not limited to alcoholism, infidelity, dissociative identity disorder, violence, compulsive shopping, depression, and ignorance.

Trends

Epidemics show little discrepancies within populations but gaping disparities between nations. While the developing nations show a drastically lower prevalence of apathy, the United States has the lowest occurrence among the industrialized countries. This protective factor has been attributed to the youth of the nation and the omnipresent American dream. Each year, however, the incidence of Apathy increases, closing the gap between the US and other developed countries.

Apathy is the disease of the modern world. Because of its anonymity, its victims get very little recognition. Society lets Apathy spread - there is no anti-apathy week, no education on how to protect one's self from apathy. No parent warns their child of the evils of apathy when entering college or a new job. There is no Alliance to Stop Apathy. President Obama will not launch a war against Apathy.

The plague is nearly invisible as it narrows its victims' minds and stamps out free thought and the courage to help people. The disease is usually caught too late as it chips away its victims' enthusiasm and vigor.

Ignorance is often mistaken for apathy but is quite different in the way it effects the individual. Ignorance has the potential to at least cause outrage while Apathy sits stalely behind the patients' eyes and on the top of their mouths. One of the most common co-morbidities of Apathy are boredom and increased gambling urges.

Treatment

Many Apathetics try to self-treat by changing life circumstances which has been proven to provide temporary relief. Bored and 30? Why not try an extramarital affair? Nothing to do at the age of 20? Keg party is the way to go. Spiritless at 40? Time to buy a Jaguar. Restless at 15? Time to steal a Jaguar.

Other self treatment attempts are available, some more costly than others, but show very little consistency in plans, especially among the younger generations. If patients show retention to treatment, however, recovery has a 100% success rate. These treatments include reading, writing, community service, dancing, knitting, horseback riding, music, traveling, swimming, figure skating, running, painting, scrap-booking, cooking, watching theater, opera, singing, research, conversation, woodworking, pottery, surfing, sewing, politics, playing sports, people watching, joining clubs, training, gaming, cleaning, designing, sketching, auctions, touring, strolling, karate, hiking, poetry, baking, skiing, and more.

The advance treatment of apathy involves 3 basic steps to recovery. The first and hardest step towards the cure is acknowledging the existence of the disease. After this difficult task, the patient must stop to feel the apathy instead of running; this way they can attempt to fill the gaping void where their dreams used to be. Soon enough they will be disgusted at themselves for being bored, disgusted at the world for not caring, and disgusted at the atrocities and travesties that are occurring every moment but have been too jaded and apathetic to notice before. Once this is realized, relapse is extremely rare.

Conclusions

Apathy is like the persistent dust of New Delhi; You can try all you want to protect yourself from it but you cannot escape the eventual build-up throughout the day. You breathe it in, talk with its victims, eat it in your food, watch it float in your water all the while not realizing the layers and layers that you have accumulated. You cannot notice it until you cleanse yourself from the pollutants, watching the gritty swirl of gray and brown disappear down the bathtub drain.

The incidence and prevalence of apathy has been increasing exponentially throughout the decades and will cause the demise of the developed world if not somehow eradicated. It has the possibility of causing a deficit in leadership, free thought, and morality. There is no vaccine, there is no known cause, and there are plenty of treatments. The disease is a complete mystery that has no explainable reason for existence.

Right now, the biggest threat Apathy poses is not to the individual and their role as a citizen, but to the developed society as a whole. As Apathy grows with each generation and each passing year, it poses the threat of causing a societal paradigm shift to believing that those that do not have the disease - those that care and are aware - are seen as the overachievers. The disease's rise has already begun to change perspectives of many citizens into believing that apathy is normal, that it is alright. Apathy is not alright.

Thank You for Thinking.

1 comment »

Molto dire di stupire Firenze

One of the World's Most Magical Cities

The Ponte Vecchio is a Medieval bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy, noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common. Butchers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewelers, art dealers and souvenir sellers.

My friend Dana and I took-off to Florence to explore Tuscany, Italy over a long weekend. On Thursday, we hopped on our couchette and woke up the next morning in magical Firenze.

Before setting off on our adventures, we paused for Italian coffee. I invested in a caffé shakerato, not knowing what it was. I was pleasantly surprised by a deliciously sweet coffee served over ice in a wine glass - the ice coffee, which was simply cold as opposed to diluted, had been tossed in a shaker as if it were a martini and served with the same air of sophistication. Dana got a strong espresso - a distinct aftertaste of midnight dark chocolate.

We momentarily studied the map and set off to explore. The bus station was far from the main part of the city so we were a bit worried that Florence wasn't going to live up to its famous pictures. We did, however, get to first see some of the more residential areas that aren't so tourist-infested. The cars were compact and the bike-riders numerous. We manipulated our way through a group of Italian high school students putting out their cigarettes and bustling into the building as the bell screeched into the street, notifying everyone of their tardiness.  The park beside the school was pushing up a little bit of yellow grass and attempting a daisy or two.

The Leather Market

As we strolled into the city, fragrant bakeries and gelaterias beckoned us in. Once we found the leather market, our senses were overwhelmed by the fabric. Chatter everywhere in the beautiful Italian accent. We meandered wide-eyed through the market where I somehow ended-up buying four pashminas. Each vendor sent me along with a "Ciao Bella" as they counted my recently lost euros. Dana walked a couple steps in front of me down the narrow pathway of purses and shoes. I watched as the hanging leather gloves brushed up against the fabric of Dana's coat as she passed unknowingly of the connection.

Getting a bit peckish, we decided to scavenger the famous Vivoli gelateria. Is 10:30am to early for gelato? Not for us! I mean, we had to avoid the lines, right? I was roped in by the tiramisu flavor and some other delicious-looking nutty flavor. After the first bite, I was hooked-there was no turning back. After dessert, we decided to eat lunch. We spotted a hidden café with sandwiches and calzones. Dana and I both chose a flakey Spinach and Cheese calzone type thing. Yum! After gorging and relaxing to digest for a minute, lots of walking was in order.

We climbed 414 steps to the top of the bell tower

The Duomo

The Duomo was a sight that has left even me with few words. The gothic style cathedral peered above us, paneled with green and white marble.  Said to be "big enough to cover in its shadow all the Tuscan people," I fell into the Renaissance world where Michaelangelo transformed the art of sculpture, chiseling away at The David.

We worked off our gelato and calzones by climbing 414 steps to the top of the bell tower- worth the walk even carrying by oversized bags. With each level, the winding stair hall narrowed and it become more difficult to have two paths of traffic. Each bend and landing provided a faux-window that allowed us the peek into the lives of the Tuscans. The view of Florence was unforgettable: terra cotta paneled roof tops covering textured ivory walls all clustered together - set against a background of green rolling hills and a perfectly peaceful sky. Although there were many a tourist up on that narrow roof top path, I felt completely alone in the best of ways.

Through the strands of my hair pushed in front of my eyes by the breeze, I vested my eyes on a city of beauty, art, history, inspiration, and royalty. Turning inwards, my imagination wandered to the old tower-keeper constantly climbing 414 steps to ring the bell of the Duomo Tower and the construction workers tap tap tapping the stones into place - the Royal Medicis watching from a far window. At the same moment, a bell somewhere disturbed the severe silence to mark the time. Being jolted out of my pensive pause, we sojourned inside then made the long descent.

Piazza del Fiore

Outside the cathedral, Dana needed a break to call her sister so I decided to wander around the Piazza del Fiore. Although the passers-by enjoyed the polished gem that Florence is today, I walked among Dante and feuding members of the Gueleps and Ghibellines. I felt the prayers of the Black Death rise from the dry dirt lying under the concrete as the early Tuscans begged fruitlessly for salvation. In a moment of pure poetry, a woman standing beside the Baptistery of San Giovanni, lifted her chin to the sky and freed the opera that had so long been contained between the walls of the Piazza.

Being a Tuscan

Exhausted yet still wanting more, we headed toward the hostel Ospitale Rifiorenze where we were greeted by a wonderful, helpful, and benevolent atmosphere.
For dinner, we took a recommendation from Lorenzo, our host, for a truly Tuscan restaurant. We relaxed in a cafe for a while before indulging in dinner at Tattoria Santorina. Luckily our server spoke English because my Spanish and Dana's French got us nowhere in terms of the menu. I satiated my hunger with ravioli, a green salad, and white Italian table wine.

We went back to the hostel to change into clothes for evening activities. The weather was kind so, while Dana finished getting ready, I took off to grab a little gelato to satisfy my incessant sweet tooth. I pointed to the only flavor I didn't know and took my chances with it. I settled myself on the corner of a bridge as the water of the Arno flowed beneath. The sun was setting behind me as I dipped my pink plastic spoon into my mini-adventure: caramel and... fig! Delectable. To my right, the orange hue of the approaching evening turned the pastel colors of the Ponte Vecchio a more pensive spectrum of colors. The bridges had remained unchanged for hundreds of years while the water passing by had changed with each moment. Mixed groups of natives and visitors flowed past me as I took in the circumstances that had brought me to this moment. My feet grew into the bridge and my body remained still. I was in Florence.

The city at night was inundated with music and chatter at every corner emanating from clubs, bars, and pubs. Those of you from Boston will appreciate the fact that we stumbled upon a place called "Joshua Tree" where we enjoyed a couple of cheap drinks. We encountered an Italian man who, although he spoke absolutely no English, insisted on telling us about American politics - the only vehicle for his message being his hand motions and the names of our presidential candidates. After getting our fill of affordable drinks, polite conversation, and toying with boys' heads, we carried ourselves back to the hostel. 

A long and fulfilling day - I climbed the unsteady stairs to the top bunk and collapsed. The mattress may not have been up to par but, at this point, it didn't matter.

5 comments »

Morals in an Immoral World?

Questioning given values

I'd like to say that I have a tendency to question given values but I sometimes realize that I just enjoy arguing the devil's point. Really, the world doesn't exist in the discrete categories of right and wrong and these definitions can have different meanings for different people.

Arivend Adiga won the prestegious Man Booker Prize for his first novel The White Tiger.

My most recent thoughts, a consequence of The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, regard the place of morals in our society. Now, I can't say I've done extensive research on this topic but, I like to make a couple opinions or hypotheses before I embark on such a cognitive adventure.

It is in our idealism that people in developed nations believe that everyone should be moral. In its purest form, I feel the desire is benevolent; it addresses the desire of wanting people to be, simply put, good. Having experienced developed and underdeveloped nations, lavish and decrepit situations, malevolent and benevolent people, I have come to the conclusion that morals are a luxury.

I base my decision loosely on the following: Our greatest instincts strive for survival at all costs. Only after we feel comfortable in our safety and have fulfilled our basic needs can we critically analyze our world and work to be moral beings - or even figure out what morals really are.

I don't believe that any psychologist has ever been able to fully explain human behavior (nor do I think they ever will as its complexity is beyond our minds) but I think Maslow's theories could prove useful in this situation. Maslow explained that we have certain basic needs to fulfill before we can reach self-actualization. On the bottom of Maslow's pyramid lie our needs such as food, sleep, and air. The next level includes shelter and safety. Only after we have fulfilled these and a couple more levels can we work on self growth and development.

I wonder if suffering happens because we are naturally ruthless and/or selfish animals or because we do not believe enough in the good to let it happen and trust it to happen.

Well, other than the thoughtful value of this idea, how is the applicable to us? I'm glad you asked. I often find myself presented with the decision of survival (in the sense of business, academics, jobs, etc) and morals. The American dream plays on a decision that encompasses both but I, admittedly a bit cynical, sometimes doubt that such path exists.

This thought may also be a reflection of my current read, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins which explores the convoluted way hired professionals tease money out of developing nations. This story is applicable because his job is socially accepted and even praised but, as I see it, clearly immoral. In his career line, however, it's eat or be eaten. I doubt that this mentality is completely devoid in any interactions with others. And so I wonder, must we fight for our survival in every walk or life or could impressing morals on everyone obviate this problem? Neither option seems all too appealing.

This brings me to another thought. In each day I see evil and I see suffering; heroes walk amongst us and within us while the temptingly fragrant vines of self-importance incessantly must be trimmed. So, I wonder if suffering happens because we are naturally ruthless and/or selfish animals or because we do not believe enough in the good to let it happen and trust it to happen.

Each day we face some form of moral dilemma or take an action that reflects our individual (hopefully individual) morals. You will never make a decision that everyone agrees with but it is important for your peaceful mind to remember that you are the most qualified to make the decision and decide the action within its context.

Hey, don't take my word for it. In the words of the Flobots, "If you are thinking, you are winning."

Thank You for Thinking.

10 comments »