Life is good...
...when the filing is done! And the inbox is emptied. I find this year to have passed rather quickly and without stealth. Am growing to enjoy my new ME! Happy New Year!
December 2010
The Writing of an Integral Politics Paper
The Big Picture (Intro + .doc below)
Moment to moment, the universe hangs together. Somehow, the universe of this moment and the universe of the previous moment are both similar and different: similar, in that the present moment resembles the previous moment in important ways; different, in that it is also significantly new. The more you think about it, the more mysterious the whole thing is… (Wilber, 2002a, p. 8)
As citizens of this democracy, you are the rulers and the ruled, the law-givers and the law-abiding, the beginning and the end. —Adlai E. Stevenson
Democracy is a great system. Arising out of the previous traditional, agricultural worldview, it ensures equality for all individuals, despite race, gender, nationality, or religion. It is the rational answer to myth-based ethnocentrism. (Wilber, 2000a, p. 239, 2002b, p. 4-5) Adapting Wilber’s AQAL Quadrants to accommodate our political current experience reveals how the untended left-hand quadrants might influence the current political landscape through inadvertent shadow projections, both individual and collective. My hypothesis is that the problems mentioned above are a direct result of traditionally-oriented individuals attempting to operate in a modern political system. Crafted by men who valued egalitarianism, individuality, science, equality, and self-governance, democracy assumes a capacity for self-authorship. (Wilber, 2002b, p. 4-5)
Developmental psychologist Robert Kegan (1994) lays out a framework describing the cognitive organization and meaning-making strategies of traditional, modern, and post-modern individuals using orders of consciousness as the metric. Third order consciousness holds traditional values, while fourth order grows out of—and includes—that previous level. Democracy is a fourth order construction, designed to function with fourth order individuals. However, as Kegan states in his 1994 book, we are In Over Our Heads. Many adults in modern Western society never make it to fourth order. (p. 335) So, here we are living, working and playing in a fourth order structure (one which sometimes even demands of us fifth order capacities) as many citizens continue to make meaning at third order. No wonder politics, economics, and foreign affairs are so difficult for us—and for our leaders—to navigate.
Fourth order is when we begin to accept our unacceptable parts, embracing them rather than waging battle against them. In other words, shadow comes online. Before that, it is nearly impossible for us to recognize our own shadow projections. This means our individual practices and beliefs—in the privacy of our homes, schools, and workplaces—influence our heated partisan political landscape every bit as much as the practices and behaviors of our elected officials. By engaging in shadow work and intentionally embracing what we see as the “negative” parts of ourselves, we will change not only our own way of making meaning, but also contribute to the humanity’s overall developmental altitude. Many contemporary writers, politicians, theorists, and leaders have embarked on this shadowy quest and are beginning to guide the rest of us towards a future full of hope and possibility. Sit back and enjoy this Integral Tour of today’s American political climate.
Book Review: The New Road to Serfdom, by Daniel Hannan
I have to say I was prepared to hate this book and only read it to research the “other side” for my Integral Politics paper. Surprisingly, I find myself in agreement with much of what Hannan believes. And, while I would prefer more citations, I am impressed with his wide perspective on the advantages and importance of democracy. I don’t know enough about the European Union (EU), except what Hannan reports via his experience, but I suspect he may be interpreting some post-modern ideals as pre-modern, causing them appear as steps backwards, when perhaps they are not.
The British politician and journalist, not yet 40 years old, is a strenuous member of the European Parliament representing South East England, and to his credit, Hannan loves America. The book gets a slow start dispelling myths that Europeans have about America and Americans. What makes us different, he says, are choice, free-market, consumerism, and democratic development. The central argument against Europeanizing America, is to preserve the ideals of democracy. The book lists abuse after abuse by the EU's appointed (not elected) officials, contrasting that to our system, which makes it much more difficult to rule autocratically.
A necessary comparison is drawn between the United States of America and the European Union of state-nations, all of whose 27 members come from democracies themselves. Hannan stresses the importance of state-level politics, which allows for diversity, innovation, and real civic engagement, not to mention, keeping politicians close to their voters. Throughout, he cites successful American local programs that fell away as powers slowly seeped upward. It’s easy for the federal government to take control, but not quite so easy to hand it back to the states, where things can usually be done more efficiently and effectively.
Don’t copy Europe, he says. They’ve traded a strong economy for longer vacations and shorter work-weeks. He points out that we are beginning to rely more and more on authorities to do what we used to do for each other in community, weakening our sense of nationalism. Democracy depends on the initiative of the individual—which Hannan touts as a strength of America—and as a weakness for Europe, whose motivation he sees as more about being polite and saving face than standing up against bullies and for ideals of liberty around the globe.
He finishes up with a sentimental and positive reminder that we Americans come from good stock, and were not alone in the fight against remote and powerful government as we seceded from England in civil war-like fashion. All the while admitting that American democracy isn’t perfect, it is the best we’ve got, and to sacrifice it for the less than democratic practices of the EU, would be a move backwards in his eyes. All this he admits contains a thread of selfishness as the United States leads the globe in democratic unions, and therefore, has a greater responsibility to stay true to its ideals.
