Humankind’s uniqueness is reflected in three mirrors: Order, Control and Peace. These are the foundations for our longevity, development and happiness. For governance to succeed it must reflect the three mirrors in a mixture suitable for the time, the environment and the pace. Absent any of the mirrors and we become restless and dissatisfied. Excess of any of the mirrors causes us to lose our mental balance. Doing so creates conflict, lawlessness and anarchy – the overture to mob rule.
The expression of any excess is through whatever communications we have at the time. As interpersonal contact gets faster we speed up what we say and how we say it. A competitive world urges us to compete regardless of the prize for winning. Coming first is an obsession. “Nice guys come last” is a nasty statement about a nasty reality, at least in the world’s eyes. You are probably currently mesmerized by the awfulness of nasty.
The best of our expressions is reason, the worst, violence. Whether at the level of a domestic conflict or a geographical, racial or religious confrontation, reason can produce the inevitable compromise sooner than violence. Reason is moderation protected by common sense. Because of our circadian rhythm we perform our lives in a melodic way. The music gets rough and discordant at times but our bodies and minds recover when some sort of a balance is restored. Good governance aims to promote balance.
The ‘wake up call’ beloved of the bully manager is the lay expression of Electrical Cardioversion, the medical procedure sometimes required to restart a failing heart – or to re-rhythmatise a fibrillating one. It can be a life-saver. Societies need their equivalent of the cardioversion at times. Today’s world society certainly does. The balance between rhythmic and fibrillating daily life is too out of whack to enable order, control or peace.
The re-arrival of President Trump can be likened to a ‘cardioversion’. The formidable risks it brings with it make it less than appealing to many of us. But make no mistake, it could be the jab that gets everyone to ask themselves ‘what do I want out of life?’ Those who apply their brains to that will quickly follow with ‘what do I want to put into life?’ Life is not a zero-sum game. It is a lively interaction where the dividend of ‘fulfilled’ is reflective of input, not output.
How much cardioversion can a body stand? When do you call a halt to the procedure? The same questions must be asked of a society. Humanity is coping with technological advance of a new and traumatic sort, with the unknown but visible medical after effects of a pandemic and with an ability to communicate that was not even imagined by most of us ten years ago. The burgeoning populations of many countries and the ageing populations of others are separating us from nature in a way that is already changing our personalities.
We are adaptable. We can cope with much of it. But a human being is something special. A sensory, internally combative creature with an inexplicable yearning to develop. Our reach for the stars is not a rocket but a longing to understand. We accept knowledge as a precursor to comprehension. We understand that comprehension is the basis of our ability to feel. Without feeling we would not be the human creatures we are now.
Can our mirrors survive or will they shatter?
Good morning
John Bittleston
Your views are welcome as always at [email protected]
24 January 2025
