DAYTONA BEACH REFLECTIONS

Katry Rain

DAYTONA BEACH REFLECTIONS Thoughts on New Ethics for America

by Katry Rain

Preface

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction PART I

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

The Seagulls of Daytona The Bikers of Daytona

Daytona Beach Reflections

The Down-and-Outers of Daytona The Cruisers of Daytona The Christian Witnesses of Daytona The Drug Dealers of Daytona The Police of Daytona Twenty Questions The Pelicans of Daytona

10

The American Identity

Modern Identity

PART II

11 Love 13

Psychology and Religion

12 Freedom

Resolving Some Paradoxes Twenty Questions

14 15 16 17 18

Power and Energy

Power and Ethics in America

PART III

The Energy/Ethics Connection Impediments to a New Ethics Twenty Questions

Laws of Power and a New Ethics Some Metaphysical Considerations

20 21 22 23

1 Family Life Public Life

Practical Applications of Power

PART IV

The Environment The Economy

24 Education

Twenty Questions

25 26 27 28

Beauty and Identity Beauty and Being Beauty and Art Beauty and Power Twenty Questions

Beauty in America

PART V

29 30 31 32 33

Recalcitrance and Renegotiation Progress The New American

A New Vision of America

PART VI

The Eternal Cosmos Twenty Questions

A Last Look at Daytona

Preface

properties of the thing observed. Two people can look at the same object and see something entirely different. I remember a British study of perception As the camera scanned a row of tall buildings, the Africans demanded to know where the buildings going out of the picture went. To them, the where African tribesmen were shown a film and were asked what they saw.

We know today that perceptions arent always determined by the

camera wasnt moving, the buildings were; they were magically appearing perfectly logical deduction, it was a logic not shared by the researchers, and obviously not by us, either.

at one edge of the screen and disappearing at the other. Although this was a

perception differences which are as great as the one just described. Cultural conditioning for the most part determines what we see, and America is a composite of many cultures. This book attempts to loosen the hold of

I believe that much of the conflict within our own society is due to

some of that conditioning. Its premise is that weve been taught to think about life in certain ways, and that those ways have proven to be overly narrow. Unfortunately, this comes at a time when were faced with complex problems which demand a broad and penetrating vision. Ive used Daytona since childhood which may be hindering us from understanding the issues and conflicts of our time. Beach as a backdrop for explaining some of these ideas weve been learning

different map of reality than the reader may be accustomed to. My goal, and the one Im trying to draw.

Our perceptions will often be different. Its likely that Ill be speaking of a

then, is to be a cartographer, commenting on the map you and I have learned

Introduction

ONE It was a stroke of luck to discover Daytona when I did. The logical

time would have been during my undergraduate years when droves of

student pilgrims flocked here on Spring Break. I never did, although Id

certainly wanted to. Who could resist the fun-in-the-sun hedonism that had blossomed into a national reputation for Daytona? But like that trip to the Munich Oktoberfest, I just never quite made it. Now, more than a decade later, I make my appearance. I have arrived. But I have a different pair of eyes now. A little more critical of what I see than I might have been ten years ago as a smart-mouthed kid with a

practiced line for a pretty girl. I might have come then, high on rebellion,

dissipating my energies on parties and pleasures and, having spent myself, gone home exhausted. Im glad I didnt learn this pattern. The people here today are doing what I might have done. Theyve come to blow off all the accumulated steam built up by living the straight life back home. Social science has a name for this. Orgiastic release.

to hold them so tightly in place. And after the party is over and everyones the routine, we say. The status quo is thus preserved.

Theres no rejuvenation; just a throwing off of the bonds that seemed

energy is spent, they go back once more to where they came from. Back to

TWO Weve come a long way from the status quo of earlier civilizations.

How many of us would like to have been slaves building the Egyptian pyramids or working on the Phoenician trade ships? If we didnt belong to a tiny Had we been early disciples of Jesus, wouldnt we have been aristocracy of priests or nobles, our miserable lot may have been fixed for life. persecuted? And had we been followers of Galileo, wouldnt we have had to

recant as he did? I myself wouldnt have been too enthusiastic about arguing religious In other words, our lot looks like a veritable paradise by comparison.

toleration during the Inquisition or psychic phenomena in early Salem, Massachusetts. Weve outlawed slavery. We have a measure of religious toleration unheard

of in ages past. Weve given citizens the right to vote. Weve adopted

minimum wage, child labor, and occupational safety laws, sometimes less than effective but at least acknowledging that theres a concern for those who work. Our constitution is in itself a magnificent document, and when is any further change necessary?

amended by the Bill of Rights, is nothing short of phenomenal. Why, then,

THREE Were lucky, its true. Compared to some eras of the past, ours seems

to be truly enlightened. Today we can speak about social change without fear of earlier societys ultimate punishment: death. In the Mayan kingdom in Yucatan, for example, we might have run the risk of being

sacrificed to the gods by having our chest cut open with a flint knife and

having our heart ripped out, still beating. Such retribution makes Daytonas obsolete societies, ours looks practically wonderful.

pot busts with their fifty-dollar fines seem incontestably just. Alongside such Among many of us, then, theres an almost overwhelming temptation

to keep things as they are. The result, however, is to continue to let people do as theyve been taught to do with little thought for what it is theyre we didnt think this philosophy needed a second look.

doing. But I wouldnt be writing this and the reader wouldnt be reading it if

FOUR Each society protects its own interests by teaching its citizens how

good it is. Yet when we look back in history we see that virtually every tried to create something better for themselves.

society has tried to strengthen and improve itself. On the whole, people have We as Americans havent stopped growing. Life always seeks to expand,

to seek out or create optimum conditions for growth and extension. For humanity, there is no resting on its laurels. Philosophical arguments of life to seek improvement, extension, betterment. The biologist, the

about Is mankind perfectible? have nothing to do with it. Its a feature historian, and the humanities professor will all agree to this. Exceptions

can be found, of coursethe male praying mantis who reluctantly allows

himself to be devoured by his mate, the dwarf plants which are genetically etc. But were not as concerned here with the exceptions as we are with the rule of life.

programmed to be stunted, the existential hero who takes his or her own life,

the best ever, it shouldnt be considered the finished product of human civilization. As the discussions to come will show, theres still more to be law, medicine, and so on) is still not reaching enough people to warrant emptiness which haunts even those whose portions of that bounty are greatest. Thus this great civilization is far from finished.

So even though we have the simple belief that in America weve got

done. The bounty of the great achievements of Western civilization (science, calling America a completely just nation. Moreover, there exists a spiritual

10

FIVE Its this perspective that prompted me to look at Daytona Beach

the way I did instead of following my earlier education and seeking to get drunk and get laid. I hope the reader is ready to come with me and take a look at what I saw. And maybe, look at things in a somewhat different light. What Ill be asking is more than I promise to deliver: a breaking of some of our past conditioning so that a new vision of America might emerge.

could get a sense of what was going on there. I wanted to find out if, when

I parked on the beach in a cabover camper and this is where I stayed until I

people really let their hair down, theyd show me something more typical of all Americans, even if milder or more opaque back home. I was there 24/7, and if it was there, Id see it.

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Daytona Beach Reflections

PART I

The Seagulls of Daytona

Chapter 1

ONE The way we see animals has a lot to do with the way we see ourselves.

TWO I did come to Daytona Beach with an eye for a pretty woman but it

was the seagulls that first caught my attention. They put on a morality play for me, and I had to marvel at what accomplished actors they were. They had no lines, but followed their stage directions perfectly.

motorcycles and Corvettes, cops and catamarans, are infinitely more

Why look at seagulls when bikini-clad women and dope-buzzed men,

interesting to the modern eye? Ill get to them soon enough. Right now Id like to consider the seagull because it has life and a nervous system and a will to survive just like we do. Aside from slight differences in size

12

and shape, it even has the same brainstem we do. But in the long run Im not going to be as concerned about the similarities as the differences. Seagulls often fight with one another to survive. That should be clear

to anyone who watches them. Theirs is an individualistic society, and even though they congregate benignly on the beach as the sun goes down, this

serves to mask the life-and-death struggle they carry on throughout the day. what appears to be from what is. Toss a handful of breadcrumbs to seagulls on the beach to see what is. Its both our pain and our satisfaction that animals behave so

I use the word mask intentionally. In any study of life, we have to separate

ruthlessly. It troubles us that were so much like them, and yet this also serves to justify our acting the way we do. We hate to be so beastly sometimes, but then again, were only human, right? surrounded by half the flock.

A little old lady tossed some crumbs to a seagull and soon she was She was just a New Yorker feeding the pigeons

but actually she was a conductor orchestrating a grand theme and didnt

realize it. She was quickening the tempo of the hunt and thus revealing in a dramatic way what takes place quietly throughout the day at a slower pace and in more widespread locations. The ruthlessness of animals. At this point to see that a bird is truly an animal.

the purist will say that the bird is not an animal but a bird. But its quite easy One seagull chases another off a rock, taking its place. It chases off

other gulls by threatening with its beak or flapping its wings. Another

gull attempts to land and is driven off. The gull has achieved superiority. Soon, however, it flies off as if bored by it all. The question arises: What was so important about that rock? What was its meaning, if only momentarily?

Do we dare deny our gullhood? Whats the meaning of a parking space?

Ive read where men have shot one another over a parking space.

13

THREE Daytona Beach isnt a place where one typically considers important

questions. People drive up and down the beach, looking for a party or one they can create in their own heads, and life rolls on.

The struggle for existence occurs here, of course. Its just masked.

FOUR I was sitting on the beach on a rainy Saturday trying to find the

dividing line between the slate-gray sea and the slate-gray sky when I

witnessed an event. Driving is permitted on the beach, and on a sunny day it resembles rush hour on the Ventura Freeway. On Saturday, however, it was the beach was returned to the gulls. rainy and cold and even the lifeguards disappeared from paradise. Control of A group of them congregated around a fish head or portion of crab, although

the excitement had died down and they were just milling about. A car

approached, with a woman about thirty years old behind the wheel. She was going the posted speed limit, which was ten miles per hour. But she didnt stop for the seagulls. They were in her path, perhaps thirty of them, and she plowed right into them.

to fly away. One was crushed by the wheels, and lay on the hard sand with one wing sticking into the air. The woman peered into her rearview mirror but didnt stop. She continued on her way at the same speed, and soon she was gone from the beach.

About a third of them got pulled under the car, while the rest managed

it breaks another. I was doing the speed limit, her conscience says;

This is the twentieth-first century mind. Content in obeying one law while

what were those birds doing in the road anyway? It appears that with the

14

eclipse of religion we know no higher laws than civil ones which soothe our consciences. She had the power to destroy life and she exercised it. I was going to say thoughtlessly, but thought was involved. Yet perhaps thought is too kind a word. Lets call it conditioning. And what this colonel, but by an ordinary citizen with no particular intent. conditioning permitted was an abuse of power, not by a despot or mad army Driving on the beach, she wasnt even trying to get somewhere.

Theres something too typical about this event. While as an isolated incident it may appear to be an unfortunate aberration, as a social ethic it reflects an unknowing, an ignorance, which needs to be corrected if a roadside across America today? And who really cares?

people are to consider themselves civilized. How many animals lie by the

FIVE Heres an epilogue to the story to show how easy it is to believe

appearances. I noticed a young couple walking across the beach and into the water to frolic in the waves. It was getting dark, and the only illumination was from the floodlights of nearby motel parking lots.

the beach. They came out of the water and bent over it tenderly, then looked at each other as if to ask what to do. There seemed to be nothing but to bury it. I watched them in the dim glow cast by the distant floodlights. of the jungle as the proper directive of human society. They were still

The lovers stopped their frolicking when they saw the dead seagull lying on

I was touched. They understand, I thought. They havent accepted the law open enough to see alternatives. They werent jaded like the woman driving know why. Young lovers, I thought, of each other and of all creatures, may be the hope of the world.

the car, yet who even now may be trying to shrug off a trace of guilt and not

and its headlights lit up the beach. The lovers werent lovers at all but two

As I reflected on these things in the semi-darkness, a car drew closer

15

surf fishermen. They hadnt been frolicking in the waves but were trying to find a solid footing in the dark surf. They hadnt buried anything; they had its wing sticking up in the air. knelt to the sand to bait their hooks. The bird still lay dead on the hard sand, The woman who wanted to believe she did the right thing and the man

who wanted to believe the wrong would be righted were both misled by appearances. But somewhere between them, there must be a truth. SIX

pipers and the pigeons. They may get tough with other gulls over a morsel of food, but they never kill each other or members of other species out of in one way is superior to ours. greed, anger, or carelessness. In this sense, they may have a morality which

To give the seagulls credit, they get along well with both the sand-

SEVEN You see, life is subject to several moralities. While the uses of

power among members of the animal kingdom are genetically regulated, the human species has more flexibility. Our behavior has more plasticity, we say, or the ability to be shaped or molded. Animals social behavior is

instinctual, while humans social behavior is partially learned. Raise a child in an animal environment and it becomes an animal. Raise an animal in a human environment and it remains an animal.

uses of power. They may even learn to use it according to instinct, but learning is still the important factor.

In short, animals use power instinctively, while people can learn the

at ten thousand feet goes against every instinct we have. Or put a farm boy in the middle of Manhattanhe must surely wonder how everyone can be

Can instinct be overcome? Ask a skydiver. Jumping out of an airplane

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so cool, almost nonchalant, in the face of such a seemingly threatening environment. How did the city people learn to overcome their natural instincts? So without trying to make it sound too simple, human beings

can either yield to their instincts or use what theyve learned to direct or

overcome them. Or a combination of both. Animals, on the other hand, must rely on instinct alone, although it must be said that they do have a limited into a burninghouse to save its master. But this is a meager achievement fears and desires we call instinctual. capacity to go beyond instinct, at least temporarily. Take the dog that runs beside the Zen master who spends an entire lifetime far removed from the Life, then, can be governed by instincts or it can be governed by

learning. Most human social behavior is governed by learning, whether it is learning to yield to instincts or learning to transform or overcome them. Human morality therefore has to do with learning.

EIGHT Walking down the beach early in the morning, I came across a

family feeding some seagulls. Two young boys were awestruck at the

chaotic sight and one of them, pretending he had a machine gun, proceeded to shoot them down. The brother and the parents laughed at this and it was anotheruneventful morning on the beach. Id like to make it eventful, however, by recording it here.

the parents didnt perceive any harm being done. But the symbolic killing philosophers and novelists are correct in saying that weve become

Its innocent enough to reinforce a childs fantasy, especially since

of animals is only one step removed from actually killing them. If modern estranged from the world, lets not add to that estrangement by reinforcing a with the question: does this mean we may never eat another hamburger?

childs killing of the living beings we share the world with. Critics will reply

17

the issues involved is reached.

This will be answered in due time, but not until a broader understanding of Why should one care if a four-year-old pretends to shoot down seagulls?

When I was a child we used to burn ants on the sidewalk with a magnifying glass. It took a lot of skill to focus the glass and follow the ant at the same and agility of animals. By rights I should have grown up to become a skillful hunter. But something must have intervenedI discovered,

time. We were becoming little men, testing our prowess against the cunning

against all logic, that I wasnt an estranged, predatory creature but a part of something larger. In this new universe, it didnt make sense to kill for to a crisp with a magnifying glass? sport or even pretend to. Why wasnt I taught this when I was burning ants The answer must be that my culture believed in a fragmented world and

I had been growing up as its loyal citizen. It should be known, though, that many of us have, through learning, renounced some of the tenets of that citizenship.

NINE If I came to Daytona Beach with an eye for a young lady, I found

its sandsfertile soil for a more profound experience than even the modern my reflections to see what fruit they might bear.

college princess could provide. Id like to share in these chapters some of

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The Bikers of Daytona

Chapter 2

ONE Ive seen too many swastikas to be offended by new generations who use

them to offend.

TWO Show us your tits! This is the sign the bikers were holding up as the cars

passed on the beach. There were some accommodating women, and a crowd gathered so as not to miss anything. I was a detached observer, of course, present strictly in the interests of science. The bikers here are carbon copies of bikers everywhere.

They wear blue jeans, black boots, black leather or sleeveless levi jackets with insignias on the back, and silver chains attached to their belts. the most part drive Harleys. Never call a biker a non-conformist. They all have tattoos. Long hair is the standard, and they drink beer and for I can see by the license plates that the bikers have come here from about

twenty states, converging on Daytona Beach to celebrate Bike Week and the annual motorcycle races. Many motels have signs posted which read, Welcome Race Fans. Race fans; thats a good one. Thats like saying Welcome Rifle Fans to the Battle of the Bulge.

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THREE Lets talk about power for a moment. We all want power. I want

power, you want power, the bikers want power. Not necessarily political to lead our own lives.

power, which is power over others, but personal power, which is the power How do we acquire power? Possibly through education, by inheriting

money or a prominent name, or by being shrewd or lucky in business. solid intelligence play a prominent role in the American scramble for success.

We can invent a better mousetrap. But it cant be denied that fair skin and

political views, sexual respectability, proper use of the language, belief in the Protestant work ethic, patriotism and civic virtue, and similar

Beyond this we typically look for cleanliness, proper attire, moderate

attributes. These are the trappings of the typical achievermaybe not the us.

ones we may read about in magazines, but the ones hard at work all around Along comes the biker. Only hes not a biker yet, hes a third grader.

Hes the son of working-class parents and his IQ has been tested at 95. He the part of the tree. In sixth grade he gets in trouble for peeing on the

says aint instead of isnt and in the school play hes always chosen for toilet paper in the boys bathroom. In seventh grade hes channeled into

the shop program and his parents are told he seems to have mechanical for smoking marijuana. In twelfth grade while his classmates are perusing college catalogues, he is encouraged by the school counselor to attend a himself joins a fraternity. He buys a Harley. vocational school. A year later, when his peers are joining fraternities, he

aptitude. In tenth grade hes suspended for cutting classes, and in eleventh

condemned by an invisible system, and this system is the giver and

Hes been tested, categorized, channeled, and (from his point of view)

withholder of power. Powerless, he bands together with other powerless

men and finds that theres power in their unity. Occasionally they unleash

20

that power and a town recoils.

FOUR

gangs because theyre unable to gain acceptance, self-respect, and effect, our society creates bikers.

Since the 1950s sociologists have been telling us that young men join

powerelsewhere. You see, its not a problem of spontaneous generation. In

FIVE I went to the Boot Hill Saloon to have a little tte--tte with the

bikers. I had to pick my way through the police outside and the maze of

motorcycles that cluttered the doorway. Once inside, I surveyed the scene: a hundred Marlon Brandos in the same room, and every one right out of a movie poster. Yet only a few were The Wild One. Most, I found, just wanted them philosophy that had created them created us with us as the them. Do you feel like youre falling down a spiral staircase? Beer loosens even the tightest tongue, but I really didnt hear

to be left alone. Not necessarily by me, but by them. So the same us-and-

anything I hadnt heard before, a thousand times. Talk of work, of women, one might hear in any executive cocktail lounge, faculty room, or athletic club. The forms are identical; only the content differs. Bikers dont talk talk about how helped they were by being white and bright.

of the economy, of how leisure time is spent; in short, nothing different than

about how wronged they were by society any more than corporate officers

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SIX Name any typical virtue or attribute and Ill show you its counterpart

in the biker world:

SOCIETY Modesty Silence

BIKER SOCIETY Immodesty Noise

Chastity

Sobriety

Drunkenness Wantonness Raunchiness Street smarts

Cleanliness Education Caution

Good English Bad English

Deferred gratification Immediate gratification Self-restraint Manners Recklessness Uncouthness Self-indulgence

Respectability Notoriety

SEVEN Show us your tits! I saw plenty of em, too, shown off from the

open doors of passing vans and spilled out the cab windows of semis. This was the bikers flower show and they observed the lush blooms with relish. Ive been thinking about the predicament of the biker. Had I grown up with limited resources and a statistically predictable future, how would the power not to be overpowered? More to the point, why do our schools live by the philosophy of divide-and-conquer which creates the need for

I have acquired the power to live my life fruitfully or, a more modest wish,

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bikers in the first place?

track and finds himself powerless. What would you or I do? Go it alone? Pursue the untenable Horatio Alger dream that any boy can make it? Or thing most of us would do: he follows the path of least resistance.

The bikers predicament is simple: hes been weeded out of the success

band together with others in the same predicament? The biker does the same This is no theory of bikers. This is mere reportage. Im not saying

anything that hasnt been said over and over again. A biker doesnt become a biker when he buys his first motorcycle or joins a gang. He usually elementary school and pick out the bikers. becomes a biker in kindergarten, or first grade at the latest. I can go into any So there was lots of drunken noise on the beach and the flower show had

breasts instead of flowers. Why? Probably because those who are rejected by society tend to reject societys values.

EIGHT What is Bike Week? An event to give legitimacy to an illegitimate

art form. A place where rejects (and poseurs) can get together and say to one another (without actually saying it), Youre not so bad, and neither am I. NINE Lets talk for a moment about the motorcycle. Just what is it? Myth

or status symbol? Weapon? Toy? Triumph of a technology gone mad? Obscene gesture?

Its really a tool. A tool to help people feel free. Why do people need to feel free in a free society?

A motorcycle is none of these things, even though it may embody them all.

rewards and who should be denied them? This is the basis of competition.

What is society but a collection of attitudes about who should reap the

As the tension grows, as indeed it must, more and more individuals need to

befree, to get away from it all, to leave troubles behind. Not on a bus or

23

plane, packed in with their competitors, but alone. A person who gets on

a motorcycle wants to get away from others. Many people ride motorcycles to get it out of their system, then return to the fold. Bikers keep riding. The motorcycle is a machine, lets not forget that. It has no

properties we ourselves didnt give it. It has no intrinsic meaning. The web of social stigma that has surrounded it must be untangled by those with a sociological twist of mind and not by those who ride it into the sunset or shake a mental fist at its passing. The biker doesnt analyze his station; discussed here. neither does the weekend cyclist. One wonders why the subject is even Its the little things that add up. The little annoyances, when considered

as a whole, often call attention to a way of life as nothing else can. One has to stop listening to the patriotic rhetoric and listen to the petty

grievances of the soul to understand America. The small annoyance created in the mind of my countryman when a biker enters his airspace is really a momentous event when considered in its larger meaning: two persons separated and not knowing why. together again?

If people dont know why theyre separated, how will they ever learn to get So we return to the motorcycle. A machine used to carry people away from

one another. Do the seagulls like the motorcycles? Are you kidding? I think belated return to the natural scheme of things. TEN

they look at us humans as a mad, mad race and wish long-sufferingly for our

better to their situation. Our conversations are less punctuated with

Ive been talking to some bikers ladies. They seem to have adjusted

expletives and wind up concluding that theres hope for an end to the

estrangement. The reader will say that this is naive, but I assure you that in more potent doses than most males will ever experience, biker or not.

theres nothing naive about a bikers lady. She is subjected to raw reality In many ways she has the reality training of a big-city cop, with none of the

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protections.

figured that out yet. The younger ones tend to be pretty and the older ones respect the latter group most resembles the men. The ethic of the women, when theyre young, enjoying all the passions of their youth, then parlay

Who are the bikers ladies and where did they come from? I havent

appear more heavy-set and often have faces that would set pudding. In this as far as I can tell by discussion and observation, is to ride with the bikers their looks into a comfortable spot with a man in straight society. Those

without such hard currency end up staying with the bikers indefinitely, their general.

bond strengthened by societys discrimination against unattractive people in Do bikers ladies earn their wings (wheels?) in elementary school?

Another tough question. The ugly ones probably did. The words kids

used to describe them in my elementary school would have driven anyone Kids were always brushing off their cooties. With those at the other end Hot hormones with no place to go. In looks and attitude, the wildest ones they true bikers ladies? Only time will tell.

to extremes: skunk, scuzz, cow, scab, rag, and so on were the ones I heard. of the looks spectrum, the pretty ones, it seems more like teenage rebellion. Ive seen are right out of an eleventh grade college-track English class. Are Women sit on the backs of Harley-Davidsons because theyre getting

away from something. Whether its an image of being unattractive or the

bind of an excited but suppressed sexuality, the lady is definitely on the run.

Some have the attributes to rejoin the herd when their passion is spent, while others keep on riding. Its the latter group who are perhaps authentic bikers ladies and who, ironically, I find have the most to say about needing to put the pieces back together again.

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ELEVEN But some of these bikers have money! I heard someone exclaim.

I talked with one who claimed he made twice the national average. So how can anyone say theyre poor unfortunates who are shut out from societys rewards?

self-esteem, we have to look beyond money. We all know the adage that money cant buy class. Theres a reason why first-generation Texas millionaires arent found at Park Avenue dinner parties. It has to do

When were talking about someones personal sense of being, about

with the respect we accord another person. It has to do with how we guard

access to what we consider desirable. Were determined to prove that some people dont have class, no matter what the consequences. Not just in high society, but in third grade as well. Taxi Driver Wins Fortune in Lottery. But we know hell never be invited to the senators house. There will never be equality, of course, even if forced. What Im

going to suggest in later chapters may be more akin to fraternity. While equality may be doomed by genetics, fraternity can be learned. Its an

attitude. Right now we have no reason for learning it because the goal of

our civilization seems to be separation. Until we perceive the bond between and experience, the battle cry of an entire nation may become, Show us your tits!

ourselves and others, now invisible under the weight of contrary philosophy

TWELVE The final thing we want to know is this: does the biker have a heart?

Beneath the patented exterior of gloom and doom, is there a river of

compassion wanting to overflow its banks? Here I leave the reader to his or her own thoughts. If one is ever to know, one must explore that territory personally. It cant be learned from books, this one or any other.

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The Down-and-Outers of Daytona

Chapter 3

spend ones life around those without money. Better yet, have it and lose it. TWO

If one is to truly understand America, one must be without money or

ONE

adventure, but theres more to it than that. Theres a greater adventure reach a new vantage point.

I came to Daytona Beach with my eyes and ears open. I came for the

before us, but we may have to wade through the mire first before we can I open another chapter not with a testimonial about how we regard the most

fortunate among us, but how we regard the least. Id like to read you a few brief pages from the annals of the poor.

THREE Ive been befriended by a seventy-six-year-old woman. Remember

the pigeon lady from Chapter 1? She says she came here from New York

but cant remember when. She comes by in the morning as I sit writing in Atlantic. Her smile is so kind that I never sleep in for fear of missing it.

my recycled beach chair while watching the morning sun rising out of the Shes self-employed. She digs through the sand and the trash barrels for

aluminum cans. She puts them in a plastic bag slung over her shoulder. She conserves the little power she has left by stopping every so often, breathing deeply to rejuvenate herself. She draws energy from the air like the yogis.

27

Shes doing pranayama but doesnt know it. Shes just stopping to get her wind back. Here again I draw on the unremarkable. Lets look at the little things for a

change. Lets look at the everyday, the simple, the petty. The most

important thing for us to do is clarify our vision. Flying a spaceship

requires the utmost sophistication of perception. Lets get down to the drift meaninglessly in space.

weakest link so that we might chain ourselves to the proper stars and not So I pick on this little old lady who picks up cans and converts them into

cash. All our beaches should have as conscientious a citizen. Shes no singing honeybee, though. Shes dead broke. Why?

people can walk into the Hilton or to the podium at the Conference on Aging and compel the highest respect. Others often go hungry and get prodded by sleeps under newspapers must really have messed up. the police every time they sit down. In the land of opportunity, the man who The old lady told me she was out in the afternoon once and passed

Everybody knows that some people are important and some arent. Some

two children playing in the sand. One was trying to push the other in a

makeshift sled, with little success. She stopped and watched for a moment, then said, Why dont you try pulling instead of pushing? Youll find it easier to move through sand that way. And I thought how we ourselves are make all the difference.

trying to push a sled through sand when the proper pulling by all of us might

FOUR Land of opportunity. Let me return to that theme for a moment or

two. Let me think about what that means. If were all created equal, if

we all have the opportunity to make it in America, there must be something wrong with those who dont. Something lacking. A deficiency of character, ambition, or intelligence.

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for it. Poor blacks are really just lazy. An alcoholic has a character

Blame the victim, the researchers call it. A woman raped was asking

flaw. A poor student isnt applying herself. The injured athlete was eccentric. The seagull shouldnt have been in the path of the car.

overextending himself. The biker is morally depraved, the old lady is The blame for those who dont succeed in America falls squarely

upon themselves. Everyone has a chance in the land of opportunity, were

told. If you blow it, thats your fault. Its no wonder, then, that more people dont speak out. Such action invites condemnation. Its admitting, I had a chance and couldnt make it.

wages; she should have put more money away. She should have courted her done so much more so she wouldnt have to do such a classless thing at seventy-six years of age as go out hustling cans. FIVE Hey buddy, can you spare a dime? Only now its a dollar. Inflation

The old lady should have done more. She should have earned higher

children so shed have a decent place to stay in her old age. She should have

hits the streets. The man wants to know if Ill give him something for It represents the little bit of power I have in this world. To lessen my

nothing and my training says no. After all, I worked hard for my money. power at a time when the arena is becoming increasingly competitive would be foolhardy. How can I justify helping someone else by reducing my power and increasing his? In a competitive environment where power is help anybody?

so necessary to make it, to prove I have no deficiency, why should I ever

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SIX The man who asked me for money was about my age. He was rail-thin and

his skin was dark from the sun. He wore blue jeans, nothing more. His Panhandling, he replied.

hair was blond and fell to his shoulders. How do you live? I asked him. What is panhandling? Isnt it begging? In some eras begging had a

higher purpose, a spiritual dimension. Buddhists still practice it in

many parts of the world. The begging bowl is elevated to objet dart. Our the instinctual blueprint enough to allow people a measure of spiritual our own clings tenaciously to its Darwinian notion of survival. All must fight in the arena or be condemned in the eyes of their peers. Theres no platitudes about the sweetness of success and blame ourselves when we dont get to taste it.

own estimation of it is quite different. While some cultures have overcome exploration through temporary or even permanent cessation of the chase,

denying this central fact of American life. All we can do is soften it with

give them anything; youll just reinforce their habit, a friend once told me. Maybe thats just what I want to do. Am I saying that we should encourage begging? That would

So this fellow was panhandling and I gave him some money. Dont

certainly lead to decadence. Yet theres no question that the crisis of

meaning so many modern writers are talking about today is already leading to a kind of decadence, in spite of the Protestant work ethic. By crisis of meaning I mean that increasing numbers of people are coming to feel

theyre leading less than meaningful lives. Who are these people? Artists, meth heads, those who experience mid-life crises, search for their roots, or go back to the land? Or the less visible ones who, like Thoreau said,

corporate drop-outs, religious cultists, adolescents, runaway wives, pot and

lead lives of quiet desperation? The old, the infirm, the dissatisfied? Have I

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named half a nation yet? Lets not forget the poets, the whores, the convicts. The senators sons and daughters. Believe me, Ive met them all. So why encourage panhandling? Phrasing the question that way condemns

the answer before its even given. We have to view it from a different angle.

Lets look at begging as an alternate way of acquiring money (power) where if he cant or doesnt want to succeed at the expense of others. People give him money; he doesnt take it.

the recipient isnt compelled to fight with his own kind. Hes not condemned

it isnt begging may be one of the few alternatives. So while the weight of a nations philosophy is against the panhandler, until there are alternatives, I support his unwillingness to use his teeth and claws. He may be just a bum, but in a very real sense he just may be a higher being. The more statement. This book is for you, then.

In a country where the arena is a way of lifeand Ive been in many where

steeped in Americas ideology you are, the more repugnant you will find that

SEVEN It sounds as though Im unabashedly supporting the lowly, the

damaged,the decadent. Im really not. Im just trying to be more explicit

about theways our civilization, or accumulated habits of generations gone were taughtto ignore. Im saying we can learn from our mistakes. There some of our more common misunderstandings. There are only attitudes that actually means.

by, restrictsus from understanding ourselves. I do this by dwelling on what are no goodguys and bad guys in this book. There are only comments about about the purpose and potential of human life. I want to get down to what

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EIGHT In town theres an old Black man on Main Street who picks up

rubbish in a pushcart. He has the true revolutionary spirit but its reserved

for the Second Coming. He told me that the day we all meet our Maker, all like chaff in da wind. What about now? I asked him, and he laughed.

our differences will disappear. He took a nip from a bottle and said, Yessir, He told me we werent smart enough yet; the Lord would have to come back

and teach us. I told him many people were already teaching it but he said, that power was the energy of God and although we each had a little bit of good. That was as cosmic a notion of power as Ive heard in Daytona (or

Yeah, but dey ain got da power. I asked him what power was. He replied it, we spent it on the wrong things and never had enough left to do any real anywhere else), in spite of all the beer philosophy and reefer insights Ive living beings.

heard up and down the beach lately. We all possess a measure of power as Rather than using it to help one another out along the journey,

we dissipateit. How? He said we mess aroun wiff whisky and wimmen too much. Whisky and womenmaybe an apt metaphor for the issue in question here: the activities we pursue to forget, to relieve the pain, to

entertainourselvesso that we wont be reminded of the estrangement we feel fromourselves and others? It seems we dissipate energy, maybe better spent insearching out the bonds that link us, by pursuing pleasures that temporarily ease that loneliness.

a scientist conducting research. I want to communicate; I want to touch shorter, Im a better student, I dont work as hard, Im a different color, North Koreans, leftists, bikers, addicts, Mexicans, retarded people, the

I, too, am lonely. When I stop this old guy on the street, Im not

him. All my life Im taught how different I am from others. Im taller or Im a citizen of this city, that state, the other country, Im superior to bums,

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handicapped, the filthy rich, the lazy poor, etc. Through years of matching myself with like individuals, I become a member of a particular peer groupI belong. But even then, I can find myself feeling lonely. Why?

than that, join the cosmosI may find I dont know MYSELF because my previous identifying beliefs and habits have left me. Who am I, now that

Yet if I join the whole of humanityas oneor even one step more

Im no longer a WASP? I may not know OTHERS because the ways I learned to identify them have left me. Who is a cripple, now that there are no longer cripples? I may find I dont even know ANIMALS anymore because my former understanding of them has left me. What is a game bird, now that there are no longer game birds?

reasons we cling to the old groupings? And continue to feel lonely?

Why is there so little teaching about our larger identities? Is this one of the The old Black man takes a last nip of whisky, wipes his mouth on

his sleeve, and moves on. Does he know our connection? He knows; I can feel it when I talk to him. Hes probably known it all along. But what the hell, hes just an old bum.

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The Cruisers of Daytona

Chapter 4

ONE Our love affair with the automobile has produced some genuinely

fascinating offspring.

TWO You aint seen nothing till youve seen the car cruisers in Daytona

BeachI mean that. They parade all day long on the hard sand between the sunbathers and the water like the train of Sheba. Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like these. Im not talking about plain old cars. You can see a parade of cars

in any town in America, especially on a Friday night. But here are

motorcycles, trikes, dune buggies, vans, jeeps, 18-wheelers, pickup trucks, ATVs, campers, school buses, airport limousines, Greyhounds, armored troop carriers, even hearses. And not just plain, ordinary, unadulterated

cars, motorcycles, trikes, dune buggies, vansbut hopped-up, jazzed-up, drive Corvette sitting high on monstrous tires. Two vans welded together

weirded-out space-age vehicles in a New Wave of street art. A four-wheelend-to-end and painted candy-apple red. A trike whose driver steers from

inside a bathtub. A two-engined motorcycle. A three-wheeled Volkswagen scenes. A giant Coca Cola can with wheels and a motor. Europe has its opera, Africa its danceAmerica has its pop sculpture.

sawed in half at the windshield. A van painted with bizarre extra-terrestrial

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Theres power here, you can feel it in the air. Where does it come from?

Id like to reflect on this moving art show for awhile. And its artists.

What are its uses? Is the species stronger or weaker because of this cruising? THREE Just as watching the gulls seemed rather unremarkable until some of

the details were observed, so it is with the cruisers. Cruising is an American taken it for granted for so long. Were dealing with symbolism that goes back thousands of years, perhaps even farther. The ancient Greeks were

institution, and its broader meaning may go unnoticed simply because weve

certainly cruising when they paraded in their finery on their days of leisure. The Roman parks were later used for just such a purpose. It may even be and greatness. that the Phoenician ships were cruising in that nations display of mastery Yet theres a fundamental difference between the cruising of ages

past and the cruising of today. In earlier times, cruising was part of a larger activity, whether it was exercise, political discussion, transportation, or trade. While the Phoenicians may have been parading their greatness through- out the Mediterranean, their pride didnt come from this alone but from the larger activity of commerce. Even the strollers in the Roman parks were getting exercise while at the same time exchanging important information about the latest political and social events. I want to be able to say that American cruising has such a

foundation. But our cruisers parade their greatness when theres nothing

to back up that greatness but the cruising itself. Cruising is like music on a closed-loop tape; it has no development, no conclusion. It goes nowhere. Theres no larger goal,no foundation. The persons identity is tied to

cruising itself and not to a more purposeful activity. Cruising itself becomes

meaningful. Ones self-image is affirmed by the display, not something more

substantial. Therefore it has no durability. It has to be constantly reaffirmed.

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Hence the parade in Daytona Beach which has no end. (I speak with some authorityI myself was a cruiser.)

FOUR Theres a black-lacquered Corvette thats often the showpiece of the

beach. Its owner, a lean, tanned young man of twenty-three, cruises up and close to the car so that passers-by will equate the two. Curly blond hair, radiates confidence, self-satisfaction, mastery.

down the strip every day. Sometimes he parks in a prominent place and sits tanned body, he appears like a young god, both in looks and demeanor. He Yesterday when he passed by, two teenage girls sighed. One turned

to the other and said, Oh! There goes my favorite car! I want it! Since

the carand the man are inseparable, in her eyes and in his, can we infer that she wants the man, too? Sooner or later other men want Corvettes, and the cruising continues. The thing thats most striking to me about this is the equation of

human worth with a configuration of metal and fiberglass. Because the latter substances are perishable, so is the former. So in an era when identity is already in a precarious position, its ironic that we invest so heavily in are no longer in existence.

such fragile stock. Most Corvettes built even twenty years ago, for example, The result of this, of course, is that individuals are forced to acquire

ever-newer symbols in order to replace the ones corrupted by age and

fashion. For those few who can regularly afford new Corvettes, this is not for symbols they cant afford, particularly in an age of decreasing resources and economic uncertainty. This is the unfortunate treadmill quality of American life people so often speak of. Always moving, like the cruisers, yet neverreally getting anywhere. When identity is tied to the economic

an insurmountable problem. The majority, however, may wind up struggling

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system, to dwindling resources, where is there hope for the future of

civilization? We may not care about that. Yet we should care that in a very real sense, thecornerstone of our self-worth can be taken from us at any time. Id like to embellish this little discussion with one last incident involving the black-lacquered Corvette. The young Adonis was driving accelerated rapidly for a moment and sprayed his Corvette with sand. happened right in front of me, I can repeat the dialogue verbatim:

along the beach in the midst of a line of cruisers when the car in front of him He mashed his foot on the gas pedal and overtook the offender. As this

The Young God: Hey, motherfucker! You think its funny to spray my fucking car with sand?

The Offender: Sorry. The Young God: Watch what the hell youre doing. There wont be a next time.

The Offender: (No reply.) The young man in the Corvette then stomped the pedal again and left

the offender behind in a flash of black lacquer and spinning chrome wheels. Its apparent that on this beach, Corvette Rules! Just as I saw painted on an overpass spanning a local highway where teenagers raced years ago talking about?

when I was growing up: GTO Rules! Wheres this progress were always

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FIVE After motorcycle week one particular fad diminished considerably

but didnt die out altogether. Im speaking of the practice of vans cruising the beach with their side doors open and bare-chested women exposing

themselves to the eager crowd of sunbathers. Now in Africa the bare breast

is no cause for excitement. It has more of a utility value than anything else. But in the Western nations, America in particular, the breast is fraught unofficial members all across the nation.

I saw plenty when I was there and I can tell you, the thrill wears off quickly. with symbolism. It has been elevated to a veritable cult, with a legion of It soon became obvious to me that virtually every one of these titty-

toting vans was old and decrepit. Their primary occupants were shabby-

looking men who resembled bikers but who had no bikes. If they had no cruiser van, what could they parade in front of the beach crowd to show And thats just what got. Not the mens, of course. Some two hundred pounders who, through those melons so heavy with symbolism, was showing off her worth.

chromed motorcycle, no black-lacquered Corvette, no metal-flake starshiptheir worth? You guessed it. Show us your tits! the audience demanded.

SIX Lets bring up class again for a moment. Id bet my watch

waterproof to thirty meters that a woman riding in a Corvette here would

never bare her breasts for the beach crowd. Shed feel she had more class course, have no class. Yet whats class in this instance but the visible

than that. She may even look down on those in old vans who do. They, of amount one has to struggle to prove ones worth? The lady in the Vette has in the old vans, out hustlingfor any positive reinforcement they can get.

it made. She can be reserved,aloof, untouchable, classy. Think of the women

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Theyre drawn to extremes to have their worth affirmed. They have no class, we say. But the poor and the unattractive can have class, you say. Yes, by masking the struggle. But its time for the unmasking, to show the struggle can get out of it, as I hope well see in later chapters. SEVEN Of course the cruisers pecking order which separates the haves from

for what it is. And how were all conditioned to be victims of itthough we

the have-nots (and all the gradations in between) is just one more reflection of a civilization which seems not to draw people together but to turn them against each other and rationalize it with platitudes about natural law. This primitive notion about natural law ignores the possibilities of learning over the insistent prodding of the genetic blueprint.

world is flat! and People were not meant to fly! Are we saying something equally untenable today?

Dont forget that not that long ago in history people believed that The

EIGHT A side-effect of the struggle for identity via cruising is not only the

precarious way we look at ourselves, but the way we look at others. As the philosopher Kant said, although he certainly wasnt the first, the basis of ethics is in treating people as ends in themselves and not as a means to an end. One replies that in modern society, this is sometimes difficult to do. Then just what is modern society? Lets not try to mask reality under metal-flake paint and chrome

side-pipes with beer in hand and say were just in Daytona Beach to have just may be the last dance for a culture trying so hard to stay alive.

a good time. Were all performing a ritual dance and if were not careful, it

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NINE Schools, operating on the principle of separating students and having

them compete with one another for the spoils, have done their work well. Everywhere I see evidence of their teachings. Oh sure, the young people

here may be smoking dope and abusing the English language, but theyve

learned their larger lessons well, as the cruisers exemplify. Theyve accepted the competitive consumer-as-identity package. And the tots, on the beach to play benignly in the sand, are receiving instruction from them before their first school bell ever rings.

TEN Hey, if a guy cant go to Daytona and have a just good time

anymore, whats left in life? The reader no doubt thinks Im coming down too harshly on cruising when its really just a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. I must be ugly or have an old van to be so critical of this proud American tradition! Yet if the joke is not to be on all of us, wed do well pleasant and accommodating exterior, these things bring us together or to look more closely the things we do every day to determine if, under the push us apart. All Im saying is that cruising, while appearing to bring

people together for a good time, actually has the opposite effect. Theres competition even the winners get lonely. Thats all Im saying. ELEVEN Some of our traditions are proving to be harmful. Its that simple.

no real warmth, but only a self-aggrandizing competitiveness. And in this

They weaken the human ties that hold a society together and give it strength. If this were done at great benefit to the individual, I might, like the proud neo-cons, say so much the better. But I dont see a corresponding

40

strengthening of the individual. I see the persons value being systematically reduced, and his and her power being dissipated in maintaining a worth to prove ones value. thats always in question. Purpose is reduced to more nearly a daily struggle If I thought all was well in Daytona Beach, maybe Id be a travel

agent instead of a writer. And as Daytona may be a microcosm not only of be all the more important.

the United States but of our modern civilization as a whole, its lessons may

TWELVE There was a box of Georgia crackers cruising in a converted bakery

truck. At fifty-yard intervals they would sound the horn, which played the an airborne escort.

first several bars of Dixie. They threw crumbs to the seagulls and thus had There was a station wagon full of girls from Michigan who were all

waving and whistling at the guys, but when the line of traffic stopped to let began to move again, the waving and whistling started again. Like all audience.

some surfers cross the strip, the waving and whistling stopped. When the car performers, the girls needed a little distance between themselves and their There was a yellow Chevrolet with teenage girls all over the hood

and when the cops made them get inside the car they protested loudly. Without them adorning it, it was just a plain old Chevy.

There was a woman in a black Lincoln who drove up and down the beach intense as someone just learning to drive. She was searching for a

the entire afternoon but never looked around, never smiled. Yet she was as destination or a partner, but the way she was going about it would provide the windows as they cruised. The car looked like a tree but it had no

neither. I saw a car filled with guys from Ohio who stuck their bare legs out roots. There were two girls in a Mustang convertible who kept cruising until they found a parking spot next to two guys. The guys werent interested

41

in them so they climbed back in their saddles and began to cruise again. when they shouted suggestive things to the women along the beach, the process. There were two men riding in a metal-flake van raised up so

There was a huge motor home with drunks from all over Canada in it, and

women laughed. There must be something funny about the sexual selection high that they must have needed a ladder to get into it. When the women marveled at the sight of this, I saw the men hold their heads even higher. Daytona Beach is a long-playing album and these were just some of the songs being played.

THIRTEEN What about the people who cruise but dont take part in the ritual?

Are there evolved beings who have firm identities and are just out there It appears to be the final irony of cruising that at the point when

having fun? Children of enlightenment unscathed by the American Dream? the world has reached a critical juncture with respect to dwindling resources and environmental pollution, even the most enlightened cruisers are adding to the demise of their own institution. The burden of energy waste and amusement. ecological damage is shared even by those who are just out having a little

FOURTEEN Finally, and perhaps most importantly, do we think well find what

were looking for by cruising? We already have what we need to fulfill our lives. As the Japanese saying goes, were sitting on the rice bag starving. But sucha realization would take an entirely new way of looking at life. Im not trying to destroy our nations pride. Only its false pride.

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The Christian Witnesses of Daytona

Chapter 5

ONE The need to clarify ones values is especially important when the

blind begin to lead the blind over the precipice. TWO

Campus Crusade came to Daytona Beach. They wore plastic wristbands saving and who didnt.

The week after Bike Week, twelve hundred evangelicals from

and carried Bibles and Bible tracts. The wristbands were to tell who needed

THREE I was sitting by my camper one morning when I was approached by

three young men with short hair and innocent smiles. They were passing out free tickets to a movie about a couple who, while leading contented lives knew for certain that if I died tomorrow, Id have eternal life. together, were suddenly killed in an automobile accident. I was asked if I Thats a hard one. I thought it over and told them that my concern

was rather this worry about saving oneself. It seemed too self-preoccupied more pressing problem of how to help one another out on this journey The pursuit of personal salvation seemed too similar to the

to be an authentic teaching of Jesus. And it probably distracted us from the through the here and now, as dramatized by the story of the good Samaritan. larger societys goal, a kind of Christian capitalism where grace was accumulated much like money was.

43

concern that it might be a valid issue. One of them said that they were

They took this in with smiles on their faces rather than registering

helping others out by bringing the word of God to unsaved souls (i.e. those without plastic wristbands). I talked with them about how they might be too closely identified with society to win the trust of those who might seem to need saving the most, but my words seemed only to confuse them and walked away. soon they moved on. Dont forget to come to the movie, one said as they I felt as though Id been treated as an object. They didnt take my

concerns seriously; as soon as they found out they couldnt add me to their

list of converts, they took off. Is witnessing just another business, like doorand rely on the law of averages for your success? FOUR. Its not my intent to jump on the liberal bandwagon of putting down

to-door sales, where you never waste time on any one prospect but move on

evangelicals. I commend them for their faith and their good intentions. structure that gives our speech meaning, we can also act without being unfortunately, allows us to act blindly.

But just as we speak without being aware of the grammatical and syntactical aware of the cultural conditioning that gives our behavior meaning. This,

FIVE Blueprints for the Christian house have changed over the years. Under the

free enterprise system and unlimited resources, a new Christian patriotism has emerged. Call it God and Country. These new Christians have at last found that not only can there be a paradise in the hereafter, but on earth as well.

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be laid up on earth. By supporting the political and economic system that

With the Protestant values of hard work and frugality, treasures can

makes this possible, Christians need experience none of the persecution and privation of the early followers of Jesus. Socialism, or sharing the wealth, and Mammon. becomes the spiritual threat rather than ones own desire to serve both God The young evangelicals coming to Daytona Beach to save souls

while on Spring Break dont realize how much a representative part of society they are, even as they call that society corrupt. And they dont understand that the rejects of that society, the modern-day sinners and perceive as that societys supporters and self-appointed agents.

publicans of Jesus time, will never consent to being saved by what they It seems that they are as unaware of the unchristian elements of their

behavior as the cruisers are unaware that theyre not just out having a By saving souls I mean communicating the love available to us all. SIX A young woman with a plastic wristband approached me one

good time. What Im getting at, then, are the impediments to saving souls.

morning but she didnt return my smile or say hello. Have you seen a

camera and a white beach towel around here? she asked, obviously upset. I told her I hadnt and she said she was going absolutely mad trying to find stretch of beach. them. She left me in a huff and went on to interrogate others along the same This was simple consumer frenzy and I was troubled to think that

later in the day this little lady would be roving in gangs of three or four trying to save souls.

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SEVEN As always, I pick on the weakest links. Not because of the ease

which I might use them to my advantage, as the cynic will no doubt say, but because these chains all around us have so many weak links. EIGHT Two clean-cut collegians came up to me to witness for the Lord. At

first they came on like intellectuals, but soon retreated into platitudes and

memorized verses. Oh, theyre just out testing their wings, I appreciate that, and maybe Im being too hard on them. But while they see it as their duty to inform the world of Gods good news, I see it as my duty to urge them not to be so naive about the unintended consequences of their conditioned behavior.

old, but that it wasnt until his sophomore year in college that he really dedicated himself to God. I knew by his eyes that he was a virgin, that

One of the collegians told me he was saved when he was seven years

he had never smoked dope, had never been ostracized by his peer group, that hed never even had to step out of someones well-worn footsteps. a good income, teach Sunday school and vote faithfully, all the while

had never been close to death, had never been broke, had never been jailed, This was obvious from his lack of scars. Hes the guy wholl earn

exclaiming that the reason society is falling apart is that no one will obey

the word of God. But he wont see his own complicity in the fall. He wont see how his own behavior has added to the separation of people from each other. For this clean machine to come up and tell a lost soul that he or she is a sinner is just one more in a long line of insults. No, it would be better if no proselytizing occurred at all. The Christian might simply show his

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love in every way he could and forget about saving souls. Thats the good news I want to hear. I asked the two of them to come back again to talk never showed up. more but I must have been speaking with too cogent a voice because they

NINE Another ploy to win souls here on the beach is to stage a slow-

motion football game in the sand, then circulate a contingent among the spectators with booklets about the Four Spiritual Laws. A slow-motion a tackler. Of course, he has another pair on underneath. theyre fairly successful in the system. quarterback goes back for a slow-motion pass and is stripped of his pants by This ploy attracts a lot of proud collegiate types and others looking like

TEN Much has been said to me lately about the Four Spiritual Laws and

all I can say is that theres really only one. Its been expressed countless ways but it still comes down to the same thing: We are one.

fragments: atoms, chemicals, properties, dimensions, races, physical in a biology (study of life) class is a dissection kit. We learn that

Our rational, scientific thinking has shown us a world divided into

attributes, skills, competencies, just to name a few. Our first acquisition its natural to take things apart, but somehow we cant seem to put them together again. Ironically, science itself is proving to be a means for rediscovering the principle of unity or wholeness, particularly through the discipline of physics. But were still steeped in the early scientific tradition of looking for the differences between things. Practical Christian

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theology has sadly come to play the same role. Its unfortunate identification with free enterprise has given a justification, even a sacredness, to the every-man-for-himself philosophy. Puritan notions of work as the pathway to redemption have only added to the concept of a persons value being associated with worldly success. This adds to the divisiveness and does nothing to heal it.

while at the same time maintaining beliefs and behaviors which represent setting individuals against each other. Every person works for his or her

Modern Christian witnesses haunt our streets preaching togetherness

own salvation. During the Cold War evangelicals were more fervently antigroup character would rob them of the ability to pursue their individual salvation? Being saved is alleged to be a mystical event but I think unconscious) belief about salvation: everyone saves himself through its more likely a metaphor concealing the fundamentalists true (though work. Getting aheadproves that one is doing well at that task. Todays evangelicals are certainly getting ahead. And since this ultimately pits of the solution to our modern predicament as they may think. They may even be part of the problem.

communist than anyone. Is it in part because they feared that communisms

individual against individual, these modern Christians arent as much a part

ELEVEN If these young crusaders wouldnt go around trying to convince

everyone that he or she is a sinner but instead extend what they understand as Christs love without asking anything in return, it would be a whole new ball game. As it is, they care about you and they care about me. Why cant they communicate it? Is their cultural training holding them back?

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TWELVE Somebody gave me a biker Bible tract. That is, a message about a

lost biker, high on pills, losing control of his machine and nearly ODing on asphalt. He comes to a crisis in his life: whats the meaning of it all? of power. His choice of women is narrow; he cant fly to Aspen for a ski awards nor are his pronouncements valued; he may not be able to swing a bank loan to go into the stereo business; he cant write a letter to an important person and have it answeredhe himself isnt important. On pills, yes, maybe he feels important. Hes somebody. Or maybe he just forgets. But with pills one always comes down. So he experiences a crisis. What the biker was experiencing was the frustration of his lack

vacation andif he could, he wouldnt be accepted there; he never wins any

With no power, is life worth living? When the whole thrust of every living seems blocked, how can he live?

organism is to increase its power and extend itself, and when every avenue Lets put this into a different context for a moment. This is going to

sound farfetched, but bear with me for a moment. The biker Bible tract is quite literally suggesting that the biker tap into the power of God. By

opening ones heart to Jesus, couldnt this mean opening up a channel for a greater energy to come into oneself? Remember the words to the hymn, my heart... Like the surf, rolling in wave upon wave, so this strange and different power can enter the person. This rush of power is experienced more maintain its integrity, reach out, extend itself. It is filled with the Floods of joy oer my soul like the sea billows roll, since Jesus came into

as a flood of joy. The biological organism (in this case the biker) can once spirit. Anyone whos been saved knows what Im talking about. The create a new life. Thus one is born again.

Christian code of ethics then instructs one how to use this new energy to When the scenario is presented this way, as an occurrence in bio-

physics, we may get a more vivid picture of whats happening. In

49

temporarily stripping away its symbolic meaning, we can see more clearly the physiological dynamics of what we call conversion. Conversion occurs not only figuratively, but literally. The body as a receptor, storer, and utilizer of energy is actually converted to a different mode of operation, one which is able to draw upon a larger source of energy than the bodys own metabolic system provides. Those who have read the literature of the ancient mystery schools or those following the latest discoveries in high-energy physics will understand this better. Ill get into it later, as it

may be possible for everyone in society to become converted. Thus I use for now, lets leave these Christian witnesses and go on to the next chapter, where a different kind of evangelist will be introduced.

the biker Bible tract only to whet the appetite for larger things to come. But

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The Drug Dealers of Daytona ONE The human mind is either an untamed wilderness or a fertile garden,

Chapter 6

depending on your point of view.

TWO I went to a lecture once where the professor claimed that Americas

top three abused drugs were caffeine, nicotine, and sugar. He went on to describe the addictive qualities of each. I think its worth noting that we dont commonly think of these substances as drugs. Why not? With the

marked systemic changes (increased neural, secretive, digestive, muscular, and psychic activity), theres certainly no denying that these substances ought to be classified as drugs. Alcohol is another case in point. Were all

familiar with the properties of alcohol, as well as its addictive potential. Yet weekly beer splurges. Again, why not? Because these drugs seem to have no lasting effect on consciousness?

we dont necessarily consider ourselves drug users for our daily martini or

THREE The Greeks, our civilizations forerunners, discovered and developed

geometry. Is this because they were so square? I ask this in all

seriousness. Moreover, our word for someone with a rigid, angular geometry.

personality is straight. The straight line is, of course, the foundation of

51

history of our consciousness. While some cultures have incorporated has forbidden such un-straight experience.

I find this interesting. Interesting because it gives me a clue to the

hallucinogenic or mystical perceptions into their thinking, our own culture Is it this same straight consciousness that tolerates abuse of the

addictive drugs already mentioned, as well as the common prescription drugs, because they dont fundamentally alter the straightness of the

mind? And when we fret over our teenagers taking drugs, arent we really speaking of substances which temporarily alter that consciousness? Im smoking marijuana. Isnt it more likely a fear that they may adopt an convinced that our concern isnt just that Johnny and Susie are occasionally altered state of consciousness permanently, one which has no place in our society? One which may even have contemplative or visionary elements?

FOUR I was sitting on the beach one night with an acquaintance when a car

drove slowly by. The driver, his head out the window, called to us.

Reefer? How about some coke? Speed? It reminded me of the hucksters of the old days who drove through the neighborhood calling, Corn? How drove on. about some tomatoes? Lettuce? We declined and the modern-day huckster The casualness of his approach showed that he had a large enough

support group to warrant such ease and confidence. Such a counterculture, we know, has millions of adherents. Many of them today are closetcounterculturists who wear business clothes by day but clandestinely or straightness, that often seems to grasp us a little too tightly by the

partake of the forbidden fruits by night to escape the rigid rationalism, throat. The tie is, of course, the symbol of rationality. Its visible part is geometrically straight, yet the invisible part wraps around the neck.

52

Wearing it represents being tied to an idea. It indicates an allegiance Women entering the business and professional worlds are looking for dress.

to rational organization and a denial of the mystical and the primitive. analogous symbols and even read books on how the professional must So what does all this mean? Am I knocking the business suit?

Hardly. What Im really getting at is a way of thinking. The drug huckster who came by in the night was a purveyor of a different way of thinking thinking. What is it about this thinking that makes people need a release statistics on marijuana and cocaine use in America. Then meth use. The one which temporarily releases one from the yoke of rationality or straight from it? Is reality really so bad? Its quite an education to look at national numbers are staggering. It might make one suspect that theres something of millions of individuals to seek a respite, an escape.

unusual, even undesirable about straight reality that compels so many tens The reader might also become familiar with the neurological

research being done on the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Briefly, the left hemisphere is the center for rational, logical, analytical functions, while the right hemisphere is the center for artistic, intuitive, mystical activity. Thus in very real terms straight thinking uses only left-brain characteristics of logic, order, efficiency, straightness, half a brain! It surprises me that in this enlightened age we think of the and other rational aspects of reality as being reality itself. Right-brain rebellion against this imbalance?

functions are generally ignored or suppressed. Why? Is drug-taking a natural Taking this perspective, its not too difficult to see why we cant

judge the huckster too harshly. If he were one of a handful, we might be inclined to look for character flaws or other signs of deviance, just as were tempted to do when confronted with the biker. But hes one of a vast underground army which extends from the ghettos of our cities to the executive boardrooms, from SoHo to the stately offices of the White House. Drugs are everywhere, and theyre used by people of whom youd least

53

expect it.

and accept it.

Something must be wrong with reality. At least reality as we perceive

FIVE A rationalistic society, organized into bureaucracies, is obviously

going to distribute power in a different way than one based on a fuller

realization of the person; that is, the individual who possesses a balance prejudice against the artist, the mystic, the female, against cosmic-

of left and right hemispheric functions. Exceptions aside, our well-known mindedness of any sort in favor of the scientific, the predictable, the logical, the orderly, determines the basis upon which power is distributed in our society. Women have generally been excluded from politics, admitted

only when they exhibit highly rational and logical characteristics (one

glaring contemporary example notwithstanding.) Artists by the tens of

thousands and perhaps millions are working as computer programmers,

bankers, or teachers because they cant make a living as artists. Shamans and mystics are at the center of power and activity in some cultures and yet conspicuously absent from our own. Psychiatrists, our equivalent of the shamans, are rationally-trained individuals who are taught to

call visions hallucinations. On the surface these remarks dont seem

particularly unusual, but to me it indicates that human experience is being uncompromisingly funneled down a narrow channel. Power is distributed on the basis of straight-ness rather than on a larger scheme incorporating discovered.

the breadth of human experience, the parameters of which havent yet been The tragedy is that rationalism alone, like any other narrow mind-set,

is a closed system. That is, it limits its own expansion by its concepts of what is acceptable, what is possible. I fear that we, like those in

primitive, non-rational societies, grow up with a stunted view of what we

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are and can be.

our social persecution and legal prosecution of drug users shows a concerted effort to suppress any trend toward fundamentally different perceptions. these conditions? And how can those (non-drug users) who are denied feeling that there is something wrong with them? How can power be distributed in any way but the most unbalanced under power because of their more balanced minds be expected to overcome the

In one sense, drugs are our cultures natural response to this limitation. Yet

this will eventually overload and become short-circuited. That would be a shocking development for all of us.

Like an electrical system, a society which has an imbalance of power like

SIX This morning a skinny kid from Tennessee came up to me and asked

if I wanted some window-pane acid. This is LSD deposited on a tiny square of celluloid, often no more than a quarter-inch across. I looked into his eyes and saw miles of travel there. He was about nineteen.

business. He said he was doing well. He usually worked one day a week and, by living frugally, vacationed often and enjoyed an ease that most working people only dream wistfully about. Marijuana was the staple of his business but acid provided a lucrative sideline and, as he put it, provided a service. Ive already described what that service is: a way to go beyond the

I told him I didnt want to buy anything but was interested in his

rational boundaries of perception so that a fuller view of life can be seen

(though most of those who take it nowadays just want to get high). There

are some major drawbacks to the partakers way of achieving this, however. Its drug-induced, so it usually cant be called upon without the ingestion of a chemical. And of course, its a temporary state. You may become united with God, as some users have reported, but you always come down. Finally, its been likened to flying in a jet from L.A. to New York. You get there

55

fast but you miss everything in between. You may see the oneness of the universe, but you cant teach others how you got there. The skinny kid from Tennessee was selling a short-cut transcendental

experience. Because our society provides no other way, many buy from him. He provides a service. SEVEN

of unity while straight consciousness as weve learned it emphasizes the

I think its important to realize that hallucinogens produce a vision

differences among things. The scientific viewpoint tells us that everything has its own size, shape, quantity, its own peculiar properties, its potential use or marketability. Above all, people are categorized. From when we were children we were constantly weighed, measured, tested, complimented or criticized for our attributes, placed in fast or slow tracks, special groups, teams, classes, and finally pitted against one another to see who could

become a success. It starts as early as the spelling bee, where one persons failure is the basis of the next persons success, and goes right on through to who will be washing cars and providing other services to those who to Westchester County, can experience a restlessness, a loneliness, an

have it made. Yet even the successful ones of this system, from Marin insecurity quite uncharacteristic of winners. Is it no wonder, then, that so wholeness, a sense of unity? With themselves, with others, with the natural can one be blamed for wanting to experience what he or she perceives as oneness instantly? In a pill culture, the temptations are naturally great. used to simulate a total consciousness where only a partial one now So its not really strange that drugs should become modern tools

many have taken drugs to experience (or to mask the pain of their lack of) a world? In a materialistic, fragmented world inherited from generations past, oneness with God? And is it so surprising that individuals should seek this

standsor merely escape from the rigors of the partial one. And its

certainly not strange that such a practice was ruled illegal shortly after it

began. After all, theres no question that it undermines the established order by showing people how modern society is based on only a partial reality of

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human life.

EIGHT

have been saying for millennia: that were all forms of energy, and were

Modern physics is finally acknowledging what Oriental philosophers

inextricably connected with everything around uspeople, animals, trees, right then, even though we consider such belief naive and childlike. After all, dont children talk to animals and trees until they learn better?

rocks. The African animists, seeing spirits in everything, were more nearly

same energy bank, just like the stones and Koreans are, were surprised. We still believe in Newtonian physics and the idea of separate units of solid matter. It will no doubt take us many decades and several

Now that we as adults find that were different manifestations of the

generations to change concepts, yet the evidence is available now. The weve been awaiting word from our scientists. Well, that word is just

evidence has been known in China and India for thousands of years, but beginning to trickle out. Slowly, because of the incredibility of it all. Who

will be the first scientist to turn his or her back on an entire legacy of science and say, We are one? Some already have! And not by turning away from science, but by using science to embrace a larger universe. NINE The hallucinations of LSD are not hallucinations at all but

perceptions of the interconnected energies which cant be seen by the

straight mind because of its conditioning. Lysergic acid shifts the brains perceptual mode, just as long practice of disciplined meditation does, so that the inter- connection of things can be perceived. Certain American

Indian tribes have long been experiencing this vision through their peyote ceremonies. Why were such ceremonies considered religious? I think because of the more complete,

57

cosmic picture they provided of the human being and his and her place in the world. And now physicians, on an experimental basis, are giving LSD to terminal cancer patients because theyve found that it reunites these individuals with the larger whole and gives their impending death meaning. Isnt this also a religious experience?

with God. Christians want Jesus in their hearts. Taoists want to be one with a consciousness which reveals our deeper connection with life? TEN Ive been thinking how weve been taught since childhood to

Religion is a great relief from loneliness. Yogis want a yoke or union

the flow of life. Are we so lonely because we as a people havent developed

perceive the separation among things. The woman running over the seagull learned it, the bikers learned it, the cruisers learned it, and the Christian witnesses learned it. Weve all learned our lessons well.

need to prove our worth by determining whos best. This leads to anxiety over status and the need to perform or to display our possessions. The irony of this system is that while it focuses on success, it inevitably breeds failure. Even among the successes.

This separationist thinking leads us into competition with each other. We

ELEVEN All the worlds drug users arent necessarily raising their conscious-

ness. Theyre conditioned, too. We teach them that all theyre doing is getting high and thats just what they believe.

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The Police of Daytona ONE Police today seem rather like what we sometimes say about members

Chapter 7

of the opposite sex. We cant live with them and we cant live without them. Maybe they are, like a third sex, an odd transitional form we need while were along our journey from our animal past to our more spiritual future. TWO Police are sorely needed in the society Ive been describing. In a

competitive land where the rewards make up each individuals sense of

identity, agents must be hired to protect people from each other. In rural exuberance takes a more cooperative form, fewer police are needed. In

societies, and in some parts of rural America where that priceless American the cities, police chiefs are constantly lamenting that their departments are understaffed. More competition, more need for cops. Do teachers know achievements? this when theyre setting students against each other and measuring their

THREE Four college girls from Michigan were smoking marijuana on the

beach, trying to forget the competitive classrooms back home, when a

couple of undercover cops dressed like beach bums came up and asked them for some. When they graciously obliged, the cops pulled out their badges and announced that it was a bust, The women were handcuffed and pushed I was sitting ten feet away.

to the ground while a squad car was brought to the scene to cart them away.

59

been held about eighteen hours, given a warning and released. In other

I talked to one of them on the beach the next day. She said they had

words, these college girls pose no real threat to society. But just so they

dont go too far and develop a more permanent laid back attitude, they

must at least be reprimanded. After all, if they continued smoking marijuana and became apatheticresembling the contemplative life of the Christian mystics, the self-examined life Socrates spoke of ?this might erode the the material basis of our identities. Thus in one sense a paramilitary tongue in cheek, it is something worth thinking about.

industriously competitive drive that prods our nation, therefore undermining organization attempts to regulate our belief system... Though I say this Could this be the motif behind the paranoia experienced by pot smokers?

It may not entirely be a psychological symptom but a genuine response based on a realistic appraisal of their situation. FOUR

arrest anyone for drinking on the beach, even though its prohibited by law. Yet Ive seen at least six marijuana busts and heard of many more through the grapevine. Why? Is it because alcohol doesnt appreciably alter perceptions of reality and is therefore no danger to the national consciousness? Marijuana, on the other hand, does alter perceptions. beach dressed like fraternity party guests.

They say the police are strict in Daytona but Ive rarely seen them

Maybe thats why there are no undercover beer cops skulking around the

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FIVE All the talk of the dangers of smoking pot, like those of LSD and

other drugs, though not necessarily inaccurate, is also a superb work of consciousness be closed, or more open?

rationalization serving to hide what may be the more important issue: should The physical and psychological dangers of drugs are very real, of

course. But since were not offered alternatives which free or extend our of tryingto determine what drove them there. SIX The police broke up a knife fight under the pier. It seems that the

minds, the concern seems misdirected. We turn against the partakers instead

ultimate form of competitionwho will live and who will diehas found its expression right on the beach. The cops believe in competition. We all do. But when it goes a little too far, they have to step in. After all, if too kind of a society have we become?

many people started dying, we might have to stop and ask ourselves, What So along with the function of trying to regulate deviant (open)

thought, the police also act to prevent people from carrying the American competitive philosophy itself too far. This paradox must be understood if grasp what it is about the society itself that creates this terrible need for police. were ever to go beyond the limited law-and-order notion of police and

SEVEN Ive been such a regular on the beach that the police are getting to

know me. A young one named Frank asked me what I was writing.

I gave him a brief description, and he fingered his moustache pensively.

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His opinion was that lawlessness was getting out of hand and that we

needed more discipline. Did more discipline mean more cops? I asked. Yes, and stricter schools. I said that discipline was important, but it alone didnt solve the fundamental cause of stress in our society; it merely held

the outward signs down. He countered that stress was good for us and that to our enemies. I replied that excessive competition destroyed the very

any lessening of competition would lead to a soft society and vulnerability cohesiveness on which strength is based. He thought a long moment as starship van, then turned back to me and said, Thats possible.

he watched two girls playing frisbee nearly get run over by a metal-flake Franks concerns are not unusual. His solution, a return of everyone

to straight consciousness, seemed to be the answer to all the unsettling

things occurring in America today. In that respect, his own job is clear:

to enforce the American Dream. He, like the other cops on the beach beat,

tries hard to be both impartial and just. And hes a darned likeable guy. But the cops cuffed the four college girls smoking pot and pushed them to the sand, were they ethically correct in doing so? When theres a conflict of

what troubles me about his vision is that it raises an ethical question. When

interest between competing forms of consciousness, and the agents of one are these agents personally responsible for their actions? Or is society?

use violence against the other because theyre legally sanctioned to do so, In either case the ethical problem isnt solved. Would it be stretching

it to say that the institutional use of violence by one group on another with be too harsh here. We need law. We need order. Theres no denying that.

differing values has something of a fascist element to it? Come on, lets not We must protect the common good. Im just saying that we might not be entirely sure in all cases what the common good is, so that law may be used to suppress what might not be the dire threat its perceived to be. We

use the police to suppress pot smoking, as we used them to suppress Black

militancy, and anti-war protests, rather than to build the kind of free and just society than doesnt cause these disruptions in the first place. Again, as with the bikers, we rely a bit too much on a blame the victim mentality instead

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of working to build a more open and inclusive society. EIGHT

a little too far apart, so that justice is being stretched in an alarming way,

It seems to me that what is legal and what is ethical have grown

leading in some cases to injustice. I say alarming because injustice in a legal system alienates people and creates an atmosphere where illegality may be thought by growing numbers of individuals to be preferred.

Crime rates are high, particularly violent (competitive) crimes. Why? NINE

their beer if theyre caught drinking it openly on the beach. TEN

And the police in their effort to be just are making teenagers pour out

just got out of jail. I asked him what the charge was and he said, Sleeping just lying down.

As I was driving through town, I picked up a hitchhiker who said he

on a park bench. He claims he wasnt sleeping; it was daytime and he was What was his appearance? Did it reflect closed consciousness

or open consciousness? He wore weather-beaten pants. He had long

hair and wore esoteric-symbol earrings on his ears. In a sense he was constantly harassed by the police.

your stereotypical replica of someone from the Sixties. He told me hes

ELEVEN Im not trying to point out that bias exists. We all know that

appearance and treatment go hand in hand in any society. All I mean to

emphasize is the form that the bias takes with respect to different ways of

thinking. Long hair, tattoos, too-casual dress, and any other indications of a

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less-regimented consciousness, attract the attention of the police. enforcement, working to separate people.

This aggravates the problem of already increasing alienation. Law

TWELVE The police represent power. Their power function is two-fold. They

act to protect those with power from those without it, and to protect those police action, though, is maintenance of the status quo. THIRTEEN

without it from flagrant abuse by those who have it. The overriding theme of

they were released, the bailiff told them they were lucky. He said if they had been guys, they would have been fined fifty dollars.

Back to the four girls from Michigan who were busted for weed. As

threaten the established order. Because the judge understands this, he

I think this is significant. If women have little social power, they cant

felt no need to punish the four young women. Men, however, do possess

power (or the potential for power) in our society. So maybe its expedient to punish them as a warning. Second and third offenders are punished more are not to be tolerated, especially among men, who, by virtue of their consciousness to others. severely. This serves as further warning that altered states of consciousness power, may be thought to have greater potential to spread new forms of Without trying to make too much out of it, I think the bailiff was

acknowledging this simple fact when he said girls can often get away (power), this may change dramatically.

with smoking pot while guys cant. When women gain social equality

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FOURTEEN Whats in question here, of course, is not the prejudices of

Daytonas cops or judges. Were all subject to the same teachings. Whats what a person is and how he or she must fit into our current notion of society. How he or she is encouraged to think. Our ideas, as Ive attempted to briefly describe them, are entirely inadequate.

more important is to understand all this as part of our larger concept about

way to a less restrictive system, so our own rigidly rationalistic (straight)

Just as feudalism as a way of life outlived its usefulness and gave

and separationist social scheme must also give way. Enlightened though we think it is, its narrow vision as to what a person is may be stopping us from seeing the bigger picture: not just competitive creatures slugging it out in the genetic free-for-all, but ones capable of a practical spirituality that will actually get along with one another.

guide us in transcending the competitive arena to the degree that we might Dont take my arguments in this chapter entirely at face value. Im

actually opposed to drug use because Ive witnessed far too many minds distracted or ruined. I dont see drugs being used constructively, as in

shamanistic rituals to explore or deepen spirituality so that the bonds linking us are strengthened. Instead, I see them used for recreation or relief. Thus I cant support their use. I also strongly believe in order and discipline. What Ive taken issue

with here is that order and discipline seem to be imposed from without to

enforce a narrow way of thinking, rather than people disciplining themselves and acting in an orderly fashion to build a strong and compassionate nation. I dont want to see anyone sleeping on benches! Not in America, where we

should be able to offer a better life for peoplenot by handing it to them but by providing a social milieu where they can feel accepted and valued; where they can thus feel motivated to work hard to build for themselves and their loved ones a life to be proud of.

65

But I do envision a more cohesive society (which Ill talk about in more take.

And I have no ill will toward the police! God knows, we need them.

detail later) where the need for police decreases with every forward step we

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The Pelicans of Daytona

Chapter 8

ONE Animals talk to us and we really ought to be more attentive.

TWO I began Part I with the seagulls of Daytona, and Id like to conclude

it with some reflections about the pelicans. I had always thought pelicans were ugly creatures, misshapen and clumsy, until I had the good fortune in a way thats hard to describe. One word, however, seemed to sum up my newly-discovered understanding of them: tranquility. Their Florida counterparts project that same quality.

to observe them at length at a quiet bay in Baja California. I was impressed

THREE What is a pelican? A bipedal aviator with superb handling

characteristics. El capitan de las alas, the captain of the waves. The old folks buy plaster representations of pelicans sitting on dock pilings to put in their front yards, but thats a misrepresentation. Unlike pigeons and sparrows

which look better on the ground than in the air, the pelican is a bird of flight. The first time I saw a pelican flying, I couldnt believe it was a pelican. I was a prisoner of my own ignorance but now Im a believer and Im free.

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FOUR Yesterday I was sitting in an old beach chair Id found half-buried

in the sand, following the line of the horizon with my eyes, wondering

about these writings, wondering if they would be read, if they would be

understood in the way that I hoped. As I was staring, something came into my line of vision. It was a small company of pelicans, flying in formation close to the water. They flew in a line, but the line wasnt straight. It followed the curve of the surf as it began to break toward shore.

couldnt see them, then suddenly rise up to avoid the foamy crest as it tried to bring them down. There was a mastery to it, a confidence, an ease. They I liked. These gliders turned ugliness into beauty. They were short-legged, long-beaked lawn furniture that transformed themselves into poetry to a hungry mans eyes. would flap their wings almost perfunctorily, then glide. It was the glide that

They were flying in the trough between breakers, so low that you

can be transmuted into something fine. Clay becomes a statue, an embryo

The question comes to me: how is beauty created? Somehow ugliness

FIVE

becomes a person, form and function change like a symphony going into its third movement and we take notice. Were alerted to something wonderful. Pelicans, those squat little denizens of Florida curio shops, transform fits their nature well and somehow beauty emerges. SIX I came to Daytona Beach with an eye for a pretty pair of legs, Ill admit, but themselves without regard for art or taste. They perform a natural act that

that sure didnt last. Always expect the unexpected, they say. Well, I was caught off guard.

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SEVEN I was sitting with a lady at sundown but I wasnt looking at her legs.

I was watching the surf gliders wend their way through the troughs toward their unknown destination. Eight of them, inches apart in a curving line, hugging the water and sensitive to its rise and fall, ready in an instant

to swerve upwards when a crested billow surged. Beauty and tranquility, thats how I interpreted it. Images more powerful than those conjured by legs or even breasts. Show us your tits! just might be replaced someday by a new battle cry, one more sublime. Given a choice, would I leave my pen behind and join the gliders in their glide?

EIGHT No, lets not even think of abandoning ourselves, even if it were

possible. The die has been cast, so lets not waste our imagination on the impossible. The possible, thats another question. Can we, with large Thats the question. brains, achieve the confidence, the mastery, the tranquility of the pelican? To compare the frenzy of conflicting human dreams and desires

haunting the beach here with the peace and harmony of the pelicans drives home quite a poignant point to me. Where have we, with our superior mental capacity, gone wrong? If thats an unfair comparison, Id like

to know why. The genetic cards are stacked in our favor. Weve definitely

got the gray matter. But we, unlike the pelican, dont quite know what to do with it. The pelican knows its role, its relationships instinctively. We must learn ours. And it appears that we must, by all indications, do much better. Not only for our own survival, but for the pelicans as well.

time, following the roof-lines of motels that stretch along the beach. While chaos reigns below in the form of beer whoops and bottle throwing, one-

I see them in the late afternoons, sometimes even ten or twenty at a

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nighters just beginning and Corvette displays just ending, the gliders ply noiselessly above. I get the feeling they know whats going on. Theyre purposely aloof, I think. Maybe they sense the confusion, just as the shark appear to be the higher beings in this scheme, their peaceful dusk flights quite symbolic of that.

picks up vibrations of struggling fish from incredible distances. The pelicans

more equipped for success is floundering while the one with a brain the size of a walnut is centered and tranquil. Were the ones with the opposable another hand.

Im looking at the contrast between two species and I see that the one

NINE

thumb and yet we may use that hand more for self-gratification than holding

TEN The people ignore the pelicans and the pelicans ignore the people,

but I know that the plan is larger than that. The pelicans arent going to choices, who have the greater motive.

change. Why should they? Theyre flying a sure path. It is we, who have Its time for an unmasking. Its time for us to learn what the pelicans have

always known: a natural place in the cosmos.

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Twenty Questions

1. How can you blame someone for running over a seagull when thousands of animals are killed on our highways every day? The intentional running over of animals on the beach and the accidental running over of animals on the highway are two sides of the same cultural coin: the killing

of animals. We know no moral law against this and are content to obey speed limits and feel that weve acted life is simply one reflection of our estrangement. If at the ethical system which permits it. 2. responsibly. This curious detachment from the flow of theres any blame, it should more aptly be directed

Progress is a religion with too many false idols. It may

How can we spare animals lives without sacrificing progress?

be more fruitful to think in terms of finding our own wholewe can transport ourselves from one city to another, for example. Creating an either/or category, like Will we

nessnow that would be progress!rather than how much faster

preserve the integrity of the environment or will we raise can we find our natural place in the world? Proponents

our material standard of living? obscures the deeper issue: of progress claim that weve already found it and must simply exert more rational control. Better fencing along highways, for instance, to keep animals off. This is separationist separating the animals from their former habitat.

thinking again. Separating us from the land, separating us from the animals, We just cant fence the entire world. We need to learn to live

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with animals, even as we learn to live with ourselves. 3. Is it true that bikers have limited intelligence?

The profile I drew of the biker is a composite of the many

Ive met all over the country, as well as those I met who were amassed in These men were in it for the same reasontheir contribution to society

Daytona Beach. Ive also met a handful of exceptional minds among bikers. wasnt considered valuable or useful. Do your best, we tell our youth. become bikers. But how many don an acceptable face and trudge on in silence?

How many of them do and receive little or nothing in return? Many of them

4. Arent you perhaps reading into it something that really isnt there? The fact that we cant see it doesnt mean it isnt there. a particular point of view and I think its important to recognize the blind spots. 5. As the saying goes, A way of seeing is a way of not seeing. Weve chosen

Schooling is just one of many institutions in our society which separates there are more casualties to this system than meets the eye, bikers being only one of the more visible ones. 6.

Do schools really create bikers?

people, pits them against one another, then rewards the successful. But

rebellion or even a revolution?

If so many people are dissatisfied, why hasnt there been a

There are signs of rebellion every day in our newspapers. From our schools to our city streets to our military bases, there is rebellion everywhere. Right now revolution is unprofitable, since theres no plan for how people will admitting that they havent made it in eat after the revolution. But more importantly, people have a difficult time a society boasting equal opportunity for all. If I criticize the system, Im

really saying I didnt have what it takes to succeed. So I'm apt to remain silent.

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7.

Its not the act but the motive thats in question. Ive

Whats wrong with women baring their breasts on the beach?

been to nude beaches on three continents and have always encountered a healthy attitude about the body. Its the exhibitionistic character of Daytonas breast-barers, always from which theyre struggling so hard today to

at the instigation of the men, dragging women into the status- object role free themselves. I enjoy seeing any part of the body bared, but without shame, without exhibitionism, without reducing the person to an object. 8.

Panhandling is work, and if you dont believe it you need only try it. But its work of a different quality. Its a statement that one is unwilling or unfit to participate in work as its now organized. Whether panhandlers are rip-off artists

Isnt panhandling or begging the worst kind of decadence?

or gentle souls may depend on our point of view. And because have we taken the time to know before passing judgment? 9.

weve become separated from each other, how many panhandlers

our identity?

Why join the whole of humanity if it could cause us to lose

Just as immigrants to this country often flocked together in order to maintain a sense of who they were, so we all cling to groupings which help define us. But theres a larger group all

around us. There was certainly culture shock when a Greek flavor of the mainstream of American life. Yet its enriching in so many ways; and besides, he can still be proud to be a Greek. He need not turn his back on his heritage to become

immigrant first ventured forth from Greektown and experienced the

a member of the larger societya society made up not only

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of Greeks, but of Italians, Swedes, Puerto Ricans, and Native Americans, too. Similarly, we can all learn to become part of a larger whole: the world of men and women, of animals, of land and seathe bounds of which are yet undiscovered. of wholeness will ultimately strengthen our identities. 10. We may experience a temporary disturbance, but our new sense

individuals?

Arent the cruisers fundamentally active and creative

In many ways they are. They cruise with passion, and their moving sculptures are often art forms of considerable imagination. I myself spent many years cruising, however, (Ive played many flaws of this institution. 11.

of the roles recounted in this book) and discovered from the inside the many

right to protect his car from having sand thrown on it by an inconsiderate driver? We all want to take care of personal property. Whats at identity is so closely tied to his car. In effect, he is

Didnt the young man in the black-lacquered Corvette have a

issue here is the extreme reaction of the person because his his car. Im worried about him because his state of being is so perishable. What are the potential anxieties if he wrecks his car? What if he loses his job or his income cant itself? What if illness, family, or other financial

keep up with his growing self-image and its need to display obligations severely limit his spending capacity? Im conand citizen hell be. I want to count on him in the future

cerned about what kind of father, husband, friend, neighbor, if the going gets tough. Right now I have no confidence in him.

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12.

We think of a person as having class when he or she isnt Since life is seen as a struggle, we look up to those who have made it. These individuals then show a certain ease, a confidence, since society has confirmed their

What does it mean for a person to have class?

struggling to become someone but already is someone.

importance. One doesnt have to be rich or famous to have class. All one must do is attain something valued by ones peers or society that allows them to act with restraint: a Corvette, an Olympic gold medal, a medical school

degree, the quarterback position on a football team, and so on. Or one can be born into a prominent family or have a photogenic face. In other words, something that shows mastery over the struggle and the more civil behavior that can allowthough that doesnt always follow! Were not satisfied as we are. We have to become

somebody special, and some of those who achieve this develop

that characteristic confidence and restraint we call class. But to me, people together. They dignify the struggle, not mask it. 13.

individuals who have class are those who have worked a lifetime to bring

The new Christian patriotism provides a potentially dangerous mix of divine will and conservative political ideology, thus creating fertile soil for a new type of fascism. Jesus to be true believers we must believe this first. Flag-

Whats wrong with the idea of God and Country?

taught compassion. He said to love thy neighbor and if were waving Christians further aggravate the already great gaps among people. And I fear that they too often succumb to the promises of worldly power (whether it be healing power, media power, or American military might) when there is

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ample historical evidence of the corruptibility of that

power. I dont advocate a passive Christianity, nor do I think that spiritual on the quality of belief. Does it encourage unity or does it serve as a political ideology attempting to strengthen peoples sense of security in uncertain times? 14.

beliefs should be made separate from everyday life. Im merely commenting

had not experienced any of life misfortunes. Why?

You were critical of the Christian who was trying to save souls but

The one who had never been in jail, never been ostracized, never been high on reefer, etc? To teach, which is what he was doing, one must know ones subject well with heart and mind. We dont want to go to swimming class with an instructor who has only waded ankle-deep in water.

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15.

When Indians use peyote its within a structured context integrated into their everyday life. Unless that kind

Should mind-expanding drugs be permitted?

so that the perceptions will be meaningful and able to be of social setting is provided, the taking of mind-expand-

ing drugs is apt to cause confusion or misunderstanding. to grasp that spiritual attainment is a lifetime process and doesnt come in a pill.

But I think its particularly important for us as Americans

Today, of course, cocaine and meth have replaced hallucinogens in compatible with the rather quiet for us. 16

popularity. I see this as a trend toward escapism, which seems more pessimism of the times. But in no era do we find drugs providing the answer

Straight thinking, or using half a brain (left hemisphere), is bad only insofar

Is straight thinking really so bad?

as it limits ones perceptions by emphasizing the differences between things. 17. Is this the basis of your criticism of rationality?

My concern isnt so much with rationality as it is with the overall imbalance in our lives due to narrow thinking. And when we base our society on narrowly logical and rational ideas

(for example, bureaucracy), we often find how often utterly irrational and counterproductive they can be. No, Im looking for a deeper rationality. restore a balance to our lives. 18. When were rational enough to perceive whats important, well begin to

corrupting and that a person in a more natural state will be freer of such corruption. Is this so?

You seem to be resurrecting Rousseaus idea that society is

Its certainly tempting to say that society corrupts us, but we can thank Freud for coming along to dispel the

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notion of the innocence of people in their natural state. He opened up a Pandoras box revealing selfish and aggressive impulses, libidinal cravings, death wishes and a host of other demons of the dark side of the human mind. To

believe in the idea of the noble savage is sheer idealism and Im sure in large measure nostalgia. No, it would be more accurate to say that people of any era fall into that eras patterns of belief and behavior, and that often those patterns, while serving some apparent good in terms of the and must ultimately be overthrown. Thus we dont live

general welfare, prove to be destructive of the human spirit in a corrupt society but simply one in which some very crucial aspects of human existence have been neglected. The objective then isnt to rid ourselves of society but to transform it to better suit what a human being is. 19. Are you a humanist?

No. There are assumptions in humanism that Mankind is the naturally dominant species and that through Reason alone it can solve the many problems facing it. I dont hold either assumption. 20.

I dont think we need to go from Reason back to superstition nature.

Without Reason, wont there be chaos?

or dogma, but rather from Reason forward to a deeper understanding of our

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Modern Identity

PART II

The American Identity

Chapter 9

ONE America is a long line of excited people waiting to get into a baseball

game while thunderheads approach and threaten to rain the game out. TWO

hard- working, selfish and yet at the same time generous, full of conflicting images about the meaning of lifebut theres one characteristic that youll notice more and more if you look for it. Were a nation of tinkerers. I dont think theres any greater satisfaction for an American than to

What does it mean to be an American? To be restless, curious,

tinker with an old car, a new set of speakers, a DIY project. This is true of women as well as men. If isolated from these so-called masculine activities because of sexual stereotypes, what woman hasnt spent many

hours as a child tinkering with a Barbie doll? A prime reason for that dolls phenomenal success is the ability to tinker with it. It wasnt a plain old rag doll suitable only for holding! You could change Barbies clothes, dress

her for different activities, alter her hairstyleenough to satisfy the childs set or one of its similar brethren?

deepest craving for tinkering. And what boy ever became bored with a Lego As mechanical toys become pass, an entire generation of electronic

toys is taking their place. And how many of us as adults tinker with the

Internet? Why is it so addictive? And then theres the kids with their cell

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phones!

THREE

not navigating their star-studded vehicles up and down the hard sand at

In Daytona Beach I saw no end of tinkering. The cruisers, when

waters edge, were waxing their paint jobs, polishing their chrome wheels,

or adjusting their stereos. The bikers were oiling their chains, cleaning sand out of their air filters, tightening their throttle cables. The drug dealers were their acid hits in foil, cleaning their hash pipes. The women on the beach were tinkering with their bodies, trying various suntan lotions, adjusting separating the seeds and stems from the leaves of their marijuana, wrapping

their bathing suits, painting their toenails, constantly rearranging their torsos everyones beliefs, bringing out their tool kitsBible tracts and verses

to maximize the suns exposure. The Christian witnesses were tinkering with trying to get the machinery to run right. And of course there were the cops

with their loudspeakers, binoculars and two-way radios, the scavengers with much satisfaction.

their metal-detectors, and a host of others with similar toys which gave them The seagulls and the pelicans, when not fishing or preening, just sat

quietly, contentedly, at peace with the world. FOUR

We experience pleasure and relaxation during those moments when were absorbed in taking something apart, arranging it, or just polishing it up a little. It takes our mind off something. But what?

Were a restless people. We have a million toys to keep us occupied.

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FIVE Grandpa and Grandma of old used to sit on the porch for hours,

doing little more than rocking. There was nothing disquieting in the silence that urged them to tinker so as to immerse themselves in something light in order not to have to face something. Today we say life is more complex. SIX I read in the Daytona newspaper that theyre going to try modular

education to see if it will improve reading and math skills and I thought, yes, were master tinkerers.

SEVEN Were thought of as an optimistic people. The world is our oyster, or

at least it was until recently, and we press on toward our destinies with

curious anticipation and fast-beating hearts. Were always busy. We have

things to do. We frown upon people sitting on their verandas. Weve long to be doing nothing. Years ago I was traveling in Africa and I saw a lot of people just sitting around. Whats wrong with them, I asked myself. EIGHT We remodel the kitchen (tinker with the house), change our hair

ago invented a concept called loitering and move along people who seem

color (tinker with our bodies), use a DVD player (tinker with a toy), go to a marriage counselor (tinker with our marriage), smoke pot (tinker with our

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minds and with paraphernalia toys), send our kids to private schools or after-school programs (tinker with our kids), take up Zen archery (tinker with our minds and with sports toys), go to the electrolysist (tinker with our bodies), attend consciousness-raising meetings (tinker with our minds and with our social roles), buy a CB radio (tinker with a toy), use a this, tinker to improve that, tinker, tinker, tinker! Nothing is ever right

vibrator (tinker with our bodies and with a toy), tinker to fool around with as is. Theres always something that needs to be toyed with or fixed. In nothing.

toying or fixing we have a rationale for avoiding silence, avoiding doing Its hard to tell the difference today between an activity we engage

in for its own intrinsic value and one in which were tinkering in order to fix something or forget something.

NINE What do psychoanalysis, Scientology, est, astrology, growth workshops,

self-help books, hypnosis, and so on have in common? Are they all forms of tinkering?

cruising, drinking, or saving can satisfy. Theres something lacking in our lives, it seems, and were out here looking for it. I walk down the beach, talking to people here and there, trying to find

I sit on the beach watching the restlessness that no amount of

TEN

out if they themselves know what it is theyre searching for. What Ive About what? Here were free souls in a place where just about

ultimately found, after six weeks of conversation, is a sense of uncertainty. anything goes. Here was a beautiful beach, an endless stream of single, permissive people, and an air of excitement, even abandon. Certainly footloose individuals should be able to find what theyre looking for here.

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of people Ive met, Ive encountered only one with peace of mindthe old rest are all trying to become someone, even if that someone is

The missing ingredientpeace of mind? Among the literally thousands

Black man with the pushcart. Even he needed a little nip now and then. The themselves. Theres apparently a deficiency to who they are now. Even though psychologists tell us that the dynamic of human life is never being but always the process of becoming, they fail to show the deeper reason something wrong with us as we are.

why a person today cant be satisfied just being: we just might feel theres

ELEVEN Why do so many people get saved? Is it really being saved from

the sin of Adam, or is it being saved from loneliness and despair? Why do so many people who are saved later describe it as a feeling of coming home? What is it that causes us to feel homeless to begin with? TWELVE Home is a state of mind. It is being. We dont have to become

anything, were already home. Were home free. Were complete. We have peace of mind. We dont need to go cruising; weve got what were looking blind struggle to complete ourselves. The seagulls and the pelicans are complete. In times of rest they can sit peacefully and be what they are natural creatureswhile we, intensely involved in our perpetual search, invent endless leisure time activities. for. When home we can build our lives on a solid foundation instead of on a

THIRTEEN What is this restlessness, this loneliness, this incompleteness that

seems to engulf the American spirit? Most of us are constantly tinkering,

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either with ourselves to fix whats wrong, or with toys to forget that theres something wrong. Others, so far gone that simple tinkering wont help, need a complete conversion, so they get saved. Or they take drugs. Most We like to say that our mobility makes us feel this way; that this is

conversions, the research shows, are temporary. Home, it seems, eludes us. the price we pay for freedom. But mobility itself cant rob one of peace of also like to say that, unlike those in European countries, we dont have a for our homelessness. Yet the same homelessness is beginning to plague our ingenuity, leading us to ever more efficient technologies and at one has made us homeless because of the demands of intellectual freedom and curiosity. But intellectual freedom never made anyone homeless: homelessness is a state of unfreedom.

mind. Saharan Bedouins are among the worlds most centered peoples. We common heritage or tradition, and the melting pot philosophy is to blame many of the Europeans and we cant explain that. We also like to say that time making our standard of living an example for all the world to follow,

causes of our homelessness? Why are we so adamant in rationalizing its inevitability?

What are some of the other historical reasons we like to say are the

FOURTEEN I wonder if something which is incomplete can ever be made

better. A football team with seven players may improve with tinkering, players.

but what it really needs to properly be called a football team is four more

FIFTEEN What does it mean to be an American? We have so many positive

thingsgoing for us that its hard to admit that there might be a tragic flaw. Its difficult to face the fact that in spite of our wondrous works, theres

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a serious gap in the American character. One gets the feeling when dealing with individuals, organizations, and most of all, institutions, that theres something missing. When I meet a Japanese or a Swede I get the sense that standing on ice.

hes all there. When I meet an American I sometimes feel like were both In the next chapter I want to reflect on the ways we try to cure this

apparent malady and how successful weve been.

SIXTEEN When someone is making love with us, do they really love us or are

they tinkering?

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Psychology and Religion

Chapter 10

ONE What will it take for the human spirit, like the phoenix, to rise from

its own dissolution and declare itself once more? TWO

psychology is that theres something wrong with us. Were beset with victorious in this venture receive mental health as the reward.

Forgive my sacrilege when I say that the first principle of modern

psychological problems which we must overcome, and those who are The psychologist is our mentor and tactician, analysing the battle plan of the

enemy (our phobias, depression, anxiety) and advising us of the best plan of attack. All therapies except the so-called radical ones use this conflict model in treatment. The patient is always put in the role of overcoming and the psychologist is the trainer in our corner who tells us, Keep that and we pay someone to make the odds two against one. his or her pathology. Were in a boxing ring with a formidable opponent guard up, go for his belly, watch out for his right! Mental health is a fight Ive known people who have been in analysis twenty years and still

havent won. What is it theyre fighting? And why havent the results been forthcoming? Are we barking up the wrong tree? Or should we continue fear we may be waiting for Godot here. tinkering until we find out whats wrong with us and set about fixing it? I

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THREE Religions have traditionally devalued the world as we know it. This

corrupt material realm, this maya or illusion, is held to be inferior to

the world of the future; that is, the spiritual world. We wait for the Second Coming to bring truth to the world, or wait to be reincarnated in order to corrupt. work off past debts for being human. This world is no good. Its crass. Its Therefore, to achieve grace or nirvana we must not put our faith

in this world but entrust ourselves to Gods plan for us in the next. With achieve enlightenment. Well be free of this bad karma.

this focus on the world to come, well sit at the right hand of God. Well Yet in spite of the displacement of this world by the next in the

minds and hearts of so many, were living in this world now and modern religion doesnt seem to have made us healthy. We dont trust those who believe in heaven any more than those who dont. FOUR Theres the predicament. Were looking for curatives and our two big

guns, psychology and religion, somehow dont perform as expected.

Psychologylike the society it servesfocuses on this world but doesnt religion has spiritual knowledge but seems to focus it on a world of the future.

fully comprehend its wider dimensions and then blames the victim, while

Where is the creed that acknowledges the spiritual realities of the present?

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FIVE Its unfair to lump all the psychologies together, of course, as

each seems to have its own distinct characteristics. They look as different as flowers in a meadow, and yet when one steps further back one sees a certain uniformity to the meadow. The thread that runs through most of techniques are directed toward the person when in fact a fundamental

the psychologies is the focus on the problems of the person. Therapeutic source of the problems lies in the cultural ethic itself. If our society causes

people to feel lonely, estranged from each other, unloved and anxious, why and work toward the individuals acceptance of reality (current social arrangements)this in itself has an air of madness about it.

must we blame the victim? To pose the problem as one of maladjustment

be a clue to the problem. In a healthy, dynamic society the bright and

The preponderance of bright and creative people in therapy should

creative individuals should be the most adjusted, isnt that so? It may

be that the reason psychologists ever have therapeutic results at all is that will listen.

they provide the patient with a friend, perhaps one of the few in society who

SIX There are psychologies that occasionally turn toward society, of

course, in order to provide a grand scheme in which to operate.

But the practitioners inevitably zero in on the individual, who often cant fit into society or who has but isnt happy having done so. We know its An unfortunate consequence of this is that it confirms in a persons mind that theres something wrong with him or her. easier to focus on one person than to change the face of the culture itself.

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SEVEN If I were a psychologist I wouldnt ask how a person can better fit

into this society weve inherited, but how a person can discover his or her one as well. And the answer must satisfy both our mystical and rational faculties.

natural place in the world. This isnt just a mystical question, but a rational

us to adjust to half a personhood.

When were whole well have no more need for psychologists telling

EIGHT Its also unfair to lump all the religions together. The worlds

religions are as varied and beautiful as snowflakes. But when they light upon a human hand, what happens? There seems to be a peculiar blindness to the profound truths of reli-

gion, with a focus on the behavior-justifying aspects instead. This is

especially true today when the magnitude of national and international security. Many Christians (and others) call for a strong America to

problems causes people to seek ways to increase their sense of personal counteract the rising tide of international unrest, resurrecting the Old

carries on a holy war against modernism through terrorism and executions. The message of human unity is too often obscured in the hands of people using their religion as the basis of political belief, whose end has always been to separate people.

Testament battle-cry of an eye for an eye, while the Islamic world

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NINE We need help. Theres no question about that. I can be sitting on the

beach at the end of the day watching the moon rise, the last of the cruisers I need help with all this. I cant do it alone. I need others to share the to share something of myself with them. And they with me. But lets haunt beach crowd! Eco-topian pundit stalks sands seeking converts! But of course this is not what I meant at all.

having fled the dark sands for the bright lights of town, thinking to myself, struggle with me, and I need to share it with them. And in doing that I need not get too dramatic. I can see the headlines now: Ancient Mariner returns to

talk, but its usually about cars and partying and too often we never seem to voice whats really on our minds. If we do begin to make a connection Im invariably called a philosopher, this being societys tender rebuke of those You cant change the world, they reply.

In the morning the cruisers return and Im here to greet them. We

who envision a better future. This culture isnt carved in stone, I tell people.

TEN We do need help. But our psychology seems obsessed with persons and

whats wrong with them, and our religion seems to steer our attention to the Americans are sometimes such pessimists?

afterlife, as if theres something wrong with the world. Is this why optimistic

ELEVEN Psychology and religion are thought by many to be great curatives.

But in inexpert hands they become merely tools of society to perpetuate itself. They can no longer cure.

One doesnt need superabundant intelligence to see that medicines

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applied to symptoms have little effect on the disease. We need to become whole again and that takes powerful medicine. We need to come home. the friends and lovers we inhabit the planet with are waiting for that until they may once again welcome us into their community. But how? The animals, the trees, the rivers and streams, the air we breathe,

blessed event. The seagulls and pelicans of Daytona are counting the days

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Chapter 11 Love

ONE Too much has been written about love already. But in this case

too much is not enough.

TWO

an adolescent ideal. Weve never had any trouble theorizing about love, but somehow we never got it off the drawing board and into practice. Were not the great lovers we thought we were.

I believe we need to think more about how to extend love beyond

THREE I was taught two kinds of love. One was the grand emotion of

romance(fall in love, make love, boy loves girl). The other was

universal love (love thy neighbor) by which we mean showing concern for everyone but ghetto dwellers, criminals, terrorists, transvestites, and others on the verboten list. Nothing was ever taught about what to do if you fell out of love or met some poor white trash you couldnt help loving. I we actually know what were talking about. think its time to update our definitions so that when we speak about love,

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her time sitting on the hood of her car watching the endless parade go by. She washostile to my approach, I guess because she didnt know what I was after. She acted as though I were carrying the plague, although all I had at the time was a mild cold. It was a couple of days before shed properly speak to me. Her complaints were as follows: She was an Air Force brat whose father was always right, even when he was wrong; her mother

I met a young woman on the beach who seemed to spend most of

FOUR

didnt understand why she had a tattoo; her brother didnt understand her at all; and finally, she couldnt have an orgasm without prolonged and intense that much effort. People can be frank if they think someone cares to listen! and no one ever will. Did I have any right to tell her I loved her? In her terms, did this mean not claiming I was right even when I was wrong, understanding why she had a tattoo, understanding her at all, and willing to give her prolonged and intense clitoral stimulation? This could be a be this way. definition of love by a person who, not having experienced it, imagines it to What she told me, in effect, is that no one loved her. No one has, clitoral stimulation, and never found a man willing to consistently put forth

FIVE Love is often on a performance basis. We perform in a certain way to

satisfy someones needs and they feel that we love them. What are these

needs? Freedom from isolation, freedom from unnecessary conflict, freedom to be understood and appreciated; in other words, all the needs that modern society seems to create in people by denying basic human fulfillment. So love in this sense is an antidote to the ravages of modern life. But in this

way, love becomes just another social requirement. Were compelled to love by the needs of those around us. How can we ever love fully under these conditions?

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willing to do things for them, in order to make them happy? Imagine, though, if life in America (or anywhere else) didnt make happiness difficult.

The justification is this: if we really love someone, shouldnt we be

fulfilled and we didnt have to perform that saving role for them! SIX

How much more freely we could love if the persons needs were already

motorcycle out of his truckand his status rose instantly. The women then cranked it up and sped off with sand flying and pipes roaring.

There was a guy next to me on the beach who wheeled a big black

loved it. He polished it up so as to give everyone time to take a good look, He rolled up early the next morning and we ate some oranges

together. Whereve you been? I asked him. Spent the night with a married lady, he replied.

when he met a foxy lady ten or fifteen years his senior. He said she didnt look anything like a bikers lady but had said, I love bikers. He wasnt bike. But they say love is blind.

He related how hed been having a few beers at the Boot Hill Saloon

a biker though; just a guy from Buffalo who had quit his job and bought a They drank more beer and, after a stimulating ride on his Harley,

went to her place. By morning he was spent. We split another orange, after sleep. This romanticized encounter is the most common type of love in on the beach in Daytona. Its biggest drawback seems to be the feeling some people get afterward that life is more of a joke than a fulfilling journey. wonder if the contradiction doesnt gnaw at us.

which he said, Isnt life a bitch? and he crawled into his truck to get some

That is, we, rich in emotions, are too often left with a feeling of emptiness. I When the biker look-alike emerged from his truck a few hours later, he

told me he was thinking of moving on to Ft. Lauderdale or maybe even Galveston. Whats that dude looking for? I wondered.

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SEVEN Love is one of the most commonly used words in our language

but its one of the most misunderstood as well. Should we establish some guidelines yet or cover more misunderstandings first? I met an evangelical who was interested in talking about the ultimate

meaning of life. This suited me fine, as in Daytona its difficult to find

anyone interested in talking about the ultimate meaning of anything. His

name was Roger and he was an optician from Minneapolis. He was here as a volunteer with Campus Crusade. He told me there was a deeper purpose to a movement, he said, to convert the whole world to Christ. How do this flurry of saving souls than meets the eye. I asked him what it was. It was you plan to do that? I asked, remembering from the book of Revelation that there were only 144,000 places reserved. By reaching the college students, the leaders of tomorrow. It was to be a modern-day war on sin, strengthening the national moral fiber so that we would once more have a position of world leadership in combating terrorism abroad and vice at in this scheme wasnt going to be loved, I promise you. And because I

home. To him the doctrine of love seemed highly political. But somebody didnt agree with his version of the kingdom of God and in fact would be

one of its most vehement critics, he thought I didnt love him. I did. But I wasnt about to pat him on the back so that he might move right along on stimulate his clitoris, he walked away disappointed. EIGHT How many of us are walking vibrators? Men and women alike, we his path to realizing his limited version of paradise. And because I wouldnt

feel we have to stimulate those around us. Im think Id rather pull out the plug on this tool-like aspect of love, this technological orientation of the modern mind. Its just not very appealing. I sometimes wonder why we

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dont fight it more strenuously. Instead, we go about our business and wear This place appears to have an ample share of this thinking. And if it

that friendly smile that seems to signify the eternal optimism of Americans. were just Daytona, one might say that the best cure for that would be to

just get behind the wheel and driveleave it all behind. But experience has taught me that Daytona isnt a separate country, a no-mans land of amoral abandon, but in fact just a more glaring example of what may be found all over the country, though maybe in smaller doses and thus a little harder to see.

NINE Do we really know what love is? Thats a question I hope to deal

with in later chapters and answer in the affirmative. But first things first. I met a gentle man who brought his wife and five kids down from New ork in a van. He said he lived for his kids.

He popped one open and look a long drink. We been drivin all night, he

He offered me a beer but since it was about seven a.m., I declined.

said with a belch. He told me he was an ironworker and had heard from his New York. No disagreement from me on that.

buddies that there was nothing like Florida, especially when it was frigid in His wife was complaining that the kids wanted to go in the ocean

with their clothes on and he said to let them go. What the hell, he said;

they been waitin a long time for this; let em get wet. The clothesll dry, for chrissakes. He took another long drink and watched with satisfaction even go myself, he said. as the five urchins tore gleefully across the sand and into the water. I might The water was cold. I had already tested it, and it was too chilly even

for beach-starved kids. In less than a minute they were back on the sand,

running and jumping. Their next activity was to chase the gulls that quietly line the beach in the early morning. The father got quite a kick out of this,

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and encouraged them heartily. Sneak up, he said, so they dont suspect

anything, then rush em. He loved those kids. It was only my intervention he had thought.

at that point that made him think that there was something more to love than

TEN Theres a confusion today about love. Does God love us? At

one time, people were more secure in that knowledge. What happened?

How was that faith overturned? Scientism? Industrialization? The growing impersonality of cities? The drudgery of factory and office work? The big Perhaps the most prominent inheritance of our modern era: the sense of Gods desertion of humanity. payoffs of materialism? Didnt Nietzsche dare proclaim that God is dead?

ourselves? Its upon this slippery question that we fall down the

A point to ponder: if were not loved by God, how can we possibly love

spiral staircase. If were not loved by God, how can we possibly love ourselves? If we dont love ourselves, how can we possibly love one another? If we dont love one another, how can we possibly love the other creatures of the earth? If we dont love the creatures of the earth, how can we possibly love the streams and rivers? If we dont love the streams and rivers, how can we love anything? If we dont love anything, then maybe there is no love. In this modern culture we live in, this seductive bed of say there is? I catch rare glimpses, little more. Yes, were truly sitting on the rice bag starving!

materialism where were pitted against one another for the spoils, who can

ELEVEN I dont know how much longer we can define love as sex, as

romance, as nationalism, as a psychological state of mind. Our modern

view, that we are mind without spirit, is leaving untouched an entire source

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of strength and meaning that we have great need of right now.

begin to assess our spiritual needs as well as our material ones, for this sort of one-sided existence we lead is out of balance and sure to fall. TWELVE More on this later. For now lets just keep in mind that although the

If were to break free of our self-imposed bonds, we really ought to

future is inevitable, we ourselves have a hand in creating the future we want.

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Chapter 12 Freedom

Freedom in America is an impostor wearing seductive clothing.

ONE

TWO When I arrived in Daytona I was amazed at how free everyone

seemed. My opinion changed fast. I hope Ive shown well enough in earlier chapters how really similar and predictable everyones behavior is. The bums and the crazies who are really free stand out like scratches on a candy-apple paint job. Wild behavior is not actually free. In places like Daytona where

a certain amount of wildness is permitted, its carefully controlled by the

police. And more interestingly, its controlled by whats considered acceptable to be considered crazy or a freak. An ethic prevails that wildness is desirable to a point, after which it becomes deviant behavior. No woman to go to jail, no matter how much fun hes having. by the participants themselves. Everyone wants to be wild, but no one wants

wants to be picked up by a wild man, no matter how pretty his car. No man wants So in spite of its reputation, Daytona isnt really a haven of freedom.

Mild orgiastic behavior is tolerated as long as it follows certain standards.

I soon noticed that peoples actions were as predictable here as in Ames, Iowa.

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THREE What does it mean to be free? Who really knows nowadays? I

was always taught that I lived in a free country, the leader of the free

world, but I didnt feel particularly free. I always felt pressure to control and behaving. And I was always obeying somebody, even the big kid at

myself, to adhere to certain (constricting, I thought) standards of thinking recess who always made himself the pitcher on the baseball team, and all this obeying was supposed to teach me responsibility. Yet I didnt feel particularly responsible, either.

pause for reflection about what it meant to live in a free country. FOUR

As a young adult I felt neither free nor responsible. This gave me

do feel free. At least superficially. But much of this behavior is unexamined. Freedom in this sense is unreflective adherence to well-worn paths and because of this, frankly, its little different from animal behavior. FIVE If love is just a four-letter-word and freedoms just another word for

When people are content acting in ways approved by society, they

nothing left to lose, as these old songs tell us, it should give us pause. These pop interpretations show the cynicism that we may come to experience because of the growing gap between our ideals and the current reality of these words. Its too easy to be philosophical and lament the harsh present state of affairs is what makes our particular reality so harsh.

actualities of the modern age, but I think our too-easy acquiescence to the What has caused the discrepancy between what wed like and what

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has come to pass? Whats happened to the American spirit when millions seem to have given up the idea that things can be changed and that we ourselves can change them?

SIX Im an optimist. I know that its my spirit which is able to be free

and my psyche which tries to tie me down. That was a discovery that in, one must be born again many times!

changed my life, though it has to be constantly renewed. In this era we live My psyche tries to fill me with doubts. The world is too big for me,

its too fast. Im afraid I wont have the strength, or the intelligence, or

the persistence to contend with it. Im beset with worries. Theres always tricks on me. It tells me to fight when I dont know what it is that Im supposed to fight, then when the going gets rough it urges me to quit. Sometimes I dont know what to do. Some of the best minds of my

someone stronger, someone faster. Someone better than me. My mind plays

nation tell me theres no spirit, no metaphysical power beyond my own psyche. They counsel me to develop my psyche, to control it, to treat it therapeutically when it gets restless or insubordinate. I ask, Is this all there techniques every day. Tinkering, I think to myself.

is? and the finest minds of my generation reply, Yes, but were refining our But though Im a rationalist by long training, I find that I have a

spiritual self. It cant be plotted on a graph but Im no longer blinded so

much by paradigms. I became something of a scholar myself but it didnt

give me wisdom, nor did I seek it there. Its value was in teaching me history, and in showing me the limitations of this proud and lonely humanism, this belief in the supremacy of the psyche in our dealings with the world. My professors were scientists. Im a scientist too, but maybe my graph is a tad larger and its points further apart. If I have any freedom now, its because us, but its no longer the lord and master. Theres a grander design to life Im less a servant to human psychology. Yes, it buffets me, as it does all of

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than my minds preoccupation with status, security, creature comforts, and things and I, my self, was compelled to tag along. My mind still pursues Sometimes more free than at other times, but its not the quantity Im concerned about, its the quality.

the modern fetish of mental health. My mind forever wanted to pursue these them, as is the minds nature, but Im no longer forced to follow. Im free.

Our behavior becomes predictable, like many of the people in Daytona

When were busy following our minds around, were not free.

or even Ames. We may feel free but were only free of the questioning of the insistent demands of our minds. Our habits, derived from our culture, are designed to satisfy these cravings so we yield to them, never freeing mental health leave us with a hunger, a spiritual emptiness, were still

ourselves from them. And since status, security, creature comforts, or even prisoners. Theres no real freedom in Daytona Beach. Theres only the same game we played back home, the game we came to Daytona to escape. Here we can let our hair down, but were still who we are. Orgiastic release, American-style, never really frees us.

SEVEN I actually think some of the people I meet in Daytona are a little bit

afraid of freedom. They may be afraid that a life without the habitual pursuit of status, security, creature comforts, without mental health,

would bring on confusion. After all, mental health as we know it today is a state of ease one achieves by inducing the mind to accept its customary patterns, its denial of the spirit, its desire for material satisfactions. If the

price of freedom is to reject this version of the good life, then the people I The price were paying now for what weve got is too high.

meet may be saying that the price is too high. Im saying just the opposite.

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EIGHT Why would an optimist be so critical of social behavior as I have in

these pages? Isnt that the role of the pessimist? Or worse, the cynic? can only be called optimism. And what prevents it from being naive but something very real.

To be able to see the possibility of true freedom where little actually exists idealism is my own and others experience with freedom, which is no ideal

NINE The pessimist, speaking out of personal frustration, and the cynic,

speaking out of (perhaps disguised) despair, have little to offer to the

resolution of our task: the rejuvenation of ourselves and our culture. To even entertain the idea of a free society, great optimism and great ideas are needed.

contentions and limitations is the only mediator between the self and the

We really have to get away from the notion that the intellect with all its

of their narrow scope, and yet were doing the same thing today. No wonder thecynical attitude is so common! To me the questioning of our social reality is a labor of optimism while

world. We criticize the ideas of the past which restricted freedom because

acceptance of it and its restrictions is the worst kind of pessimism. TEN

away our freedom, yet it is only this type of society that offers us any

We may fear a new, ethical society because we think it will take

chance of freedom at all. Weve had bad experiences with cooperative

societies because of their totalitarian tendencies, from the modern socialist

states to the primitive Puritan settlements in early America. I understand the

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skepticism.

suspicion, hostility, and subsequent need for control that I dont quite know what people today mean when they say they dont want to give up their freedom. Were not free to act differently from the socially-accepted ways of satisfying our minds cravings. We can say were free to pursue wealth, the cravings ever cease? Are we ever satisfied? What kind of freedom is this? This is the enlightenment promised us back in the eighteenth century? build more strip malls, purchase goods and servicesbut to what end? Do

But an individualistic, unduly competitive society fosters such

ELEVEN Freedom contains the element of choice. Blindly following well-

worn patterns of behavior in order to indulge the demands of a hungry

psyche isnt an adequate idea of freedom. When we look at what were

actually doing, its not too difficult to see how limited our options are. From the lowliest to the highest, were all constrained. In order to get what we want, we have conform to certain acceptable behavior patterns. Even what of respectability, intelligence, industriousness, or coolness. Even the

we want is conformable. After all, we have reputations to maintain, whether lawbreakers of society, the prison inmates, have strict rules of behavior that of the prison authorities.

they themselves create and enforcequite apart from the written regulations All this conformity, this herd-like behavior, is encouraged in a

society where all are struggling against each other to get what they want. The alternative, being oneself, being authentic, or whatever catchword one chooses to describe ones potential rejection of material pursuits for something more satisfying, actually compels the individual to run the risk of getting little or nothing when the social rewards are given out.

Quality jobs, spouse, friends, money, prestige, and security are just some the well-worn path. (Exceptions aside, though we often point to these

of the rewards potentially withheld when a person exercises choices beyond

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rarities as aLook whats possible! scenario.)

idea of getting all the endless things weve been taught to expect from

We may be reluctant to accept that we might have to relinquish the

life. Butwe might also begin thinking in terms of self-containment, spiritual development, peace of mind, and compassion as goals of a good life. And maybe the balance of social rewards will even begin to shiftwith our have a just share in our society.

helpand oncemore the good man and the good woman will be able to

TWELVE Can we extend the idea of freedom to include not only free choice to

pursue the American Dream, but a decent social existence even if those

choices take the person off that beaten path? It has to be both ways or theres no real freedom. We can exclaim patriotically that we have choices, but I know that too often we fear the repercussions if we really exercise those choices. Wheres this free country were always talking about? In this restless age, where is our home? At the office? At the mall? In a imaginations are capable of more than that.

new house with a two-car garage or urban loft with city views? I think our

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Resolving Some Paradoxes

Chapter 13

ONE In order to recognize and understand the paradoxical in our culture,

we have to develop a new way of seeing.

TWO These reflections are filled with paradoxes, and I know that the

American mind has never been comfortable with paradox. It has always

preferred a more black-and-white analysis of life, where things are as they

appear to be. After all, seeing is believing, and weve grown comfortable with that. If theres a simple underlying assumption in these pages, its that things are not always as they seem.

provide a brief recollection, for myself and for the reader:

Let me list a few of the curious contrasts raised so far in order to

THREE

in fact we have the power of learning and can act quite differently. creates bikers.

Were only acting in ways that are natural for humans. But Bikers are self-appointed enemies of society. But in fact society itself Down-and-outers are responsible for their situation since all

have an equal opportunity to make it in America. But in fact the deck is stacked for and against certain types, and those dealt low cards are then

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blamed for their failure.

compete in a ruthless marketplace may show evidence of greater strength than we might suspect. Cruising is a benign adolescent courtship ritual. But in fact

Begging is a form of decadence. But in fact the refusal to

it wastes energy, damages the environment, ties peoples identities to them together.

machines, appeals to vanity, and does more to separate people than bring A more cooperative society would be regimented. But in fact

our competitive society is filled with laws and regulations (and police) likely to need these strict controls.

to protect people from each other, while a more cooperative society is less Drug-taking is a social problem and should be discouraged.

But in fact drug-taking is a natural response to an often uncaring social primarily from the left hemisphere of the brain.

structure, and one permitting only one form of consciousness, that emerging Survival of the fittest is the basis of natural law. But in

fact in humans learning can be stronger than instinct; so the ruthless, the clever, the brutish, and the manipulative no longer need to be considered the fittest.

envision a revitalized culture are optimists while those acquiescing real pessimists.

The critic of society is a pessimist. But in fact those who

to the status quo because of the magnitude of the task of changing it are the We live in a free country. But in fact were free only to follow along in

others well-worn footprintsthat is, if we want any respect. animals, and the earth could well be considered uncivilized.

Were a civilized race of people. But in fact the way we treat each other,

be longer than wed like to admit.

Each of us could compile our own list, and Im sure each list would

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FOUR Things are not always as they seem. What they are is often quite

different, and its only our narrow way of looking at them that limits our

understanding. We profess to be modern but when people look back over the history of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, one can only guess how might emerge? One closer to the heart? theyll judge them. Yet isnt it possible that out of it all a new consciousness

FIVE The paradoxes of American life can be resolved. By examining

ourselves and our behavior toward one another in our limited way, we

cant seem tosolve the problems facing us. Our separationist views only add to our dilemma. As Ive tried to show, weve misread too many of the cues. In order to resolve the many conflicts and see the meanings behind

the paradoxes, we have to look to a higher order of things. We really must appeal to a broader vision to see the illusion of separation fall away and a clearer perception of reality emerge.

encouraged to care for one another. Its that simple. Not just in a personal

The reason this illusion needs to be dispelled is so people might be

way, as I think many of us are valiantly trying to do already, but by restructuring the social and environmental relationships that are making it so hard for us to fully communicate this concern. Its clear to me our current situation not only makes it difficult, if not impossible, to live with some than that, were taught to think in these terms in order to justify these

degree of compassion because were organized against each other, but more competitive relationships. We learn to rationalize our behavior with such

concepts as striving for excellence, personal achievement, winning, and numerous other ultimately (as weve defined them) egocentric ideas.

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insights, still must act within the social structures which negate such insights and they are effectively neutralized as teachers or role models. SIX Im comparing our ethical system to a higher order of ethics and

Thus those who differ, even those who might have profound spiritual

claiming that what weve got now is lacking. The proof for me isnt some intellectual appeal to theories, but an instinctual feeling I have about the ethics of everyday life that I encounter in Daytona Beach and everywhere makes people feel.

else in America. I think that the ultimate test of an ethical system is in how it Whats my proof, then, if not in arguments and theories? Simply that

I intend to appeal to a different level of perception. This perspective, which Ill try to outline in the next several chapters, may help to provide a means of resolving paradoxes by removing the false dichotomies weve come to

see in our dealings with the world. But I offer this metaphysical world not as proof, because in order prove its legitimacy wed have to go to an even higher level, and to substantiate that, wed have to appeal to yet another

level and so on. But lets stop here, because Im no theoretician. I dont want to speculate. I only talk about what I know. And I know what a new ethics must be based on, and how it can help create a stronger American identity can be based on knowledge we can all possess. Most of us possess it now but just dont know it.

which is confident and healthy, compassionate and positive, and this ethics

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Twenty Questions 1 Why are Americans so fond of tinkering?

Tinkering comes from two basic urges; one which is universal and the other which is more typically American. The first is simply native curiosity, or the desire to play with things to discover their properties and functions. The second is the desire to forget oneself, to ease ones emotional isolation by absorbing oneself in an activity. The first is healthy, the second, in its extremes, is not. Some of our greatest

tinker heroes, from Edison to Ford, were said to be lonely an entire nation of tinkerers, the disquietude having since spread to the whole population. 2.

individuals who found solace in the workshop. Now were

I think few us of really know why were tinkering.

Isnt tinkering an expression of American ingenuity?

For many, creativity isnt the basis of tinkering; escape is. While ingenuity actually a small enterprise, whereas tinkering in America is everywhere. 3. Whats unusual about the concept of loitering? a way of life. Its a way for people to congregate, to talk about the events of the day, to exchange information

has unquestionably been a large part of our heritage, in per capita terms its

In many cultures, loitering at certain times of the day is

important to the community. In America where everyone must be busy or at least look busy, loitering is forbidden by law. Even too much time at the office coffee machine is frowned upon. This keep em moving mentality is just another reflection of our cultures (mostly unconscious) restrictive and separationist

philosophy. In Daytona you can congregate freely on the beach but dont try

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it anywhere else or youll be harassed by the police. 4. Whats the difference between being and becoming?

Much attention has been focused lately on becoming. where nothing stands still. While rural life had gone virtually unchanged for centuries, industrialization

Its our way of acknowledging constant change, a world

brought with it a transformation. Social wheels of every sort were beginning to turn faster. Life could change. Life could improve. New theories about societys perfecti-

bility emerged. Darwins theory of evolution added even more support to this idea of change toward perfectibility. And we know of course that the old Calvinist idea of work and salvation fit in prettily. In contrast was the Oriental

philosophy of being, or flowing along with life and savoring the present. The Japanese tea ceremony symbolizes this quite nicely, as do the many stories of Zen.

seem to keep our eyes forever on the future. Unfortunately, the future for us doesnt hold the promise of inner peace.

We in the West are more dissatisfied with the present and

The Industrial Revolution was a secular or worldly revolution, not a spiritual one. Instead of becoming compassionate, autonomous. This was to be the measure of our success. content, or wise, we were encouraged to become wealthy or We learned to manipulate the variables of life in order to he or she has gotten.

get somewhere. Even now each of us is judged by how far Becoming, then, is a national mania while being

is reserved for the lower classesbums, nuns, drifters,

perpetual students, surfers, and other renunciants who are the loiterers of our society. This inadequacy of the presentso weve always got to be becoming someonehas robbed so very many Americans of peace of mind.

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5.

Peace of mind is an inner quietude based on the knowledge that what one has cant be taken away, either by a fickle economy or a quirk of fate. It reflects self-acceptance based on a higher order of priorities. The most

What is peace of mind?

important of these is the ability and the freedom to love. Peace of mind is gained in this world. 6.

the ability and freedom to love because theres nothing of higher value to be

Psychology has helped many people because it has given them

Why are you so critical of psychology?

a friend who will listen, but one shouldnt overestimate friends one must pay for. Psychology in actual practice is essentially the process of getting the individual to adjust to society. I sometimes find the wellout their guts to psychologists in America today. The problem: our

adjusted person, however, to be crazier by far than the millions pouring society promises but does not deliver happinessand then doesnt take responsibility for the failures because, as any sociologist will tell you, theres no such thing as society.

Psychology is simply a secular institution working to keep the modern social and economic scheme running smoothly. It does this in two ways: first, by treating, for profit, those

persons who become dysfunctional, and second, by inadvertently and not the scheme which is at fault.

propagandizing (as an academic discipline) that it is indeed the individual

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7.

teachers?

Arent many psychologists humanists or even spiritual

Humanistic psychology is the latest trend to legitimize criticism of its failure to heal. The issue here is where

psychology as a healing discipline in the face of increasing the focus is placed. Is adaptation something individuals Its certainly easier to work with individuals. But the

should do, or is it something we should ask of a culture? overwhelming tendency to covertly blame the victim is present even in the most humanistic psychology. This is painful to say because of the good intentions of many enlightened practitioners. But humanism is still a secular, divisive philosophy, no matter what form it takes. Ive known spiritual teachers who were psychologists,

but Ive never known a psychologist who was a spiritual teacher. 8. If Freud was right about the destructive powers of the

subconscious mind, how can we ever hope for a sane and just society? This interpretation of Freud is only half right. The subconscious mind does have a destructive capacity, but it also possesses the capacity for creativity. If its the repository our superhuman talents. The social ethic is the factor of course the animal in us will predominate. 9. for our animal urges, its also the well from which spring which determines which is encouraged. If we live in a dog-eat-dog society,

happy?

If we love someone, why shouldnt we do things to make them

The question is, why arent people happy? If they were happy, our love wouldnt have to be tied to performance and we could love them freely without being tied to the expectation that we had to make them happy. This

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kind of love would be much less mechanical, much closer to the heart. 10. In the incident of the ironworker who encouraged his children

to harass the seagulls, what could he have done instead to express a greater love? My point is that he probably couldnt have done otherwise. Not because he wasnt capable, but because we dont have a social ethic showing him the way. 11.

when one compares America with Iran, for example, isnt it plain to see how free we really are? The citizens of Iran who believe in their way of life are

You question the notion that we live in a free country. Yet

just as free as Americans who believe in the American way

of life. The problem begins when people living in either country

become disenchanted with the restrictions or expectations placed

on them. People all over the world are free to act normal. But where rewards? This is probably a more accurate test of freedom. 12.

can one go and have different aspirations while still sharing in the social

Yes, they do. In many countries, ones profession, income,

Dont all societies set expectations for their members?

spouse, and relative status among peers is arbitrarily chosen,

sometimes simply by virtue of birth. Moreover, they may owe allegiance to a government without representation. Our great experiment in democracy notion of freedom a little further. Rather than looking at it merely as the was an attempt to free individuals of these limitations. But Im carrying the guarantee of liberty by the government, which really has come to mean a broader concept of freedomone which incorporates choice of authentic identity.

promise of opportunity for upward mobility, I think we can develop an even

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with cultural freedom. Ethnic people, dreamers, artists, and millions of

Political freedom itself is only a limited form when compared

nondescript others may find themselves leading double lives if they want to succeed in America. How many of us put on a different face for the world?

I believe we long for cooperation, concern, and unity. Yet our behavior

We learn a competitive, individualistic, separationist ethic while inside

gives the appearance of unity because of our conformity. This is a false

unity because its so often forced and doesnt come from the heart. Forced among people. Thus freedom is crucial to spiritual development, but that is the basis of political freedom today. 13.

conformity breeds resentment, and this inhibits the growth of spiritual unity must include freedom to be, not just the promise of upward mobility which

Lets consider the paradoxical claim that the freer we are

Can there be such freedom without anarchy?

from an imposed conformity, the more well be able to experience our commonality with others. After all, if people allow us to be ourselves (not just at home, but in the world where it learn to reciprocate, is it possible that this mutuality could build over time? 14.

really counts because everyone can see us), and we somehow could provide the groundwork for a closer relationship? At least one we

Politically, perhaps. And some argue that it is the freest

Isnt American society already the freest on earth?

socially as well, pointing to our non-traditional anything

goes attitude. My point is that we often have to step out of the well-worn paths of mainstream of American life to find any real freedom. I think we should be able to live authentic, self-actualized lives within society, encouraged by society. Its because of our freedom-

loving heritage that I even suggest that such a thing is possible in America.

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15.

In all cultures, acceptance of the status quo is considered realistic and concerns for a better future are labeled

How do you know that your goals arent naively idealistic?

idealistic. This is one way we use language to maintain the reality of a culture becomes decreasingly tolerable,

stability by discrediting movements for change. But when delegitimizing labels shouldnt stand in the way of legitimate need for improve without us working diligently to help it along. 16. Why is American life so full of paradoxes?

change. Besides, its actually idealistic to believe that our society will ever

Life itself is often paradoxical, so social life can be

expected to be likewise. In America weve adopted many spiritfreedom, equal opportunity, free enterprise, be

symbols and myths which seemed to represent our national whomever you wantmuch of our countrys greatness rests on

these great symbols. I simply take issue with a reliance on symbols,

though I know its certainly easier to applaud them than to struggle to make them come true. I support the struggle. And when momentum builds up, it wont be so much of a struggle anymore. 17. Is American life ethical? Not yet. But many are moving in that direction, sometims against the culture itself. 18. What do you mean by a higher order of ethics?

Im speaking of an ethical system that doesnt have as its purview the

unrelenting satisfaction of human material desires. Ethics today are too often a permissive code for self-indulgent behavior which has too little regard for the consequences to others and the environment. 19.

freedom of identity you spoke of earlier? Arent they the same? Self-indulgent behavior means following the pattern of

Whats the difference between self-indulgent behavior and the

satisfying our many desires, or rebelling when these desires are frustrated.

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This is individualistic and selfish. Freedom of identity, on the other hand,

implies independence from a strict blueprint and involves the person in the process of determining who he or she is and how that personhood can best be expressedin connection with other people. Coupled with the stronger ethical system that Ive been talking about all along, such behavior can become more selfless and loving. 20.

Not new, but strengthened. A strengthened American identity ought to

Whats your idea of a new American identity?

incorporate an understanding of (and thus try to overcome) the paradox of our apparent material separation yet de facto spiritual unity. Who we are will be obscured from us as long as we fail to grasp the larger reality of life, whose great principle is unity, not separation. Theres that old clichin unity there is strength.

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Power and Ethics in America

PART III

Power and Energy

Chapter 14

ONE Things are not always as they seem. TWO Life is a form of energy. Life is the capturing, for an instant, of a

measure of energy given in varying degrees to all living things. But be coal or uranium ore. Try to break a rock apart with your hands. What energy holds it together?

rocks have energy, too. The energy in a rock is enormous. It doesnt have to

acts in tandem with other forms of energy; lightning, for example, and solar energy. Stars radiate heat and light energy while black holes, because of

The air has energy. Look at the power of wind, of tornadoes. The air also

their density, are thought to absorb heat and light. Space is not empty, but in stars, planets, comets, asteroids, and plain space debris. There is no emptiness.

filled with light, heat, gamma radiation, as well as atomic energy compacted

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THREE There is energy everywhere. It fills our universe. And even more

interesting is that these energies, in their multitude of forms, are interconnected.

Excessive heat sets in motion a complex set of body processes which, from the body into the surrounding air. Another examplea child is

The energy from the sun increases the heat energy in the body.

through the mechanism of perspiration, transfer some of this heat energy sleeping, her metabolism slowed to produce a relaxed state. A jet flying

causing a lamp to vibrate and fall off the night stand. The lamp hits the floor, eardrum, where they are converted to mechanical energy and passed through the middle and inner ears and converted into electrical energy, which passes emitting sound vibrations which are conducted through the air to the childs

overhead gives off sound waves which are converted into mechanical energy,

along the auditory nerve to the brain. This energy sets off a complex group of

electrical impulses that trigger the brains awaken response. The child wakes in the brain and setting off a readiness response to the noise: increased flow of adrenalin, rapid heartbeat, dilation of pupils, perspiration, and so on.

up abruptly, filled with a sense of fear caused by the surge of energy released

and larynx, becoming mechanical energy and activating the lungs and vocal cords. This omnipresence and interchangeability of energy fills me with wonder.

Simultaneously, electrical energy travels to the muscles controlling the diaphragm

The cords vibrate as air is forced through them, producing sound energy: the child cries.

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FOUR People who have taken hallucinogens often claim theyve seen

energy pulsating from objects, causing the universe of things to lose its how various Indian tribes, through the peyote ceremony, saw a holistic

fragmented appearance and blend into an integrated whole. Ive mentioned universe, interconnected and indivisible. They, unconditioned by science, The trees and the streams became brothers and sisters, the coyotes had to life.

didnt discount this perception but incorporated it into their everyday reality. names, and the rivers and streams had personalities. There was a wholeness

FIVE Was it just coincidental that veterans of drug-experimentation during

the Sixties began to use the word vibrations when referring to the feeling a person, place, or thing had? About this time, are you aware how they started calling one another brother and sister? SIX I read a fascinating story that came out of the former Soviet

Academy. Researchers there hypothesized that individuals under stress

gave off signals that might be able to be detected by highly sophisticated

electronic equipment. The researchers were apparently hoping to develop a system of transceiver buoys for swimming areas. These would be designed to relay stress signals from a swimmer in trouble to lifeguards on shore. It

seems the stodgy old Soviets were delving deep into physics and expecting maybe the new Russia with it).

to turn up an entire non-material world that we in the West still scoff at (and

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SEVEN Psychics often claim they can see auras of energy emanating from

people. Can their sensory systems be this developed? Or are they con artists out to make a buck out of a gullible public? Some yogis have claimed over the centuries that they could perceive such energies, and that the senses could be trained for this. Such training is called spiritual discipline.

green thumb. That is, the plants they grow seem to have a peculiar vitality. the plants owners marvel at the results. I know such a person, and believe me, shes got it. Its claimed that some individuals have this talent with respect to

Its also curious to note that some people are thought to have a

EIGHT

Sometimes withered or straggly plants are brought to them for healing and

people. We call their healing acts of faith. Of course, charlatans abound. Some individuals claim they receive power through prayer, or from others praying for them. They say they feel the power. They experience increased strength and vitality. One must ask, where does this strength come from? According to the Law of Conservation of Energy, taught in most high school physics classes, energy can neither be created nor

destroyed, but only changed from one form to another. Very interesting. NINE In Daytona the days of the week are as diverse as beach stones.

Monday and Tuesday theres great excitement, as fresh young students with

lily-white bodies take to the beach for the first time. Wednesday seems to be reckless on Tuesday end up paying for it on Wednesday. Thursday theres

Bad Sunburn Day, where those who were prudent enough on Monday to feel

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pre-party frenzy, where everyone talks crazy in anticipation of

a kind of boredom, as people are anxious for the weekend to begin. On Friday theres their first Daytona Beach Friday night. Saturday is madness on the beach, because people are hung over and acting strange, and the locals flock to the sand as well. Sunday is utter insanity as families show up, new students arrive, and veterans of a week make the most of their last day in town. One can generally feel what day it is.

TEN These are just some general observations. They dont prove a thing,

really, but they do begin to take on a rather interesting shape when viewed one we seem to see all around us. Or am I just imagining it?

collectively. They seem to give us a glimpse of a world much larger than the

objects. But there is no solid matter. Its all energy. An atom is an tree, were quick to disagree with this. We feel the tree and say its hardwood

In contrast to these extra-sensory phenomena, we assume a world of solid

ELEVEN

energy configuration, not a solid particle. Trying to chop down a hardwood solid. Were materialists and this simple test gives us away. But the

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tree isnt solid. Its energy units are simply drawn tightly together and are difficult to separate. What we have is the illusion of solidity. detect the actual make-up of things. Our senses, trained for only the grossest material perceptions, are unable to

TWELVE The universe is not divided into matter and energy as most of us were

taught in school. Matter is energy compacted, held in check by the cohesive force of electrons. Its just energy in a different form.

interplay among forms of energy. Theres no separation or isolation.

As even the crude example of the sleeping child showed, theres a dynamic

Theres constant interaction and conversion occurring. We may have, thanks to Aristotle and his successors, categorized everything to conform with what our eyes saw, but the differences are purely in form. One form we identified antimatter. But if were really able to see, all these forms are one.

call life, another, inanimate objects, yet another, energy. Weve even

that make up the universe. We dont see the energy that holds the rock

The imagination has yet to grasp the grand configuration of energies

THIRTEEN

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together so we simply say its solid. What do we say about vibrations, faith healing, auras, visions, peyote ceremonies, sixth sense, and other seemingly non-rational phenomena? Arent these rather embarrassing cracks in our traditional matter-and-energy conception of the cosmos? Yet we certainly wouldnt want to begin talking seriously about them in our college classrooms, courts of law, banks or personnel offices! Do we fear losing credibility? But if were looking for facts, theyre all around us. Subtle it, for sure, but you can experience it.

evidences of a vast energy flux for those who can see them. You cant prove

FOURTEEN What is power, then? If the universe is somehow represented in this

strange and wonderful collection of energies, power must be the potential to work with that energy, channel it in some way. The answer constitutes an ethics. We all have some measure of power. The question is, what do we do with it?

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The Energy/Ethics Connection

Chapter 15

ONE Energy in the form of life is a fact. What we should do with it is

another question.

TWO What should we do with our lives? The lives of others? Until we

have an adequate answer, we can expect a potpourri of confused ethics and the conflicts this brings.

THREE Life needs to grow, to extend itself. It needs to bloom during its

brief span of existence. But life is one of the more fragile forms of

energy. It needs a genetic program to tell it what to do to maintain itself. If life were a more durable energy form it wouldnt need this program. Animals follow their programs naturally. They have a consciousness

which has a fixed quality to it. Theyre sensitive, of course, and can learn new behaviors, but only within the confines of their original blueprint. A seagull can learn to beg for breadcrumbs but never to cultivate corn or

play chess. People, on the other hand, have a consciousness which is more can almost seem like two different species.

flexible. An Australian aborigine and an English anthropologist side-by-side

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a mouse before killing it is only acting out a scene written eons ago. People exercise more control over the scenes in which they play. True, they have many lines memorized since birth, but they also have the ability to improvise.

Animals cant be immoral or unethical. Even the cat that plays with

FOUR

to a code we call right and wrong. I think most people believe that their ideas of right and wrong are based on natural law. So ethics has always wide variety of ideas about of whats natural. FIVE Animals use their power in generally predictable ways. Certain been tied to a conception of whats natural. The problem, of course, is the

The control that human beings exercise over their behavior is subject

species of bears hibernate every winter, for example. People dont

necessarily know the natural scheme for using their power, so they keep

trying to figure it out. Each new culture is another attempt to figure out a the past but on the whole, we havent been even adequately successful. SIX

scheme. Its easy to see that so far weve made some important gains over

ethics. Broadly speaking, this has evolved through four main stages: The law of the jungle. [Animalistic behavior] Superstition and taboo. [Tribal gods]

We homo sapiens are the only species that has to create its own

Organized text-based religion. [Church/temple/mosque] Humanism. [Rational-legal government]

first because in actual practice each has provided a rationale for a society

In many ways the latter three ethical systems are extensions of the

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based on haves and have-nots. That is, each has developed theories

about how some people deserve a better life than others and has created others from doing so. In primitive cultures ones ancestry was cited by the shark clan and so on.

the social means for permitting some to gain while preventing or inhibiting reference to the familys totemic line. The crocodile clan was better than Weaker persons then deferred to the stronger. In the medieval world

of church and clergy, churchmen hobnobbed with European gentry while poor parishioners were counseled to expect their just rewards in heaven. In the modern world of logic and rationality, economic theories about of-the-fittest ethic reminiscent of the law of the jungle.

competition in the free market-place barely conceal the underlying survivalQuite simply, all ethical systems have, in practice, been based on the

animal inclinations of the person. Religious societies have purported to teach a higher order of behavior, as have the modern rational societies,

but their philosophies have always lapsed into separationist-type control on a lower order of behavior.

mechanisms at the service of the powerful. Success, then, is always based

SEVEN All people are not created equal. Some are born with superior

genetic endowments. Some are born into wealth or position. Most we would say are average. Some are downright ugly. And think of those in this last group who are also born stupid... This sounds like a good argument for social Darwinism. Were

all born with different attributes, abilities, and potentials. If were born that way, it seems natural to base social rewards on such a scheme. But I think Ive made my point that animals, too, are born with attributes, abilities, only on instincts but on learning, are limited only by the imagination. and potentials, but these are largely fixed. Human possibilities, based not

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little concern for ethics. But really, have we been content with that? Why are so many people dissatisfied? Shall we blame them (as victims)? Some of us do.

If people were happy living by the law of the jungle, we should have

kingdom. That much Ive shown here in some small measure, or at least I hope I have. The question is, are we ready for the next step?

We use our energy in ways that reflect the ethics of the animal

EIGHT

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Laws of Power and a New Ethics

Chapter 16

entirely different things. Thus weve become unruly. TWO

The rules that we follow and the rules we ought to follow are two

ONE

around us and within us. Yet too many of us dont fully understand the laws of this, we consider ourselves ethical. governing these energies. Instead, we follow accepted routines and because

There are many paths to realizing, even directing, the energies

THREE Example: One way of looking at ethics, as I mentioned earlier, is in

treating people as ends in themselves rather than as means to an end. If we think about this for a moment, we can see how hard it is to do today. Isnt words, using them? (A prime example: networking.) Yet because we so often do it unconsciously, we may not even be aware of it. FOUR

our society more nearly geared to seeing people as means to ends? In other

we seem to be getting a lot of mileage out of others today by using them to help us get somewhere, to feel secure or to feel loved, were finding

Id like to consider some general principles about power. Even though

out that our world is becoming more and more impersonal, more filled with

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problems and anxieties.

sumer awareness training, even martial arts instruction, because they feel as though theyre not necessarily being treated well by others, but often as objects. They may be tired of being used. Isnt this just one indication that we cant continue our present course and still consider ourselves ethical? FIVE There are some basic principles or laws of power that Id like to

People are taking assertiveness, consciousness-raising, and con-

mention briefly here, not to provide more cosmic dogma but simply to use as the basis for later discussion. In many ways these laws have become upon. The first law of power is that when we help others increase their receiving. truisms, acknowledged and supported in principle but not consistently acted power, we increase our own. This is the simple idea we know as giving is When we give, we always get something in return, even though

sometimes in a different form. The fact that we havent learned to fully

perceive the return doesnt alter the principle a bit. Were talking about the can begin to.

interchange of energies here, often so subtle that we dont detect it. But we

SIX A second law of power is that positive, beneficial acts return more

energy to us than negative, harmful, ones. This is why we use such Whats being eaten up (misdirected) is his or her energy.

expressions as, That person is being eaten up with hate (or envy, etc.). As I said in relating the story of the biker Bible tract, were all

receptors and storers of energy, and I meant that literally. The reader knows how ones energy level rises and falls in many obvious, many mysterious

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ways. Whether we realize it or not, our positive acts rejuvenate us.

How can this be? Simply because our positive acts encourage others to

positive action in return. It becomes more complex as we fail to see direct

returns, but what we should remember is that were creating an atmosphere of positive energy, one small deed at a time, which we continue to draw on throughout our livesfor sustenance, strength, even comfort. How much we get back, then, is largely dependent on our own benevolence. This is

how the modern saints can spend endless days and nights working for the

poor in Calcutta or Miami and never grow weary, while in Hollywood the energy expenditures.

archetypal movie star dissipates him-self through his reckless, self-serving We shove an opponent on the athletic field, believing that we

increase our teams power this way. We shun a biker or derelict and think

little of it. But in shoving and shunning, we refuse to share our power and in the long run suffer for it. We may temporarily feel we have strengthened ourselves, \but these little acts add up. We lose a little power each time. On how really powerless it makes us all feel. We limit others and they in turn process works against a purpose larger than our own. We subvert Nature. SEVEN Ethics doesnt just involve our dealings with other people. A third

a society-wide basis, combining billions of little acts, we begin to realize limit us. And because life itself demands growth and extension, this limiting

law of power to consider is that theres no ultimate distinction among living things, or between living and non-living things. Everything is a form of energy. Animal, vegetable and mineral are all part of an interlocking

system and a new ethics has to be based on our proper alignment with each. true that when we harm an animal, whether by causing it pain or driving it from its home so that we can put up yet another tract of condos, were subverting life by decreasing the animals power and our own in direct When we harm a person, we decrease our own power. But its also

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proportion. When we destroy trees, blow up mountains, or dump garbage in the ocean, were decreasing our power. We may think were expanding our the total picture. range of influence, but this is only a material perception and a small part of I realize that this goes against nearly everything weve been taught.

How many of us (including myself) have already cleared a lot to build a

house, driven on wide highways through once virgin land, or shopped at a suburban mall? To live in America is to break this law of power. But Im saying that in spite of what weve been taught, this law stands. EIGHT Theres no separating the many facets of our universe. We do it in

our minds, thanks in part to Aristotle and Linnaeus, the great categorizers, to this. What we do to the sand and the seagull and the pusher and the

but its not so in the greater reality of things. We are one. It all comes back seventy-six- year-old woman hustling aluminum cans, we do to ourselves. What we permit to be done to them, we permit to be done to ourselves, in one form or another. Energy is interchangeable. NINE Scientific evidence wasnt needed by the ancient Buddhists and

Hindus who developed entire systems of thought based on the knowledge of energy relationships. But lets not romanticize. The fact is that the cultures of the East werent mature enough to apply the ethical aspects of these and submission still prevail. relationships to whole populations. Today animal principles of dominance Many Native Americans were brothers and sisters with the trees and

streams, but often ruthless with tribes inhabiting nearby areas. The

animosity between Zuni and Navajo is vividly told in stories passed down from generation to generation, and the periodic savagery of the early

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Apache, both toward whites and toward other Indians, is well-documented. limited. What Im getting at is that our understanding of an integrated or holistic world wouldnt be a return to old beliefs, but actually a maturation. We dont need to nostalgically look to Indians as ideals like worlds, not adopting them. So even these Native American views of a holistic universe were

so many people are doing today. Think of it as building upon the best of past For the first time in history I think we have the ideas (tradition) and

the evidence (both rational and mystical discovery) to truly understand our place in the universe. Whats holding us back? Skepticism? Fear? Ignorance? Inertia? Or all of them?

TEN Ive already talked about love, and Id like to discuss it here briefly

in terms of power and ethics. We profess love as if it were a neglected

ideal when actually the ways of love look remarkably like the laws of power weve been considering here. Rather than an ideal, could love actually be a reality we havent yet achieved the vision to acknowledge? In other

words, could it be something all around us but we just havent recognized have, which can come and go, depending on how lucky we are. ELEVEN

it? Instead, in our more narrow way we think of it as a feeling people can

gratifying one. By that I mean that we get back what we give, even though it may be in a different form. What happens when we love the forests? How can they give us anything in return? In our practical-minded way,

I should say here that the greater idea of love may even be a self-

we see a return as something given on an investment; something we want, something we can use, something predictable. But we really havent learned how to properly judge the return. Let me take an example of what I mean, looking at it from a slightly

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different angle than we might be accustomed to. Say we break a law of

power and level another forest to put up a shopping center. The trees and

field mice and grasshoppers lose, while we apparently gain. But according we take from the world, it takes from us. In this case, how?

to what we know about energy exchange, theres more to it than that. When Perhaps the attitude that encouraged the leveling of land that wasnt

ours to level will be the same attitude that encourages shoplifting in the

stores to be built there. I think this is a very real consideration, though one may be hard-pressed to see the connection. And maybe there will be other strains because of work demands, and so on. And beyond this, maybe side effectspilfering, worker stress, employee dissatisfaction, marriage everyone becomes a bit more uneasy because of a claustrophobic feeling

brought on by the trend of sprawling concrete and the increasing remoteness of tranquil recreation areas. City parks with their noise, crime, and pollution take their place. Finally, the imperceptible but increasing production of carbon dioxide by people and the decreasing production of oxygen by forests. Aggravating the choking feeling. if we can but see it, an appreciable loss.

Seen in this light, the gain of ever more shopping centers also produces,

TWELVE Our ethics, built as it is on the inevitability of modern life, is

as absurd as an economic system built on the inevitability of slavery. on the basis of innate differences and even divine will. What

That system was thought to be natural at one time and was rationalized rationalizations have we concocted today to justify the demolition of the earth for progress,or the using of others to gain status or love? Perhaps similar rationalizations?

no more role to play. I say that in all seriousness.

We must finally come to understand our role on earth before we have

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THIRTEEN Love has always seemed to be an elusive thing to us. Maybe because

weve associated it with romance or eroticism and never understood its more subtle properties. Love is not that fuzzy feeling, nor the genitalization of emotions as the media has encouraged us to believe. It has more to do with the ground.

care and concern. For people, yes, but for the bird in the air and the rock on How can we generate concern for rocks? To our sophisticated minds

this appears to be the height of absurdity. Yet Ive already talked about the unseen connection between us and the world of objects. Many simple tribes, for example, saw this connection and developed strong feelings for the natural objects around them, as I noted in an earlier chapter. We

condescend by categorizing this type of belief as animism, as if it were just one more primitive aberration to be recorded by anthropologists and own cultures immaturity. taught to fair-skinned, sneaker-wearing undergraduates. Perhaps this is our The problem with animism was not in its initial conception but in

the superstition that built up around it. It came to be used to encourage and finally coerce people into the proper behavior. Our rational outlook, instead of denying this spiritual nature of reality, should rather act as an antidote to this fascist element.

learned. All thats lacking, of course, is a reason for learning it. FOURTEEN

Care and concern for what we now consider foreign or inanimate can be

expressing our love. If we must do this resentfully, it means were

When we care for the seagull by ceasing to drive on the beach, were

holding back, and by doing so were not truly giving. Were not loving.

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scorpion, a criminal, a mudslide? Im not trying to be funny. Can our habits, our beliefs, be changed? Or is our society (or our own mind) too far gone to rethink its beliefs? Can the individual create feeling for something itself. feelingless? Such a change must involve an entire reorientation to life

How can we love when theres so much to fear or hate? Who can love a

FIFTEEN Its quite possible that enterprising people, steeped in a tradition

of personal gain, will try to use their new-found understanding of power to

their own advantage, just as unscrupulous witch doctors and priests parlayed their spiritual knowledge into status and control over others. Yet this in itself is misunderstanding. This is one of those cases where a little knowledge is worse than ignorance. By taking, whether from other people, from animals, or from the land, something will be taken from us. But by giving we can live an even more bountiful life. A paradox, isnt it? SIXTEEN How are we to live if we dont take? Farmers have long known that

Replenishment is an act of giving back what has been taken.

to take from the land, one must replenish it or eventually suffer the consequences. Parts of the Florida Keys and the California coast have been fished

out, Ive been told. The salmon are dwindling in the Pacific Northwest. Our air, even in the desert, is contaminated with hydrocarbon particulates and toxic gases. These are all separationist signs. They are the signs of taking.

a few minorities are angry and disillusioned; women are justifiably angry; many of our neighbors in the world community certainly are angry. Why?

Then we look from resources to people. What do we see? More than

Do they feel taken from? A day of reckoning is coming. A day of reaping

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of the fruits of our conditioned behavior. Its already begun. How do I

know? By reading the modern eras revelatory scriptures, the newspapers. Now because we want to, or later when we have no choice.

We have to take a closer look at the laws of power. We must begin to love.

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Impediments to a New Ethics

Chapter 17

ONE An impediment is something an ant carrying a heavy load somehow finds same.

a way around. We, with brains 100,000 times larger, should be able to do the

cooperation, wouldnt it become hopelessly decadent, regimented, or worse, mediocre? Of course every cultural belief system, not only ours, tries to protect

begins talking about an ethical society. With its focus on concern or

A problem naturally arises in many peoples minds when one

TWO

itself by predicting dire consequences if its abandoned. But theres more to it than just that. So many of us have developed identities based on success and

acquisition that there may be widespread fear that forsaking aggressive convenience and maybe even our conceptions of who we are. THREE

competition will cause this material base to erode; and with it, our life of

resistance. A bomb is encased in a hard shell. Water behind a dam builds in force. Even the potential energy of muscles builds with resistance; weightlifters, of course, use this principle to their advantage. And everyone knows the story of someone small, someone from the ghetto, some little corporal who breaks out of the mold to unleash tremendous energy on

We know that energy accumulates in force when it meets with

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society, art, music, athletics, or elsewhere.

resistance. We become strong and vital. Yet in America where even our

We accumulate and multiply our energies when we meet with

middle classes live with the comforts of nobles and even kings of ages past, some decadence is inevitable. Our idea of how to ward it off seems to be through competition.

material comforts, which in turn encourages more decadence, and on and on it goes. We gain and lose resistance at the same time and may even treadmill quality. feel were not getting anywhere. Its a circular existence with a distinct Rather than argue the merits of material comforts, its more to the

We use each other as resistance. Our efforts lead us to more gains in

point to discuss the form of resistance weve chosen. We struggle against each other. We call this enlightened system meritocracy: advancement face itits still based on the law of the jungle. FOUR When we struggle against each other we meet resistance, and this

based on individual merit. But impressive as it appears in its fairness, lets

should increase our strength. But can we carry this a bit further? According to the dynamics of power, positive and beneficial acts return more energy to usso while we may be realizing some gains in resistance through struggling against others, were actually negating these gains by not

receiving what we could in return for more positive actions. And of course when we take from others, theyre inclined to take from us, thus cheating themselves out of the power they might have received from giving, and power broken all over the place.

cheating us out of what they might have given us. And so it goes. Laws of

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FIVE Many American pioneers found their resistance in the elements, in

the unknown. Following the early trails west was an adventure in physical lost or ambushed. To survive this ordeal, they helped each other out. Our cultural hero, the independent pioneer, was really a cooperative soul, the wilderness.

discomfort, hunger, thirst, wild critters, not to mention keeping from getting

heavily dependent on others in the difficult task of traversing and settling in Whether supporting each other in the wagon trains or helping

neighbors dig wells or build cabins, it was cooperation, not interpersonal competition, that made the pioneers able to achieve what they did. SIX Where does the challenge come from now, with the frontier closed,

the natural elements conquered? If we dont turn against each other, where is the resistance we need to grow strong? With a new ethics, a whole new set of practical problems develops.

If westop destroying animal habitat, for example, where do we live? How do we extend ourselves? What happens to the construction industry? If we stop taking from the environment without giving in return, what happens to our economy? Can we still make a living? If we cease using foreign countries what will happen to the balance of power? Will we be taken advantage of? excellence in sports? If artists dont have to starve, how will they create masterpieces?

to our advantage (as theyve complained since the early nineteenth century), If we dont tryto maul each other on the athletic field, how will we achieve

getting at is that the challenges wont disappear. Therell be resistance

Im not trying to be flippant when I ask these questions. What Im

aplenty, believe me, even in helping one another. Questions of energy, food,

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and living space will have to be confronted. New ways of getting along

will have to be explored. Then why bother with a new ethics anyway? Why make trouble? Simply because these questions are already arising, and may even have been caused by the contemporary American lifestyle weve been examining here.

SEVEN A cooperative society need not stagnate. There are enough problems

facing America and the world today, if squarely confronted, to strengthen

even the most decadent people. Problems of crime, resources, waste disposal, employment, transportation, housing, and many more. Right now, working difficulties. against each other as we do, we dont have the time or energy to solve these

EIGHT In an ethical society, isnt it possible that the persons identity

will be submerged into the masses? Wont we all become gray and pasty

socialists? Well, if Americans identities were individual and distinct now, this might seem to pose a problem. But as Ive tried to show, our identities, based on a predictable materialist ethic, are actually quite standardized. example, or the bikers. Can we say the same thing about the corporate If youll recall, there was a distinct sameness about the cruisers, for

executive or the teacher? The police officer? Superficially all these people are as different as snowflakes, but on a deeper level you could plot out a graph and show an almost insipid sameness of belief about work, love, money, leisure time, even Nature. Isnt the unique man or woman in America truly eccentric? The typical American is almost a clich, as almost any conversation with a perceptive foreigner will reveal to us. In an ethical society where individuals are treated as ends in themselves

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rather than means to ends, personal expression is helped, not hindered. like ants; were going to become more fully human.

If we work toward a more cooperative society, were not going to become

NINE The above bears repeating. It may seem possible that in a society

where people are oriented toward the whole, an ant-like regimentation would result. But I ask the reader to consider a paradox.

have to be enacted to protect people from one another. Social tensions weapons.

In a country where a rigorously competitive ethic prevails, strict laws

make it necessary to have highly specialized police forces carrying lethal Institutions have to be organized to prevent conflicts and rip-

offs. Public places must be controlled as to standards of dress, noise, and competitive society is the regimented one.

behavior. TV cameras may have to be installed. It seems obvious that the A more compassionate ethic will remove some of the need for

such strict controls. There will be more self-discipline, more voluntary cooperation. The fewer people we have to force into line, the less regimented our society will be.

TEN Fear of mediocrity is always a compulsion in a land where everyone

is struggling to be somebody. But an easing of harsh interpersonal does. We must stop mistaking competition for resistance.

competition doesnt necessarily lead to mediocrity. Only a lack of resistance In sports, for example, we can use our imperfect ability to move

through space, our unrefined eye-hand coordination, or our hate-the-

opponent attitude as the resistance. We can work on these thingsagainst

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them, as it were. In other words, our competition is internal, and perhaps even more difficult and challenging because it doesnt involve gross physical conquering but combining physical training with overcoming against ourselves.

subtle mental constructions. We still practice industriously. But we compete It seems to me that using sports as a brute physical contest to show who is

better itself encourages mediocrity. Is that all an athlete is capable of? ELEVEN What were achieving by advocating ruthless and unrelenting

competitionin our schools, in our sports, in our courtrooms, in politics, even our society becomes more competitive all the time and yet we seem to find increases in neither. If anything, we seem to be backsliding. Our compulsion to compete has to do with our fragile identities,

in the artsis neither strengthening our resolve nor sustaining our excellence

which are based on things that can be taken away. Were charmed into weve got to break the spell before its too late.

competing against each other in order to become somebody and somehow

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Some Metaphysical Considerations

Chapter 18

ONE The times are such that everyone asks big questions but gets small

answersand doesnt think this is out of the ordinary. Someday we may learn to ask certain small questions and get big answers. This would be extraordinary. Im thinking this, right on the beach. TWO One of the first questions to arise when we speak of ethics is, Is

there a God? If so, who or what is he/she/it? If not, where do we go for authority?

is always held accountable to some authority, whether its God, the State,

All belief systems have their ultimate court of appeals. Behavior

conscience, or existential choice. These concepts provide us with a reason why we should behave as we do. Such behavior, we say, traces back to the ultimate meaning of life. But this wide range of authorities gives the impression that theres no one meaning, but a whole collection of concepts to which various people ascribe various meanings. Confusing, isnt it?

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THREE Question: Is there a God? Let me ask that question a few different ways : Is there still a God?

Is there a person-like God (wrathful, loving, forgiving, judgmental)? Is there an intelligent Cosmic Force out there? who created then deserted us? as a laboratory?

Is there a Cosmic Force without intelligence out there? Is there a God Is there a God who is an Advanced Being viewing the earth Is there a God who has any awareness that I care about whether or not he/ she/it exists? Above all, we need to know if theres a Higher Power up there who

has laid out rules that were supposed to live by. Thats what God means to most of us.

FOUR Spiritual matters are complicated by the fact that they represent

something invisible. Generally only certain consequences are seen. This means theres a lot of arguing over what caused these consequences. When I help out a wounded gull on the beach and later find a gold ring

in the sand, what caused this? God? My good deed? Or just plain luck? the strange and wonderful events in life. Priests, astrologers, yogis, and existential philosophers will not go hungry in this era. Even our sports

We adopt beliefs which, over the years, come in handy in explaining all

heroes have their theories about life and success, and we listen attentively. We pay them millions, not only because they can hit a ball four hundred feet, but because theres something special about them; they must know

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something.

FIVE

on a punishing god and its earthly agents, the Pharisees, priests, judges, changing. The God is dead philosophy, the rise of science and its

Ethical systems, or ways people should act, have always depended

vigilantes. This bogeyman concept of God keeps people in line. But this is persuasive explanations of lifes mysteries, and the proliferation of creature comforts and securities have all contributed to the lack of fear of a Higher God, or an existential belief that we call the shots and are alone responsible. Power. Whats often left is a naive, self-indulgent faith in an accommodating

without their sting, so to speak, or is a mixed bag of tricks shaped by modern philosophies to fit peoples permissive lifestyles. Its for these reasons that Ive even bothered talking about a new ethics. SIX

God has either been removed from ethical systems, leaving them

God of the Jews, or the God of the Muslims? The Gods of the Trobriand Islanders or Chac, the Rain God of the Mayans? Amen-Ra of the early all these Gods?

Does God exist? Are we referring to the God of the Christians, the

Egyptians or Krishna of the Hindus and lately of the Americans? Who are Thus the question, Does God exist? cant be easily answered. Whose

God? Mine? Or yours? Theirs? Mine exists and theirs doesnt, or theirs and fact is that most people in the world believe, if some only hypothetically,

mine are the same God under different names but yours is a fiction, etc? The that there is an author of life and the world, that this author had a purpose in creating us, and that in order to be happy, we ought to follow certain rules that have been built in to the system. This author we call God. He/she/it

is acknowledged by every culture, every form of civilization. Only primitive

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heretics and increasing skeptics in advanced scientific societies deviate

from this. These doubters then vest power in private gods, such as Success, Pleasure, Money, Work, Drugs, Family, and others too numerous to list. So we all believe in God. Yes, there is a God.

SEVEN Is God good? That depends on your God. Some, like Quetzlcoatl the

ancient Mexican God, seem to have forsaken their followers and only the

creation of a convincing return myth saves Gods face. Others are so good that all goodness comes from them while badness is attributed to devils. It all depends on your point of view.

EIGHT Some skeptics Gods are bad. As a God, Pleasure finally yields to

jadedness, that numbness that inevitably follows prolonged excess. Sex as a parallel God likewise leads to satiety, not to mention deserting its followers in old age. The God, Work, leads its most devoted followers to a pinnacle adolescent rebellion, and inevitable schisms in value systems due to of human isolation. Family deserts its devotees through spousal infidelity, television, college, and peer pressure. Drugs as God demand more and more until theres no more left to give. Money, well, this God is flying high right now but its most fervent pursuers must finally reap ineffable loneliness.

eternal. To this forgiving God we can ascribe all the qualities necessary to will lead us, we can be certain of that.

So we return to the spiritual God. The immaculate, the untouchable. The

support our permissive, competitive lifestyles. Priests of one sort or another

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NINE Yes, there is a God, and always an accommodating one. Above all,

an accommodating one, not only to help us achieve our worldly desires, but tojustify them. Fear has always been thought to be the strongest motivator to belief, but in fact desire may be stronger. Our need of God is purely personal. Look, we hurt each other, we destroy the land, put animals in

cages, it sometimes seems we grow less human instead of more, and God god!

doesnt strike us down. Convenient, isnt it? Now theres an accommodating

TEN Spirituality has been used as a blank check and its real content has

never been widely understood. In practice all the great religions have been autocratic.

misunderstandings of their founders, and all the great theocracies have been Is it any wonder, then, that the rise of the waters of science brought

with it a tidal wave of atheism? This atheism, or denial of a higher power,

plays into the hands of desire, for now individuals can designate their own source of authority. And often they designate themselves as that authority. Conscience becomes the judge, and I think Ive shown in earlier chapters Thats the lesson of Daytona Beach. That our consciences arent independent, but conditioned.

something of the American conscience in its present state of conditioning.

ELEVEN Armed with science, we dont fear God like generations past. Instead

we use God to lubricate our paths or, if too large a stumbling block, kick

God out of the way. In no way do we as a nation understand that were all

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spiritual as well as physical beings.

TWELVE

what authority? The twenty-first century mind has so many choices, but

How are we supposed to behave? We appeal to what standard,

can we say, for example, that the people I met on the beach are happy

or fulfilled by the choices theyve made? Beneath the material euphoria brought on by cruising, saving souls, drinking, or orgasmic encounters, I style. It just comes out and hits you over the head. Who will tell me that sense a confusion, a loneliness. One doesnt have to ferret it out, detectiveits any different throughout the rest of America, however in more subdued form? Ive been around the block a few times, so Im not just engaging in idle speculation here.

That is, it wants of authority even as it seems to be shrugging off all

Our behavior is, as it were, roaming the beach looking for authority.

controls. What seems to guide us, then, is a loose collection of attitudes, Because of this the cruisers, the seagulls, the bikers, the police, the Christians, the drug dealersall are working at cross-purposes. THIRTEEN

conventions, and habits knit together in some eclectic philosophy of life.

noise!How is one to choose the right path, with so many voices speaking from overones shoulder?

So howand whatare we to believe? Our society makes so much

made the remarkable statement that the way to ascend to God is to descend into ones self. Whats this? Is it possible that somehow freeing ourselves can reveal the basis for a new ethics?

Can we be silent a moment? Are there other voices to be heard? Victor Hugo

from civilizations clamor and letting more subtle voices speak from within

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FOURTEEN God isnt discovered in books. How can books answer questions that

people must answer for themselves? Especially today, when the Gods many of us believe in may not even exist at all.

Twenty Questions 1. Are you advocating a religious philosophy?

Im examining an ethical system based on a more complete assessment of

realityone which isnt restricted by religious dogma or rationalistic shortsightedness. but in this case I think the atheist is just as likely to be able to acknowledge it. 2. Are you advocating socialism?

This new ethics could be thought of as religious if one thinks in terms of a cosmic plan,

Insofar as socialism is an attempt to reduce individual and

social tensions by a more equitable distribution of social rewards, it seems to be an enlightened political philosophy. But socialism is limited in that as an attempt to improve the psychological of identity and acquisition (via control over the means of and material conditions of life, it still encourages the equation production). In this sense it yet clings to primitive notions itself was innovative but not revolutionary. 3.

of human life deeply embedded in Western thought. Thus Marxism

Im not sure that a cooperative world necessarily needs a centralized authority to hold it together.

Do you believe in a world government?

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4.

While the actual teachings of Jesus give us an exemplary picture of how we should treat one another, Christian ethics as developed through the centuries has been sexually repressive, culturally imperialistic, and has never been world. 5. able to come to terms with the animal, vegetable and mineral

Are you pushing Christian ethics?

simplistic energy exchange theory?

Are you then basing an entire system of ethics on some

Im not promoting some simplistic theory so much as trying to knowledge of them in a positive way.

show how unseen forces affect our lives and how we might utilize our Being so involved in human affairs, it may seem

unreasonable to us that the universe and all its processes work with precision, impartiality, even justice. We often perceive life as cruel and unfair, and this indicates how

little we understand of the natural workings of our world. 6. How can we expect everyone to accept an ethical system when

each person has his or her own agenda for living?

If we instill our institutions (for instance, law, athletics,

medicine, education, marriage, government) with a new ethics, then benefits. 7.

even those individuals who dont immediately grasp it can still share in its

Of course not. How many people do we know, for example, who have stayed in a miserable situation long past the point of toleration? People will often cling to a way of life which

Do people really want change?

is crumbling all around them rather than risk the uncertainty

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of forging a better life. But there are pioneers in every

society. Perhaps when our own society becomes increasingly

intolerable, which it must, more individuals will fall into step

with a new music whose beat is closer to the beat of the heart. 8. If society doesnt change but I do, then what?

Thats the perennial question, isnt it? What else can we do like-minded others? But the time is coming, maybe sooner

but try to set a good example and to seek out the company of than we think, when well no longer have to ask this question. 9. If peoples identities shouldnt be based on material things,

what should they be based on?

We know that the traditional virtues of strong character,

honesty, patience, compassion, sensitivity, and wisdom just

dont seem to pay anymore. They have largely been replaced

by single-mindedness, goal-orientation, rationality, and specialization, all These modern qualities, this attitude, are richly rewarded in school, on the playing field, and on the job. To lay them aside entails great risk. Perhaps to lay them aside takes strong character.

humble servants of the new god of the modern personality: professionalism.

And honesty. Patience. Compassion. Sensitivity. Wisdom. But

if we lay them aside, with what virtues shall we replace them? 10. Will Americans ever give up their comforts?

I think that people who realize the greater power available to themselves from particularly resource-destroying comforts. ethicswe know what the outcome of that would be. Its

them through an ethical life will have an easier time weaning This is not to say that we must choose between comfort and more an issue of a decreasing need for the excesses which

seem to characterize our peculiar existence at the moment.

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11.

Its a social philosophy which many use to rationalizes inequity and even cruelty on the premise that we are basically animals and are thus subject to natural selection where the strongest

What is social Darwinism?

naturally rise. But we must ask two questions: Are we nothing more than animals in our possibilities for behavior? And are the ruthless, clever, or manipulative people really the strongest?

the unjustifiable way we treat one another. 12.

On the whole its simply another philosophy to justify

Lets not be so blinded by the ideal that we fail to see the every society. The question is, what are the means for of force is the only way. The idea of cooperation is

Would a cooperative society really have no need for police?

more practical and enduring problems that nip at the heels of solving problems? Police are needed when force or the threat derived from the need to reduce antagonismso that force isnt

so necessary. Ombudsmen, for example, might play a larger role of authority in settling disputes, until such time as external powers are less unnecessary. We are, of course, only on the first step of this path to the future. 13. Isnt conflict necessary to preserve a societys vitality?

Resistance, yes, conflict, no. We know how conflict in our own lives can often sap our energy. Isnt this happening in our society as well? Our national spirit is being sapped by

seemingly insoluble conflicts of every sort, and the frenzied activity in which we indulge ourselves only masks this fact. What we experience, I think, is more of a false vitality feels a resurgence of strength just before expiring.

which cannot sustain itselfmuch like the dying patient who

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14.

As athletes begin to rely on sharpening their minds and skills instead will improve immeasurably. Loving one another doesnt preclude society say it does. But it doesnt. 15.

Without competition, what will happen to sports?

of stretching the rules and intimidating opponents and referees, sports competitiveness. We only think it does because our leaders at every level of

That depends on a peoples sense of independence.

Isnt a cooperative society inclined toward a herd mentality?

A strong case can be made to show that our own people Our tradition boasts of the former while much of our

are either strongly individualistic or abjectly cattle-like. experience teaches us the latter, but the truth probably

falls somewhere in between. An important point to remember about society is that the more people voluntarily cooperate, the fewer controls are necessary to ride herd on them. 16.

as an end in him- or herself rather than as a means to an end? From where we now stand, it certainly seems like an idealistic goal, doesnt it? Changes in consciousness often come slowly, sometimes painfully so. It helps to try to build new ideas into our institutions, as noted before, so

Is it really possible in a mass society to treat everyone

that even those persons of the old way of thinking can benefit.

The answer must be yes or Id say weve been socializing ourselves for all these eons in vain. 17.

Is a sound ethical system really possible in any society?

example as Daytona Beach?

Can we judge the ethics of our society on such an extreme

I use Daytona as an example because of its many and obvious

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ethical problems, in hopes that among them the reader will see some go to the extreme to understand the true nature of what we see

possible parallels to his or her own experience. Sometimes it helps to all around us. Daytona is really just back home making more noise. 18. Isnt it possible that in fifteen or twenty years there

might not be any more bikers, cruisers, or roving evangelicals as youve portrayed them because our society, being like a self-sustaining organism, will eventually heal itself? Our society is self-sustaining, its true, but not self-

healing. Societies cant heal themselves; they need selfnatural inclination is perhaps toward corruption and

disciplined and visionary people to heal them. All societies decadence due to the ambitions of the few and the complacency of the many. If America is to survive, we ourselves will have to heal her. 19.

That question cant really be answered yet. Certainly

Who will be the leaders of tomorrows society?

the leaders of today arent suited to be the leaders of tomorrow. But as to the type of men and women who will emerge, one can only set standards. Those who are capable will then step forward. 20.

This book isnt about the perfect society, but about our natural place in the world. Striving to achieve that alone would suffice, Id say.

Can the perfect society be created?

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Practical Applications of Power Chapter 19

PART IV

Personal Life

harshly for the course that it takes, we will most certainly judge ourselves.

We have one life to live. And while no one should judge us too

ONE

because it follows a natural pattern; hard because it seems that we have to struggle against the weight of our cultural training to achieve it. An ethical person is one whos found his or her natural place in the world.

It seems to me that the ethical life is both easy and hard. Easy

TWO

Thats simple enough. But were not born with this knowledge. Our highly complex brain gives us a wider range of possible behaviors than other We must learn to live an ethical life. animals. Were a creative species. We must create our patterns of behavior. In different ages and parts of the world, this takes different forms.

In a small, traditional culture like the early Seneca Indians in North

America, young people simply had to adopt their elders teachings. One achieved a personal, social, spiritual, and ecological balance merely by learning the ideas and habits of the adults. When the Seneca were removed from their natural and spiritual habitat and placed on a reservation, they lost their balance. Drunkenness, superstition, and internal squabbles arose.

It was only after the introduction of a new ethical code, geared to their new beings. Once again all the children had to do, with few exceptions, was

lives, that they were again able to experience themselves as centered, natural

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to learn proper conduct from the adults in order to lead balanced lives.

history of rewarding individualistic, separationist, ecologically unsound behavior, imbalance is almost inevitableand will continue if a child

In contemporary America the process is rather different. Since we have a

merely learns adult expectations. So while one culture may teach the way to an ethical life, another may act as an impediment to it. It seems to me that our task, then, is not to learn our cultural ways better, but to unlearn them. THREE An ethical life is both easy and hard. Easy because it follows the

natural flow of energies, and hard because while we swim with one tide we must fight another.

FOUR What are we supposed to do? Confront our parents, peers,

employers, employees, bureaucratic officials, spouses and children, saying, Im not going along with it anymore? Lets not be naive about our need for love and approval and what were willing to do for them. Were not martyrs. Were not going to repudiate anything if we have to suffer too good ideas and good intentions. Is an ethical life then just a dream? FIVE We live in a complex society. Probably the greatest stumbling block

much for it. Culture has momentum, while all we as individuals have are

to taking a stand is our practice of delegating responsibility. We become our children, secure our water, police our streets, extinguish our fires,

accustomed to letting someone produce our food, make our clothes, educate treat our illnesses, fix our plumbing and paint our houses, even dispose of our garbage. If we suddenly had to do these things for ourselves wed be

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overwhelmed. We may forget that in earlier times in our own country this was not an impossible task but a way of life. What kind of attitude do we develop when we delegate these life-sustaining

chores to others? How does this affect our ability to take responsibility

for ourselves? Are we less able to act freely because were so accustomed do we dare offend in todays society?

to letting someone else do thingsand become dependent upon them? Who This peculiar characteristic of modern life, this delegation, acts to

give us a sense of our own lack of ability. We lose the strength and initiative to buck the tide, to fight city hall, maybe even to control our own lives. Who can blame us Americans for running with the crowd, even while craving to distinguish ourselves, to rise above it? SIX Ive met so many excellent people in Daytona Beach, but the scripts

theyve been reading from conceal their excellence. Can they be expected to the scriptwriters?

to be independent enough to rewrite them? Or is that a chore to be delegated

SEVEN

for ourselves. Our biggest impediment is the laissez-faire attitude

What Im getting at, of course, is that we have to take more responsibility

weve developed through a lifetime of delegation. If were not even able to new ethical life?

dispose of our own garbage, how can we begin to learn the foundations of a

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EIGHT If were to live ethical lives, we must swim against the tide. The

alternativesgoing along with the crowd or being harmlessly eccentric

just arent acceptable plans of action. Both allow the separationist currents psychological, and spiritual disaster. Because of our monumental task, all hands must help. One cant be ethical and play follow-the-leader in todays culture

of our civilization to keep right on flowing, pulling our ship toward physical,

at the same time. Yet the social rewards for ethical behavior are few. Is contribute to a society where ultimately the rewards go to all? Where does one begin?

the reader prepared to play a different game for different rewards? And

NINE The world cant necessarily be saved, but ones own life can. It

would be nice if there were a guidebook which read:

Step One: Recognize the characteristics of an ethical life.

Step Two: Recognize the unethical aspects of your own life. you from others.

Step Three: Begin to wean yourself from the behaviors that are separating Step Four: Begin to take your rightful place in the world. But of course no such magical formula exists, nor would one work,

since each individuals circumstances are different. The fact is that one has to think for oneself, at least until society as a whole has caught up. I know by experience that its hard to follow principles instead of

habits. How are we supposed to apply ethical principles to our lives?

This is so much harder than following rules or following habits. To take the principles of an ethical life and think how one can apply them

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to ones own experience: thats the journey that lies before us. TEN

has been so fast-moving and perplexing. Even the analysts of society, the arent able to agree on what its all about. How is anyone else to understand? I think the simplest test of any social activity is to ask oneself:

Life is complicated. I dont think a society at any time in history

sociologists and philosophers, novelists and journalists, to name but a few,

is what Im doing separating me from other people or is it drawing me

closer to them? This doesnt take years of research and advanced degrees to time to reflect, but like cerium or terbium, these elements are rare. Weve been caught up in the rush to get somewhere and weve become desensitized. We have little to reflect.

figureout, but only sensitivity and time to reflect. I say only sensitivity and

time to reassert our sensitivity. If were not able to perceive our spiritual closeness to others, if weve lost this ability to sense, then it ought to

One thing we can do toward living an ethical life is begin to take the

be regained. But theres never any time, we say. This is true only because responsibility so that we control our time instead of vice versa.

weve allowed others to create schedules for us. We have to assume more Our vision must also include wildlife and the land. Are our actions

supporting and strengthening the fragile ecosystems of the earth or harming them? We can assess our level of consumption, as well as disposal, from a personal as well as community standpoint. Do we have time for such assessments?

these matters to experts?

In todays fast society, arent habits more efficient? Cant we leave

been desensitized by generations who have trained us to see the earth only in terms of its marketability, then weve lost our way. We have to learn

If we have no sensitivity for the coyote or the redwood, if weve

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that were not the center of the universe. Were one of the spokes, not the hub. And like any wheel that tries to revolve around a spoke, we can get terribly out of balance.

me closer to them? Is what Im doing separating me from plants and animals or is it drawing me closer to them?

Is what Im doing separating me from other people or is it drawing

ELEVEN

to it? If Im going to live an ethical life, I must ask myself these questions. Each time I perform a chore, purchase or dispose of products, transport myself somewhere, use services, entertain myself or interact with others, I to get somewhere and assume responsibility for what I do. TWELVE Im speaking to the reader in a democratic spirit. Im asking him

Is what Im doing separating me from the earth or is it drawing me closer

have a basis for judgment. I have a principle to apply. I step outside the rush

or her to reflect a moment on the meaning of this. Modern democracy

represents a view of the human being as a creature capable of guiding its

own life (or choosing representatives who will help guide it). This is a new concept in the history of the race, having had currency for only about the last two hundred fifty years (excluding Greek democracy because of its

exclusionary nature) of the million or so years that people have existed

on earth. Its no wonder that we constantly revert back to the herd instinct instead of exercising independent choice in the decisions of living. History is, as it were, against us. I dont ask that old allegiances be broken without new ones being

formed. We need to dedicate ourselves to values which are as lasting. The world wont be changed overnight but we do have a role to play, in spite of our learning to the contrary. And I know that whatever we think we are

giving up in this dedication to new values will come back to us in even greater measure.

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Family Life

Chapter 20

unwitting revolutionaries.

Theres a revolution in the making. And we, it seems, are the

ONE

TWO The American family is a consumer unit. Lets face it. It has buying

power, whether in the real estate field, at the shopping center, in the

educational marketplace, or on the church or temple rolls. The family has each person in the family sharing common work, common goals, even a goals and demands for independent experience.

been fashioned into a unit of purchasing power. Does its identity come from common consciousness? Not anymore. If anything, everyone has different Identity as a family has largely been shaped by fulfilling obligations

as a consumer. National restaurant chains advertise themselves as family family entertainment, resorts offer family vacations. Hospitalization and universities build family housing. Orchestras promote family supplement to newspapers coast to coast is Family Weekly.

restaurants, motels and airlines promote family plans, films are billed as and auto insurance plans offer family coverage. Real estate developers concerts and churches organize family giving programs. The large This commercial interest in the family isnt meant to maintain the

family or bring it closer together. Its simply to utilize its spending power. The nations largest fried chicken chain, for example, while directing its

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advertising to the American family, has no interest whatsoever in the divorce rate, as long as people are out there buying chicken. If anything, the company profits from the breakdown of family life because this breakdown giving the families that do remain intact the feeling of togetherness. traditional image of the American family because of this images marketability.

creates more single people eating out, as well as creating a need for symbolic activities

From the point of view of business, theres every reason to maintain the

of family erosion, the idea of eating out together or going to family-type entertainment is appealing. It gives the appearance that all this money spent by and for the family is contributing to family togetherness. This is a myth, as divorce statistics, marriage counselors files, or just plain observation painfully show.

One of the reasons this image is so marketable is that in an era

THREE Besides being looked at as an economic unit, another, more personal

view is that of the family as a refuge. A place where one comes to be

comforted, shielded from the ravages of the outside world. The family is supposed to act as a spiritual center, therapy group, and sounding board window. for all the ideas unable to find expression on the other side of the picture Religious groups in particular support this image, and fight against

what they perceive as the disintegration of family life. But the process

theyre fighting actually began in the eighteenth century, when the Industrial Revolution drew people away from the farm and placed them in urban factories and schools, where they spent their days separated. And in the predictable refuge in kinfolk.

not too distant future, one might be safe in saying that there may not be a

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FOUR A shamefully short history: The family (as we know it) actually

began breaking up several centuries ago, as I said, with the advent of the an extended family made up of spouses, children, grandparents, in-laws,

industrial age. Until that time it had been a relatively cohesive unit, often cousins, not to mention chickens, dogs and geese! The new industrial era put pressures on the extended family that it was unable to bear. Rural families once restricted to hearth and home or apprenticed to a friend or relative, broke up as men flocked to the factories in search of higher wages. Children, were turning up by the thousands in the industrial towns that were springing up everywhere. Charles Dickens gives us a clear picture of what this was elsewhere, reducing the need for concerted family labor. like. And products that were once made in the home were now manufactured Over time, then, this extended family broke up, leaving us with what

we now call the nuclear familyhusband, wife, and a few children. So when we talk about the family, were referring to an institution which is only a bare fragment of what it once was. FIVE Another great onslaught on the family came with the dislocation

of the Second World War and the rising affluence which followed. This

affluence brought with it a cry that everyone should be able to share in the burgeoning social rewards (and rightly so) and by extension, the political life of the nation. Blacks in the Fifties, youth in the Sixties, women in the Suddenly the rights of individuals became a topic of great interest.

Seventies, all striving for more independence and equality of opportunity. Today the primacy of individual rightsthough justhas signalled

another phase of the process of family fragmentation. The sanctity of the nuclear family is being eroded by liberal education outside the home,

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increasing surrogate childcare, accommodating divorce laws, and a new

wave of child-abuse and spouse-abuse legislation aimed at the integrity of the individual rather than the family itself. Also contributing to this latest phase of family disintegration is the necessity of increased moonlighting to make ends meet, the availability of work for women and children outside and children, as well as for spouses themselves. Thats the family today. Under pressure from all sides. the home, and the growing acceptability of separate social lives for parents

SIX Education, while nominally supporting the ideal of family life,

removes children from the home and teaches them the virtues of competitive individualism. We think this is normal, but in fact before the Industrial Revolution, children remained in the home, worked together with the family, and were taught traditional values like industry, honesty, perseverance, and religious devotion. When they did go to school, they were grouped with

others of different ages and abilities and they learned to cooperate with one and all. Children actually admired their parents and teachers, and looked to them as role models! Now their role models are more likely to be seen on television, that well-spring of home entertainment. And television, by encouraging passivity and whats been called privatized experience, is

perhaps doing as much to isolate individuals parents and children alike dont have a TV or a PC?

than any other single influence today, next to the PC. And how many homes The family is under constant pressure to disintegrate. First the extended

family (which is actually a fragment of an earlier unit of family, the clan, which is itself a fragment of an even earlier unit, the tribe!) and now the individual. On the road to being family-less.

nuclear family. What this historical process finally leaves, of course, is the

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SEVEN I think we have to realize that whats happening today isnt just a

recent occurrence caused by permissiveness or moral decay. Its not a of our culture. The name it has been given by social scientists is modernization.

trend of the last few decades. Its a trend embedded in the deepest marrow

EIGHT Every family is not disintegrating, and there are even a few extended

families still around. In the hill country we might even find a few clans. But the historical trend cant be denied.

NINE There may be some consolation for us in all of this. As we can

imagine, there was little personal choice in the clan, for example. Relatives units, there was more leeway. Extended families could associate with because they were forced to by virtue of common ancestry.

and even ancestors determined ones destiny. As the clan broke into smaller one another on the basis of common social or economic interests and not The nuclear family liberated its members even further. Kids no longer

have to do what their grandparents tell them, for example, mostly because

theyre not around. Yet even in the nuclear family individuals are subject to prejudices, expectations, and sometimes abuses. The current breakdown of the nuclear family into smaller components, that is, persons, is finally giving individuals the opportunity (although not always the ability) to have greater control over their own destinies.

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TEN Each of the phases of family disintegration provided an increasing

opportunity for freedom of thought and conscience. But obviously the

support group shrinks as this freedom grows. For many people today there

is no support group. And for some, the fragmentation doesnt stop with the

nuclear family, but continues right on through to the individual. Many of us have known people whose lives are shattered into pieces. These, of course, are the most unfree of all. And being above all a practical people, this is what we must avoid.

ELEVEN Im not saying goodbye to the family. Nor to the extended family.

Its just that they can no longer be looked at as inevitable sources of

authority anymore. Thats not necessarily bad. We boast that our forefathers fought against the tyranny of birth but this should also include the potential tyranny of family. Each successive loosening of familial bonds has decreased the likelihood of a fixed destiny one is born into. We are increasingly free (if painfully so sometimes) of a plan for our lives and more voluntary.

structured by our families. As time goes on, we find our associations more

TWELVE We need to belong. We need to feel an intimate association with

those around uswe want to be a part of their lives. Thats natural. Yet many of us also yearn to be free. Can we have both?

humanity (and beyond), rather than separating ourselves into competing

I mentioned the idea earlier of identifying ourselves with the whole of

groups. But heres where yet another paradox presents itself. At this point

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in history, the human psyche doesnt seem developed enough to enable

everyone to change allegiance from a part to the whole. The concept of

universal brotherhood and sisterhood is just too nebulous to make any Earth. Our love and devotion must be more focused, it seems, or it becomes so diffuse as to be meaningless.

emotional commitment to, let alone to the animal kingdom or Spaceship

parties, etc.) with limited points of view should be clear. They tend to

The danger of small todays groups (teams, corporations, political

separate people (from those outside the group). They often become linked

with status, with correctness, with dogmatic beliefs. If were to associate, we should look for a different way of doing it. Somehow we have to make our groupings more representative of the whole. Membership in a group ought to reflect a recognition of that groups intimate relationship to the whole.

Small acts of reverence by ones group, then, not only have practical and immediate importance but are symbolic of an attitude toward people and creatures everywhere.

The principle involved here might be called the extension of reverence.

that the groups with which one associates have respect for the whole of a difficult task. Today, where groupings are increasingly voluntary, the possibilities are infinitely greater.

So we might begin to resolve the problem of association by insuring

life. In the past, where groupings were arranged by birth or class, this was

THIRTEEN If voluntary groupings permit greater freedom in allowing us to

choose groups respecting the whole, what kind of groups should we choose? We have to go back to todays primary group, the family, and consider that. As we should now realize, the family is no longer the stable unit

of society it once was. Nearly half of American marriages end in divorce.

Many of the remaining ones are intact because of economic or face-saving

reasons, and its members often act independently. So the family as we know

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it, while held to be the sanctuary for our most intimate associations, may no longer be able to predictably serve that function. Marriage is generally thought of as voluntary. But because it has been

considered a virtual necessity in our society and has always been associated with respectability, marriage can hardly be thought of as being voluntary. Besides, marriage is sometimes felt to be restrictive because of the wide

range of outside intellectual, emotional, sexual, aesthetic, and recreational person has become much broader than individuals in the past (although

interests stimulated by modern life. This variety of interests suggests that the some would argue, with less depth). One or both partners in a marriage may find they even have to conceal or at least rationalize their outside interests. The family, then, is not an infallible foundation for an intimate

group, nor one which necessarily encourages the extension of reverence. It of call.

can, though. The potential is there. And if possible, it should be our first port

FOURTEEN New intimate groupings will have to emerge to complement the

family. If were trying to free ourselves from the restrictions of birth, what forms can these new groupings take? The fall of marriage or family as universally satisfactory forms of

intimate relationship doesnt mean that they must automatically be dismissed.

a marriage is based on a disciplined desire for a satisfying and ethical

Not at all. Whats at issue here is only their modern quality. If

relationship, rather than on emotional or economic dependence, social

status, or blind adherence to custom, it can provide the foundation for a truly good life. The family, too, can be a great joy if its members arent subjected to a tyranny of convention which restricts their growth in order to render them proper in the eyes of others.

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family if these forms are going to maintain their vibrancy. What will serve to distinguish the new from the old is that the former will be freer of demands. compromising demands. In a sense we have become the servants of these

We have to begin thinking, then, of the new marriage and the new

these demands are created by needs greater than can ever be satisfied. FIFTEEN

And as Daytona Beach revealed about so many aspects of our way of life,

the last chapter: is what were doing separating us from other people or is it drawing us closer to them? Here we have to understand the possibility that the breaking up of a traditional family that is stifling may actually free individuals emotionally to form genuine attachments to others. Some will

The standard we apply to groups can be the same one described in

ask why this is even desirable, especially considering the current instability or mere convention isnt as durable as some of us presently assume. Isnt

of todays society. But there can be no doubt that stability based on coercion the alternativegroupings on a voluntary basisjust as likely to provide fulfillment as well? And when society becomes more ethical, wont traditional forms of association (like marriage and family) serve as wonderful vehicles for a good life?

the satisfactions necessary to encourage not only social stability but personal

SIXTEEN Commitment is the keystone of any relationship. If one is committed

to marriage and the marriage allows one to be free to strive for a love of all things, the ethical life is possible. But I think it must be realized that

other social groupings which foster commitment, spiritual development, and

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freedom of thought also can be a positive and fulfilling experience. I dont

care if its an artists guild, a community of druids or a mnage quatorze. the guiding principle.

Commitment should be the focal point, however, and extension of reverence The new family is really any group of committed individuals who come

together for material and spiritual purposes. We can no longer go through life looking for the perfect mate or perfect family. SEVENTEEN Experimentation seems to be the order of the day, but something

must be said for discipline. Weve become ravenous consumers of

philosophies and lifestyles, and its not unusual for a person to try out a

number of them in hopes of discovering the right way. Of course there is no right way. There are many paths. Do we have any principles in mind to help us make the choice? Finallythe time comes when dabbling ought to cease and ones

heart and mind set on a disciplined path. Only then can we answer the make it happen!

question forourselves: Is the ethical life possible? If so, this is the way Ill

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Public Life

Chapter 21

ONE Freedom without love is no freedom at all. TWO When I first arrived in Daytona Beach I was glad everyone was

having such a good time. In contrast to the mood of the rest of the country, people here were in such festive spiritslaughing, drinking, cruising merrily up and down the beach, sunning themselves, playing musicwhat public life elsewherethat is, Janus-facedbut I suppose that for a

a treat. I wasnt so naive as to think that public life here was different from flickering moment I succumbed to wishful thinking. Several long swims and some quiet conversations with the pelicans and gulls brought back my perspective.

THREE Lets see, how can I describe public life, this life on the other side

of the picture window? What are its characteristics?

out there. Several months in Daytona all but proved this to be true. We seem to be living in an age of self-seeking individualism, but has this

Ive been taught since childhood that its every man for himself

always been true? Historians tell us that before the seventeenth century or the group was thought to come first. People were bound together by rich religious traditions which gave them many social obligations.

so, people had more of a service concept of society. That is, the good of

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concept that initially grew out of rebellion against the Catholic Church.

The individualism we know so well today was actually a strange new

This was the Protestant Reformation, and it gradually permitted people

to interpret Christianity in their own terms. But more than that, it allowed people to begin living their lives a little more independent of the Church. They could begin to think about their own private interests.

foundation for a whole new type of public person: one who could believe and act on the principle that personal choice is a higher good. The

This revolutionary ideaand it seems so ordinary to us todaylaid the

coming era of industrialization and the growing anonymity of people in the cities gave great momentum to this idea. And the financial success of the emerging individualistic economic system, capitalism, seemed to prove that the new, self-seeking public person was not only acceptable, but desirable. of the whole thing by nailing his 95 Theses of protest to the door of the Wittenberg Church. He wanted to free our mindsbut free minds need discipline. This certainly wasnt intended by Martin Luther when he signaled the start

FOUR Lets not get too technical. Arguments about the origins of

individualism can easily sidetrack us. We can debate history until we turn

blueone night on the beach I was lectured by an aspiring minister about the unintended consequences of that revolutionary freedomloneliness, anomie, excessive competitionbut the proof of this particular pudding isnt in historical theories but in how you and I experience life. Is it the free? Are we happy? Do we feel our future is secure?

how Protestantism freed the mind but I made little headway in pointing out

good life we Americans have come to expect as our birthright? Are we

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FIVE Individualismpersonal gain over social obligationsis the new

standard of our public life. But personal gain isnt spread evenly, as we know. The distribution of rewards, if represented on paper, would look

something like an inverted pyramid. The higher you go, the more you respect. But in going higher, there are fewer people, as represented by

get, and this means not only money, but opportunity, and more than that, reversing the pyramid to its normal position. To go up, then, those around you must be squeezed out. This is the purpose of grades in school, first team/second-team in sports, achievement tests, job promotions, and so on. law of the land. We support it; we believe in it. Its a reflection of natural Im not taking issue with a hierarchy of talent. We know that some This is how weve institutionalized individualism. Its become the

law. No one disputes its rightness.

people can do a particular job better than others. Whats important to

allowing only a few to enter the special realm of the successful. For

examine here is the principle of rewarding these people disproportionately,

example, one professional athlete may earn thirty thousand dollars a year or more, has a more secure contract, is asked to endorse products and

as a minor leaguer while his ex-roommate from college earns five million give speeches, goes into movies, and so on. And which one gets all the

accolades? The women? The respect? We fought a democratic revolution

in part to end discrimination based on birth, yet who can dispute the role of genetics in star athletes? Cant the same be said for doctors, musicians, executives, or other talented individuals? Certainly they work hard, but theres no denying that theyre gifted. So arent we still rewarding on the basis of birth, creating a new aristocracy based not on what privileged little evidence to prove that this aristocracy is any less privileged, selffamily one is born into, but what natural talents one is born with? Theres centered, or separationist than previous ones. And wheres the reverence for

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the minor leaguer? The stadium hot dog seller? SIX

Public life is characterized by getting what one can. What the market will And in getting what we can, we fight it out with one another in the arena. there the persistent fear that well never get anywhere?

bear is one way we characterize it, and feel perfectly justified in doing so. How do we encourage loving under this type of arrangement? If we try, isnt If we never get anywhere, how can we ever become somebody? SEVEN With affluence has come pride. Were Americans! (Thats one of

the first things foreigners notice about us.) We compare ourselves with

Asias squalid millions or the undernourished denizens of Africa and come away looking so great. Not even the Europeans can match our material achievements, our incredible wealth.

some of us to cringe. Were a proud people. I wonder how much we realize that this national spirit, this patriotism, this self-love, may in part be our were never somebody but always someone in the process of becoming somebody? Its worth thinking about. compensation for the pride we as individuals arent able to express because

Is it that we have no humility? I think even the word itself causes

the Protestant Reformation began to move the emphasis from society to the person, and the ensuing economic and social system allowed only a limited number of people to truly consider themselves successful, how do the mediocrity or failure. Theyre forced to turn elsewhere. rest of the new individuals find a source of pride? Certainly not in their The great public noise we makeblowing our own horn, we call it,

Heres what Im getting at. If the individualism that emerged from

and one way or another we have to in order to get anywheremay largely be the result of a difficulty or inability to experience pride in ourselves.

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Were really just a number, a nobody until we enter the competitive publicly we have to make a lot of noise.

fray and make something of ourselves. If privately were not somebody, So while pride may be lacking in personal life, humility is lacking in

public life. In our rush to become someone, were forced to sell ourselves. In this perpetual advertising campaign, who dares to look humble? to the earth. That is, our spiritual home.

We work on our image, to be assertive, to beautify or muscularize ourselves. The world humble comes from the Latin root humilis, meaning close

EIGHT This public pride, then, this patriotism, allows us to exalt ourselves

because of possible feelings of private inadequacy. Maybe even probable.

This is why we make millionaires out of our self-help gurusthey purport off our inadequacies, and are indeed well-fed! They encourage us to stand up and tell the world who we arethey help us blow our own horns! And thus arent gurus at all but just another symptom of the problem.

to help us become somebody, even if that somebody is ourselves. They feed

of the American past and by our need to distinguish ourselves in order to get somewhere, is based on the freedom of individualismbut its a

This self-serving public life, justified by the mythical righteousness

freedom that makes love difficult. Its a self-serving freedom, thus breaking

laws of power and immeasurably diminishing our return. So what good is it? NINE What am I asking the reader to do? In an affluent society, martyrdom

is the last thing people want. We can, however, reflect on how deeply our

cultural beliefs are ingrained in our consciousness. We can begin to see how what love is.

some of these beliefs interfere with our ability to love, or to even understand

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The Environment

Chapter 22

ONE We can see the need for ethical standards for our relationships with

people, but what about prairie dogs and rocks? Prairie dogs and rocks? Am I kidding? No, not all. And salamanders, too. TWO Heres a strange irony: nearly all our visions of paradise are based

on pastoral sceneslovely meadows carpeted with flowers; fresh breezes; the gentle twitter of bird; free souls communing idyllically by tranquil obliterating these very things! brooksyet the entire momentum of our civilization is directed toward Dont we see that theres a little bit of paradise right on earth? THREE Our way of seeing is largely a result of self-interest. We have to

begin to realize that there are other interests at stake besides our own. Were living beings. We take that for granted. But animals are also living beings. Theyre creatures with motivations, skills, experiences. Each has a point of view. Each has a life. Each has a right to keep that life, just as we do. responsibilities to them, just as we have to people? We share this world with animals. Does that mean that we have

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FOUR Animals are living creatures. They embody life-energy, just as we

do. Certainly theyre on a different evolutionary level. They dont listen to they with us, well never understand their language, their symbols, their existent, just as we denied for a long time that primitive tribes and even

sermons, nor do they pray. But until we can communicate with them and devotions. Its easy to say, of course, that these cultural attributes are nonBlack slaves had a culture. But animals do have a culture. Its just not

translatable in terms we understand. The scientific community is just now But we dont have to study something to understand it. We just have to become sensitized to it over a period of time.

coming to grips with this after studying bees, whales, dolphins, even moths.

here together. We live our lives and they live theirs. FIVE

We share this planet with animals. Theyre not in our way. We all live

not in the act but in the intention. The Plains Indians killed buffaloes but

We eat animals to live. Animals eat each other. The principle here is

they took just enough to satisfy their needs. They respected the buffalo and however, upon encountering the buffalo, shot at it from trains for sport and massacred it wholesale for profits on its hides. The buffalo is gone from the plains now, save for a few tiny managed herds. no tragedy in that. Instead we should look at our intent.

the role, material and spiritual, that it played in their lives. The newcomers,

We must kill to eat, whether plant or animal. Were omnivores and theres We raise cattle and pigs for food so that they, unlike the buffalo, will

survive. Do we allow them full lives? Do we give them comfort while they treat them like spiritual beings?

serve us? Affection? Do we grow, transport, and kill them humanely? Do we

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life worthy of a being, a creature who experiences life? To kill is part of life, vegetarians notwithstanding, as we saw in an earlier chapter. We simply life is unpardonable. cant avoid it. At least here we kill to eat. To kill after denying the animal a

If we eat a cow to live, dont we have obligations to the cow? To give it a

SIX We kill incidently, too. Our highways are littered with opossum,

squirrel, raccoon, fox, and deer. Each new condominium development takes away homes from these same creatures, and more die. Poisons in the air, in our own interests, this killing begins to take on the appearance of murder. the woman who ran over the seagull in Daytona? Is murder too strong a word,reader? the soil, and in the water kill yet more. Because our intention is to serve only Has our society made even the innocent among us murderers, as signified by

SEVEN We consume goods and services at an incredible ratebecause of a

spiritual emptiness were trying to fill? Animals are among the victims of were some miracle food able to cure our loneliness.

this consumption. We simply cant continue eating away at this planet as if it Lets not use the word progress for the reason the animals are getting

pushed into smaller and smaller areas or eliminated entirely. Thats not subdivision, a power plant, or a highway, were not integrating

progress. Its really the opposite of progress, isnt it? Every time we build a ourselves with the world around us. Were paving over it. Critics will

call this reaction a no-growth philosophy but what is growth today but part of the insatiable appetite for material things to take the place of our inner desolation? Must we bring desolation to the world, too?

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EIGHT Its hard to love animals when they stand in the way of progress.

Darn those deer, menacing our motorists! And those wild mustangs, those coyotes, thinking the frontier is still open! Dont they know we closed the frontier in 1890?

progress, doesnt show us how were cutting ourselves off from the natural world, our spiritual home.

Our way of seeing, perhaps a bit too blinded by the shining lights of

True progress includes animals in the good life were envisioning. NINE

we also re-create the clean water, air, and land that all creatures need to

Not only must we reconsider the paving of America, but shouldnt

thrive? Can animals be brought into our social system, as they were in the two worlds out of one?

Indians day? As they were before our ancestors arrived and began creating It may be that our own population has to be stabilized to accomplish

thisthough it wont be easy because our economic system is improperly (and injuriously) based on growth. But its really a matter of attitude. The temple is sacred and so is everything in it. TEN

easy, if ruthless, test. It involves the use of animals for research. Lets look at cancer research because of the dreaded nature of the disease. Who can

How can we judge the depth of our spiritual knowledge? Theres an

dispute the value of this research? My own father died of cancer, as did my ethical persons). Here we must make a difficult choice. Do we continue to

uncle Johnny (both of whom I dedicate this book to because they were truly

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subject animals to physical and psychological pain, as well as isolate them from their spiritual homes, so that we might lessen our own tragedy? Or is there a greater tragedy being played out here? This is a cruel measure of spirituality because it asks us to turn

against centuries of habit and belief regarding animals. But can the reader see that by manipulating the lives (what meager lives theyve become) of to this idea of two worlds. Ours and theirs. Isnt this the same principle behind our country and theirs, our race and theirs, our interests and theirs, and other spiritually false ideas? laboratory animals so that we may live better or longer, were still clinging

to disintegrate. Is it really worth the trade? And think of an integrated world with no carcinogens in the environmentthe need for animal experimentation in cancer research is reduced or could even cease altogether.

Our material circumstances may improve, but our inner lives continue

reason? We have some hard choices to make. Hard because it seems that the whole weight of the world is against us. But only the world weve accepted in our minds, not the world as it could and must be. ELEVEN Are insects beings? As a creatures decreasing size makes its world

Animals are beings. We put them in cages, in mazes, in zoos, for what

more remote from ours, an ethics becomes harder to define and even harder to follow. Its rare to find someone who hasnt, as a child, collected butterflies, put caterpillars in jars, or stepped on ants for fun. This was part of growing up. Yet these creatures also have lives of their own. They

have intentions, obstacles, goals, a sense of place, direction, sexwhich

are in some ways remarkably similar to ours. One unenlightened step of a childs foot can end years of experiences, choices, struggles, setbacks and successes. Who will instruct the child not to be so arrogant? Is it the Book of Genesis that allows us to justify our silence, having given us dominion over

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all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth? moccasins seems farfetched when speaking of insects. How can we ever The Indian expression about walking a mile in someone elses

identify with so alien a consciousness? How many dragonflies sitting on lily pads have our children killed with rocks while we looked on impassively, having little concept or care of what worlds were being ended by those innocent missiles? What about spiders? Who can sleep with one on the

pillow? And mosquitoes! Wheres the saint wholl stand still and let that

pest suck? It can get ridiculous if we try to be dogmatic. Who wants to sit principle must not be rigidit must allow judgment. Consider this as a

patiently while an angry wasp stings? What we need is a principle, and the principle: that there be no killing of insects unless they invade our homes or attack our person; that they be allowed their own homes and be free there it. The fact that you may find this ridiculous simply shows the depth and invisibility of our conditioning. from attacks on their person. They have a right to live and need room to do

TWELVE Its probably even harder to understand a plant than it is an insect.

A scientific case for the consciousness of plants has never been made, subject. The fact is that plants are beings, embodied with life and

although there have been studies and even a few popular books on the experiencing it as such, just as other living creatures do. Yet plants seem so different that applying the same ethical standards almost seems absurd. plants appear to have no centralized brain or even a primitive central Plants can feel, yet this feeling seems so alien in quality to us because

nervous system. Yet plants experience the environment and react to it,

whether the stimulus is the sun, periods of wetness or dryness, airborne include the emotional environment of plants, including the stimuli of

diseases, or solid objects impeding their growth. Now were learning to music, attention from people, and other factors. This suggests what may

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already be obvious: that plants might be surprisingly aware of whats going on around them. This may be reason enough to consider including them in ethical judgments about living things.

sisters, we can at least be aware of their living status and establish a

If we find it too difficult (or maudlin) to call plants our brothers and

principle of concern. This concern may cover simple care of community assault being made on plant habitat.

flora or a broader effort to reduce and finally eliminate the environmental

THIRTEEN We leave the realm of living things altogether when we speak of

rocks and streams; its quite a task to think in terms of the sanctity of these inanimate creatures. On what authority do we call these things creatures? Yet they are certainly part of the creation. If the primary characteristic of beings is to be able to reproduce

them- selves, then we can divide the world into living and non-living. But if we change the criterion and say that the primary characteristics of beings are that they exist alongside us, we interact with them, and they adapt to changing environmental conditions, then rocks and streams are beings. Mountains become boulders, boulders become stones, stones become sand, sand becomes dust, and so onand we interact with all of them. And these sunlight, other boulders and stones, and so on. passive beings are changed by active ones such as wind, water, gravity, In the above paragraph one notices that not all inanimate beings

are material objects. Sunlight and gravity, forms of energy, are one step further removed from us than are rocks and streams. Yet can they be considered dynamic creatures, as they are interactive and part of the

creation? Can we take an ethical system of love and concernan extension of reverenceand have it follow a line from people to animals to insects to plants to inanimate objects to energy? Granted, our comprehension and

emotional response seem more tenuous the farther along we go, but by now

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are the relationships any clearer? Materialists will balk at this but this is the logical result of the materialist ideology. It can only see what it can see. Everything in the universe is a dynamic creaturethis may not be a fairy

tale as much as a fact of physicsand if we cant seem to muster concern for this diverse menagerie, at least we can begin to form judgments about to flowand to find our own place in it. the interaction of the various forms and what we can do to allow this scheme The ethics of rocks: as we endeavor to accept our truer relationship

with animals, so we ought to accept our truer relationship with the land. It seems to me we must oppose war against the land as much as we oppose task is great.

war against people. But of course we really dont do either very well so our The ethics of energy: use energies in all forms to carry out the ethical

principles relating to all other forms, person and stone alike. FOURTEEN

who has a material and spiritual relationship to other human beings,

What were talking about is a material and spiritual human being

other living things, and to the land we live in. What were really talking

about is a home for us. A home that we were born into but didnt discover

automatically like the seagulls and pelicans of Daytona. A home that makes us feel content about who and what we are. If we felt like that, wed all get along better. We obviously dont feel that way today. We use our energy for

the most part for self-serving purposes. We use the earth for self-serving purposes, we use plants and animals for self-serving purposeswhats to keep us from generalizing from thatusing each other for self-serving purposes? If were using each other, how can we really love or be loved? If we cant be loved, how can we feel content with ourselves? Unless we create a new ethics which includes all forms of being around us,

contentment will forever elude us. Homelessness will be our way of life. That's what we need to talk about.

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The Economy

Chapter 23

ONE This is our essential task: to live better with less.

TWO This is the chapter where liberals and conservatives alike may rise up

as one and plead immunity from the indictment to come, and the moderate may well shake his or her head in disbelief. I myself am culpable. Therell be much denial and gnashing of teeth. Well be talking about money, after values we run the risk of offending just about everybody. THREE Money plays a central role in the lives of all Americans. Im not

all. But the economy is concerned with values and if we want to create new

talking about money just as a medium of exchange, but as a symbol. We all know that money buys more than a loaf of bread. Its almost a mystical substance, much like the wafer and wine which are symbolically transformed during the Eucharist. Money can magically confer the success.

appearance of power, respectability, achievement, knowledgein short, In this sense Im not looking at money for its buying power but for

the way it seems to separate people according to their value. That is, after value.

all, the result of our economic system: people are divided up and assigned

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FOUR The psychology of money varies from culture to culture and age to

age. In our own country its true to things American by being characterized by paradox. We know that great wealth bestows power and privilege. How many million Walter Mittys, fueled by media images, have fantasized about having people do their bidding at a single word, traveling from one homes?

sumptuous resort to another, telephoning influential friends, living in palatial This certainly must be the good life! Yet theres an underside to the

psychology of money. Theres the stigma of dirtiness attached to it. Filthy lucre, we say. In America the wealthy can be beset with feelings of guilt and inadequacy. Ive gleaned this from many a personal conversation

though not in Daytona. To make matters worse, theres sometimes no small resentment toward them by the common person for the charmed lives they tells us that this facet of the American Dream is badly tarnished. seem to lead. The sheer magnitude of Beverly Hills/Park Avenue psychiatry Whether this dark side of money originated from the harsh dictates

of Puritanism or the natural democratic distaste for privilege, its hard to say. But in our own minds we have a two-fold vision of money: as beloved object of our dearest affections and dirty object of our resentment and contempt.

FIVE I look at the cruisers on the beach. Why do they drive back and forth

for hours on end, day after day? Why is the guy in the black-lacquered Corvette so vehemently protective of his car? Were out here proving

something, of courseour self-worth. Were out here showing off our value. Unfortunately, the taint we somehow feel for money can mean that the more valuable we become, the more tainted we become. If we make a great

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deal of money, we become filthy rich. Yet our self-worth doesnt increase like its supposed to. Sure, we can pay for more and more services; we can get our way more frequently than ever before. People may fawn before us. need for self-worth can remain untouched, because even though our status in the eyes of others may have risen, we can easily wonder if its because were broke? How about our friends? Our partner?

This may satisfy the infantile craving in us, the insecurity, the greed. But our

were paying for it. How would that maitre d or bank manager treat us if we Yet this critical aspect of the American Dream cant be false, can it?

Just a little more money and maybe it comes trueuntil we look at those who had more than they could ever spend, the Hearsts, the Hughes, the

Gettys, to see the horrifying possibilities of the Dream attained: loneliness, bitterness, suffering, and finally, death. No, its not an inevitability. But we know its a possibility. And the cards seem to be stacked that way.

Unless theres a better way to develop ones self-worth, the merry-go- round will continue and our economic system will have to remain as it is in order to feed it.

SIX In our land of plenty, its as if were so mesmerized by the lifestyle

that money buys that we cant see some of the places it came from, centuries ago, and places it comes from today. Maybe we cant see them because we has been created. need that money. We need it to prove our value. A psychological blind spot I can sit quietly on the beach and proclaim, like so many of us do, that

money isnt everything, but is this justifiable? I have to remind myself what fever that led to the subjugation of Mexico, of Peru, the Dutch slave

deeds my civilization has done for money. When I learn of the Spanish gold trade in West Africa, the British slave labor mines along the Putumayo

River in South America, the forced opening of Japan to trade by our own Commodore Perry or at home the desecration of the Sioux sacred Black

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Hills when gold was discoveredthese are no random events but links in

an iron chain. Anything more than a cursory reading of history will trouble all but the most hard-hearted among us. Lets face a difficult truth: in spite of our nations good deeds, a very real part of our cultural heritagenot only America but Western civilization as a wholeis one of systematic cruelty and exploitation where there was a dollar to be made. Only the

blind or hopelessly naive cant see this. Theres a taint to our money, and like Adams sin, weve all inherited it. Were living today off the history of the sweat of the Black mans brow, the Chinese coolie at home and

wretched peon abroad. Our great nation has been financed by South African diamonds, Malaysian tin, Jamaican bauxite, Muslim oil. Even today we peoples worldwide. This burden sits squarely on our shoulders, mine enjoy more affluence by buying cheap goods produced by impoverished and yours. How have we rationalized it? Survival of the fittest, need for jobsweve got a ready answer for it. But when we strip away the what do we see? filthy rich.

progress, manifest destiny, even helping the worlds poor by providing philosophical justifications and look at the pattern of the deeds themselves, Though we might not care to admit it, in the eyes of the world were

SEVEN This is a disconcerting subject. Id like to be more positive about it.

Theres redemption in it somewhere but I havent found it yet, and Ive been see how short weve fallen in realizing their promise. This aspect of our culture is extremely painful to acknowledge.

looking, believe me. Im proud of our nations founders and it saddens me to

history has taught us the basic goodness of the American people and were content to leave it at that. Many have come to believe America is the New Jerusalem, divinely favored. But weve been breaking laws of power all

I think what strikes me most is how weve taken it for granted. Our

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over the place and this propensity we have for taking and accumulating just as likely from within.

contains the potential seeds of our own downfall. From without, maybe, but

EIGHT As I said earlier and I meant it sincerely, Im not trying to destroy

Americas prideonly her false pride. Theres a crisis coming and I think

the only question one can ask about it is when? While we can ameliorate it, the only way to head it off is by removing the cause. We can transform our got plenty of that. energy into a constructive force. Thats the function of creativity and weve

NINE This curious destructive impulse at the heart of our economic system

may not be as visible today as it once was. Much legislation has eliminated all but the more subtle evidence of it in our own country. What we dont ships in resource-rich countries, lucrative weapons shipments to

see beyond our borders seems less of a concern to ussupport for dictatorbelligerents, investments in corrupt governments, corporate control of Third World natural resources, ownership of foreign sweatshopswe merely become richer. Through Machiavellian diplomacy we have divided the interests are one.

world into our interests and their interests and we fail to see that these

TEN We have only to look to the natural world to see the full force and

intent of our economic system. The displacement of forests, rivers, prairies, wet-lands, and even the great American Desertthese constituting the true heart and soul of our homelandand all this part of the taken-for-granted

pricefor the good life. Are we willing to pay this price? Of course. Weve

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been doing it for more than two hundred years. ELEVEN

standsto feel the most insecure about talk of our economic system showing more reverence abroad? Bankers, shippers, longshoremen, multinational corporate executives, importers, distributors, stock brokers, diplomats, warehouse workers? Who will feel anxious if we speak of stopping the

Economic change. A frightening concept, even to economists. Who

paving of America to make our economic system more reverent at home? Cement contractors? Autoworkers, road builders, oil company executives? Steelworkers, accountants? Real estate developers, bankers, roofers, engineers? Too many millions to count? God, are we to go under? world and the land we inhabit? Go to the poorhouse? TWELVE The problem of money is at the heart of the crisis of the modern

What must we do to have an ethical relationship with the people of the

world. The problem of money is a problem of consciousness. Weve develops philosophies which justify the form these separations take. our predicament.

inherited a consciousness which sees the world in separate fragments and A new awareness of our place in the world is the only possible solution to

THIRTEEN New ethical forms of exchange can arise only when people are

freed from their separationist vision of the world. Who can say what

these forms might be? A sharing of goods? A reassertion of the service and services? A new generation of environmental scientists, economists,

concept of society with a simultaneous shift in the balance between goods inventors, planners, futurists, artists and teachers? A greater rapprochement

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with Nature through organic farming, family agriculture, hydroponics? New applications of technology which will bring us into closer harmony with one another and with the land? Educational structures forging new ways to develop and use our knowledge of the whole person to generate not only participate in reconnecting us with the truly sacred in life? FOURTEEN In America there can be no single vision of the possibilities, but a income but wealth? People from every walk of life who in many small ways

community of visions. Were a democracy, after all. Yet a new ethics needs to prevailand we all have a part to play in developing it. I love this country and the people in itrich and poor alike. I just think

it's time to set a higher standard for ourselves. Not because of some lofty ideal, but because I know for certain that our survival depends on it.

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Chapter 24 Education

ONE The Greek myth of Procrustes: A giant who seized travelers and tied them

on an iron bed. Those who were too short were made to fit by stretching them and those who were too long were cut to the right length. TWO

that what Im seeing isnt the spontaneous behavior some people think it is. Its mostly learned. So here I reflect on learning. THREE No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers dirty looks! This

As I sit for hours, for days, on Daytonas bustling beach, Im aware

was our elementary school battle-cry, not only on the eve of vacations but on Friday afternoons as well. Most of us spent our youth in school. We spent years sitting there

watching teachers teach and students learn. So we got an education, and an education about our education.

about knowledge and wisdom and instead focus on the way schooling is most of the learning takes place.

To understand education we have to go beyond the rhetoric

FOUR

organizedthe way behavior is shaped by daily activities. This is where

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FIVE Education is a controversial topic. Were really talking about our

image of future adults. In this sense education is a utopian process.

It strives for perfection. Since it falls short, we all have our complaints.

New modes, new modules, new technologies are implemented but education never seems to get better. Some say its getting worse. This may be because innovations are tacked on to an ailing system rather than directed at

transforming it. For this reason, positive innovations are neutralized in spite of the good intentions of their authors or the devout humanism of their teachers. If the structure of daily activities remains the same, so will the

educational process. Because of this, its safe to say that education hasnt century ago.

fundamentally changed since the public schools were created more than a

SIX What do I mean by the structure of daily activities? Quite simply, the

way classes are organized, the competitive standards and how theyre used to evaluate students, the way rewards are distributed, the relationships which all students behavior is fit. among students and staff, and so on. In other words, the framework into Suppose we take a first-grader, not just here in Daytona

but anywhere, and follow him through his schooling. His day is structured for him and all he needs to do to succeed is to

adapt himself to that structure and proceed through it smoothly. Arithmetic at nine oclock, reading at ten; learning to follow directions, to raise his hand, to keep his eyes on his own paper,

to give the correct answers on tests, to be reasonable, and so forth. The In second grade his experience is similarly structured, as it is in third

teacher tells him when to speak, when to color, when to go to the bathroom.

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grade. By now he has internalized much of the proper behavior necessary for success (or for some students, survival). If he misbehaves, the teacher might exclaim, You should know better! Youre not a first-grader anymore!

teacher, but the expectations for behavior remain the same. He has a duty

In junior high school he may go from room to room, teacher to

to do as the teacher says, and to minimize the disruption his uniqueness or he must compete. He must prove his worth in the arena.

sudden perceptions of the world might have on school routines. Above all, In high school the structure is duplicated. He has learned over the years

that his success depends on the proper reaction. These reactions have been standardized so that the teacher knows whos a good student and who isnt. So he learns the correct reaction, whether it coincides with his own perceptions or not. Like the canned laughter he hears on television, he good results. learns to give canned responses which have proven over the years to give

SEVEN This crude scenario doesnt do justice to the complexities of the

educa- tional system, but I do want to suggest the invisible but pervasive

power of the way schooling is organized. Its not structure itself that Im

taking issue with, of course. Every organized activity has a structure. It has structure takes.

to, or chaos ensues. What seems more important to consider is the form that

EIGHT Contradiction: teaching one thing in the curriculum, encouraging

another through the structure of activities. This means we cant produce democratic citizens through civics instruction while at the same time

teaching students to be docile and acquiescent in order to get passing grades

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and stay out of trouble. With this double message being transmitted, who can blame students for becoming apathetic or disillusioned? This contradiction involves our desire to impart ethical teachings while

at the same time promoting a dog-eat-dog survival of the fittest philosophy.

friends get As and Bs without trying. So during recess he hits one of to hit someone. After being caught many times in similar binds (the

Johnny tries hard on a math test but gets a D while some of his

them. The teacher swoops down on him and exclaims that its wrong schools rightness in wronging him and his wrongness in responding selfrighteously), he gives up. If his teachers are lucky, he wont become a of quiet desperation. problem child but will swallow his pride and go through school in a kind The unfortunate result of this is to show our children by example that

some people are not only more capable but are in fact better than others and then theyll have to spend the rest of their lives either proving it or living it down, depending on how they did in school. NINE

infinite number of students to fit it.

Standardization: creating a bed of limited proportions and forcing an

But we have to realize that the great push that made it a reality during the latter part of the nineteenth century came at a time when immigrants swarmed into our cities and created demands for a way to Americanize

Its to the credit of democracy to have championed universal education.

these ignorant masses. A science of education was hastily developed and a called. Its motto: a place for every student, every student in his place.

standardized model was the result: the egg-crate school, as it came to be The fact is, schools havent changed much, and in spite of all the

modules and technologies and student-centered learning philosophies,

todays students still have to adapt by putting on the proper face and keeping

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their inner selves safely locked away. Ive worked with teachers and Ive

worked with students, and I know this to be so. If you fit the bed, fine, but and private selves is accepted as normal, even desirable. You rarely hear

if your legs are too long or too short... And this forced segregation of public complaints, except sometimes from someone who gets the shaft, but that person

usually ends up taking the blame. What are we teaching here? Is the psychology and that we have to do whatever is necessary to become somebody? TEN Competition: the practice of teaching children that some of them

of schooling, like the psychology of adulthood, that were really not good enough

will succeed at the expense of others failure. Dog-eat-dog in the classroom. I think it deserves attention here because in school we find the first one another. systematized attempt by our society to condition its citizens to work against

is an school ritual which eases the children into the deadly earnest game

A simple but classic example is the spelling bee. The spelling bee

of success and failure of later years by making it light and palatable in the form of fun. As you remember, if a student misspells a word, the same word is given to a student on the opposing team. If he spells it correctly,

his victory is predicated on his opponents failure, and the opponent must

sit down. This provides much glee for the victorious team, compelling the who misspelled the word. Thus individuals are singled out for failure on children begin to learn is not only acceptable, but natural.

unsuccessful team to focus its disappointment on the person in each instance both teams and subjected to a psychological public flogging which the This type of competition, which we erroneously believe produces the

best spellersthe research has proven itmeans that failure is inevitable primary grades be lurking behind our interminable struggle for success

(its built in) and that it is public. Could unspoken fears acquired back in the

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today?

cleverly made to accept many years ago?

Do we live in fear of a public flogging like the ones we were so

part of the daily activity of the school. By second or third grade its accepted without question. Students compete against each other for grades and

As the grades go by, competition loses its need for ritual, as it becomes

teachers attention. Rivalries develop. Students are segregated by ability, and sometimes hard feelings cause friendships to weaken or break up. Helping teachers vocabulary seems to be, Do you own work! one another becomes the sin of cheating. The most common phrase in the Reputations are made early on. So-and-so is a good student, while

so-and-so is terribly slow. And whats-his-name is a troublemaker! These reputations, once made, are hard to shake. Teachers expectations are often determined before the school year even begins, and we know how expectations affect performance. The Pygmalion effect, as its called. The teachers lounge, that fifth column working against the stated ideals of education, provides the communications center for the exchange of this information. Thus myths about students abilities, based on their performance of narrow and arbitrary routines, circulate freely and are

perpetuated throughout their school years, following them until they exit the system with a diploma in their hands. By this time, however, these mythical them around for a lifetime. images of ability are often indelibly stamped on their minds, really to follow

ELEVEN This is the problem of schooling. We demand that our children

compete in the arena and succeed therethanks to our separationist narrowing possible responses to a select minimum, means that only

philosophy of individualismbut our standardization of expectations, a limited number will actually succeed. To compound this, we teach

contradictory lessons in the curriculum and in the school structure. This

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causes students to grow disenchanted with learning because they sense

that what we say were teaching them and what were really teaching them any cost. Their self-respect depends on it.

might be two different things. But what can they do? They must succeed. At We want order, yes; and discipline. I couldnt agree more. But we need

justice as well. Were turning millions of troubled children out into society theyre ill-equipped to do it. You know it and I know it. TWELVE Education, rather than herding an individuals consciousness down

at eighteen and expecting them to lead our country into a better future, and

narrow trails for fear of stampedes, should guide it cautiously through a

more open range where vision provides the horizon and discipline the basic means. There must be discipline! And gradually that discipline will come more from within.

so by restructuring schooling to remove the disenchanting contradictions between philosophy and experience, and by directing the competition

Above all, it should teach the extension of reverence. It can only do

inward so that each student might be disciplined toward an inner struggle

more congruent with his or her biological and emotional timetable. That is, In this way, success can be redefined at long last. THIRTEEN We return to the idea of the body as a receptor, storer, and utilizer

they pit themselves against what theyre able to do, and improve upon that.

of energy. Will we teach our children to use their energies to increase our turn their energies against one another in the scholastic arena so we will know who to reward as successful? Its important to see education as part of the total process of

common strength, our sense of common purpose, or will we train them to

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acquiring an ethical way of life. Schooling is but one influence, and Ive lingered on it perhaps because of its great power to shape young minds. But we also have to consider the media, family, peers, various community we are, what our purpose is. If were only here to slug it out, however will find our way out of the jungle only with the greatest difficulty. FOURTEEN There are no formulas, only principles. Our vision must result from our

institutionsandgovernmentall of which contribute to our ideas of who refined our techniques,were lost on prehistoric paths of consciousness and

creativitythe gift of evolution for reaching a better life. Or surviving at all. Twenty Questions 1 . You said we must find the time to re-sensitize ourselves to the

world around us. How can we do this?

The first step is to become aware of the degree to which we have become estranged and some of the reasons for that must take over from there. 2. estrangement. We can help each other in this process. Our own imagination

Because as much as we might love, respect, and admire our parentsfrom the perspective weve been considering here, most of them may not be leading ethical lives. 3.

Why cant we just learn the values of our parents?

With history in mind, it may be unrealistic to talk about and transmission of values. This has traditionally been

Can the family be saved?

saving the family. The important thing is the conservation the familys role. But theres little reason to believe that

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the individual, properly centered, cant also help to carry on this function. 4. How can one seek a new marriage or a new family

without experimentation?

Any social change is difficult because of the scarcity of

new role models. If old groupings are no longer working, how are we to know what new ones will? And yet if we experiment, wont our commitments be temporary?

of new relationships. What were looking for is fulfillment and durability, and too often we feel compelled to settle idealize the perfect relationship. for one without the other. Because of this, we tend to The thing to understand, I think, is that many types of

There is, of course, no pat answer to the question

relationships are capable of encouraging both fulfillment and durability. We have to be imaginative in our search, look in our own backyards for new relationships. 5.

though we shouldnt need to go too farit may be best to

freedom?

How can we be committed to someone and yet allow them their

Commitment is an act of love and as such must be as unconditional as we can possibly make it. To attach conditions means to act selfishly. development: it encourages us to concentrate on the self-serving part of our nature. 6. As a lifelong process, commitment serves as a focal point for spiritual

non-material sources of happiness and overcoming the possessive,

I wish I knew. Were always dashing toward something; weve been promised happiness so it must be out there somewhere.

You say that were in a mad rush to get somewhere. Where?

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7.

independence and individuality, find such comfort in running with the crowd? I suppose one could make the case that much of the independence we claim is really symbolic of eras past. To test the strength of modern conformity, all one has to do is act

Why do you think that Americans, always so proud of their

different in school, in a court of law, on a job interview, or forced comfort, in conformity. 8.

at ones spouses parents house! There must be some comfort, although a

our forefathers fought against?

Havent we done away with the tyranny of birth

The tyranny of birthyour role in life determined by what youre born with, and thus fixedmust be seen in a broader dimension to include a society giving priority to those of superior genetic gifts (good looks, brains, etc), and a family system which assumes that children must automatically adopt the values, goals, and beliefs of their parents. manifestations. 9.

To really be free, we must rid ourselves of the tyranny of birth in all its

Yes, and as a means of distributing work, meritocracy is an improvement over earlier systems. But as Ive said

Isnt our meritocracy based on this tyranny of birth?

before, the rewards are disproportionately dispersed. An intelligent or clever less intelligence may have to struggle all his or her life just to stay afloat; and one with low intelligence may be relegated to an institution or group home and have neither status nor buying power. And consider the person who may be intelligent or talented but in a field not valued by society (a

person can live in comfort and have status in the community, while one with

poet, for example, or a squash player), and feels compelled to forsake either calling or standard of living. Thus even the merit varies from age to age

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and culture to culture.

has yet devised for handling the difficult task of deciding who does what. But it falls painfully short of justice

Meritocracy may be the best way Western civilization

when it allows some people a measure of freedom, comfort, and dignity while others are virtual prisoners of their lack of merit. This is in great measure the origin of social problems. 10. By removing the incentives for getting ahead, arent

you taking all the fun out of the game?

Am I being such a spoilsport? But lets face it, the games not were all here for the fun but few of us are

all that much fun anymore. If Ive learned anything in Daytona, its that having any. The game is being played in deadly earnest and there are too many casualties. I can think of better ways of having fun, cant you? 11.

Nothing, if its based on a solid foundation and doesnt separate people from one another. 12.

Whats wrong with pride?

We dont usually think of animals as having a spiritual sense; that is, we say theyre unable to transcend the activities of their daily lives in order to see the larger meaning of their existence. But we say this as if we understood

How can animals be spiritual beings?

their consciousness. We dont. Were unable to see through the eyes of a fox because if we did, wed have an entirely different attitude toward road-building and suburbs, creatures with a legitimate domain here on earth.

for example. We refuse to accept that animals are spiritual

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13.

We must kill to live. Vegetarians may try to avoid this fact by refusing to eat meat, but plants are beings

If animals are spiritual beings, how can we kill them?

too, and are no less sacred than animals. We must acknowledge this sacredness. Some cultures have done this through ritual; in our case the best acknowledgement is

in the way we treat the creatures of the world, plant and

animal alike. Do we care for them? Do we actively insure

their survival? Their comfort? Only if we follow this practical ritual are we we are doing right. Thats not a satisfactory answer, as it would be better to go through life without killing anything, but as we noted in an earlier were killing something. We just dont see it. 14.

able to kill to eat and yet maintain the natural balance that demonstrates that

chapter, thats just not possible. Every time we take a step or wash a dish,

human lives?

Why is it wrong to use animals in the laboratory if it helps to save

Because their lives are as sacred as ours. 15. If money cant buy happiness, then why do people keep

pursuing it?

Because acquiring it seems to increases ones conception worth enough to stop the pursuit. Indeed, some of the

of self-worth. Unfortunately, no one ever seems to become worlds wealthiest individuals were the most grasping.

Tales of millionaires stinginess abound, and this shouldnt surprise us, although I think it does. We dont understand why theyre not happy. 16.

Yes, and often with a passion. Each person seems destined to learn the hard

Dont people envy the rich?

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way, even though the truth is right in front of us. 17. You suggested a sharing of goods. What will this mean for

our society?

It will mean that consumption of goods can be reduced

dramatically because the current formula, One personone car

will be overturned. Besides having something to show for our labor, the

advantage we seem to find in each one of us possessing a full complement

of consumer goods, from appliances to sporting equipment, can be summed up in one word: convenience. Convenience has been elevated to a cardinal virtue, but its the forerunner of decadence. Its so easy to hop in the car for example. We become less active, more private, more separated from our neighbors. We need not interact nor negotiate with anyoneour neighborhoods become fragmented. Twenty homes on a block, twenty instead of walking or arranging a schedule with the cars other owner(s),

lawnmowers, twenty televisions, twenty blenders, maybe thirty cars. Why? No one likes to be a borrower, but this is only because of our anti-sharing ethic. Its certainly possible to pioneer a spirit of cooperation in our neighborhoods. Fears about being taken advantage of, about someone not taking proper care of things, and other reservations we may have can be resolved through policy and negotiation. This is one way of creating a sense of community again. To allow people to get to know one another. 18.

much emphasis on its structure?

In speaking of the educational system, why do you place so

The structure of schooling has been called the hidden curriculum because

it teaches kids how to think of themselves, how to act, how to respond to others,

and how to approach learningwithout their even knowing it. Its invisible because until the structure is changed. The best-intentioned humanism of todays

its taken for granted. Its simply seen as reality. Education will never really change

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education is effectively neutralized in an inhumane structure. 19. Is it possible to understand the hidden curriculum and

work around it without altering the fundamental structure of schooling? I know its not polite to answer a question with another

question but consider this: Is it possible, for example, to understand the fundamentally altering its structure?

hidden curriculum of a destructive marriage and work around it without Why is it that today we are being asked on every front to work

around modern institutions instead of through them? What fulfillment? 20.

does this say about their capacity to encourage freedom and

educational institutions of society? Isnt it too large a task?

How can the person be expected to change the economic or

Ones own consciousness must change before even considering tackling the

larger problems of society. Then one aligns oneself with others of like mind.

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PART V Beauty in America

Beauty and Identity

Chapter 25

wouldnt be worthwhile.

Beauty has to do with the desirability of living. Without beauty, life

ONE

without trees. But beauty isnt just the existence of beautiful objects or experiences; it has more to do with the persons ability to appreciate them. sonatas, but unless the person is receptive on that perceptual level, they might as well be organized noise, as indeed to some people they are. Beethoven may have written some of the worlds most beautiful piano

One can hardly imagine a world without music, without sunsets,

TWO

THREE In Daytona Beach, I see many beautiful things. I see the suns

diamonds on the water. I see the pelicans flight and wave-rippled sand.

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I see beautiful eyes and beautiful hair, beautiful skin, male and female. Theres beauty all around me. Most of the talk here on the beach about beauty revolves around

beautiful women, even among the women themselves. What is it about a

woman that makes her beautiful? What is it about the structure of her bones, the shape of her lips, the color of her eyes that catches our attention? Are these perceptions of beauty universal?

be beautiful if she had small eyes and hair that has been turned from black putting a circle of yellow pigment around one eye. In some parts of

In parts of Melanesia in the western Pacific, a woman was thought to

to brown by the application of white lime. She could enhance her beauty by Africa, light skin is considered desirable, as is a plump bodya status symbol showing that shes well-fed. In southern Europe roundness is looked on more favorably. In Japan much attention is focused on the also considered a sign of beauty while in northern Europe slenderness is eyes, with women having smaller epicanthic folds of the eyelids and larger eyes considered more beautiful. In America large breasts are desirable up to a certain point, beyond which they are subjected to ridicule. On the East Coast some chemical coloration added to the face is considered attractive, more attractive. On both coasts they say that blondes have more fun. Which of these things makes a woman beautiful? FOUR while on the West Coast a face less altered by such coloration is considered

determined by the properties of the thing observed. Many people can look at the same thing (a beautiful woman, for example) and see something different. We look to one another to compare notes.

I began this book by saying that perceptions arent always

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FIVE Who are we? Whats beautiful to us? How much are we influenced

by what others think? I believe these are questions worth pondering. SIX

perceivebeauty from within ourselves, our identity is based on our inner self and is strong; when beauty is learned from others perceptions, our identity is more externalized and can easily be manipulated.

The relationship between beauty and identity is this: when we

are when we demand of the world our moments of silence so we can listen to our own beautiful voices.

The relationship between beauty and identity is this: we discover who we

SEVEN Is it possible to see beauty in the walk of a Downs boy or in a scar

on a bikers forearm? I can tell that people know who they are when they know what they see and arent afraid to admit it. A teenage evangelist in Daytona told me she thought seaweed was pretty and I knew right away

where,her heart was. A man might say that beauty queens or a set of eightya box and mark Fragile on it.

watt speakers are beautiful and we might be more likely to put his identity in Who decides whats beautiful? The same innocuous folks who determine

the grammar we should use. Never end a sentence with a preposition, to

begin with. Learn your lessons wellthey are a package deal made up of countless centuries of perceptions. God forbid that you should romance a Melanesian or find seaweed pretty.

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EIGHT A bit of hyperbole. A fart in school was never beautiful but always funny.

Why? Is there ever a time when a fart could be considered beautiful? At the right moment in a Bach fugue, for example? When a red cardinal appears fingerpaints in the art room? Coming from the teacher as an act of

on a snowy branch outside the classroom window? Mixed with the smell of humility? No, beauty is taught as something civilized, refined. Back to the Greeks and their darned vases. Isnt it true that much of what we consider beautiful today has that same sterile quality?

range of perceptions and grow to distrust our own, if we can even tell the allowed quiet time?

In time, we become great mimickers. We internalize a whole

difference. We might be able to if we had some quiet time. But when are we

of who we are depends on which of these things we possess or appreciate. Do we believe these assessments? Having learned from our school ourselves or keep from drawing undue attention? away? experience, do we make the proper choices as adults so we can better

The labyrinth leading to success is lined with things of beauty. Much

NINE

Is a better self worth having if it comes from without and can be taken

TEN It seems to me that packaged beauty has come to mean a kind of

predictable symmetrya standardized package of formand the modern

identity is expected to follow suit. What are the desirable qualities sought by symmetrical mindthe square! Back to Greek geometry! The model's

the psychologists personality test? The well-adjusted, temperate, controlled,

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perfect face, the sleek symmetry of the automobile, the corporate demand for the straight individual, the propensity of standardized achievement tests, the rise of the orthodontist and straight

teeth, the prominence of geometric architecture (Bauhaus and its cousins!), the order of bureaucratic files and the orderliness of their keeperssuch a our problems are defined as the incorrect image we find in the symmetry. ELEVEN Our packaged perceptions of beauty tell us how sophisticated we are. blending of aesthetics and personality! Modern life is a Rorschach test and

Heres some more hyperbole with enough truth to it to be worth thinking about:

how many of us are now committed to this ideal? Is it really hygiene were concerned about? Or has there historically been a growing rejection of the farmer and his rude ways? Being close to the earth is no longer desirable, and all respect goes to those who possess the attributes of refinement:

Perpetually clean hands have previously been the privilege of the few, yet

clean hands, clean clothes, neutral odor, trimmed nails and hair, and above all, work in an artificial climate, away from the elements. To be called a farmer is an expression of ridicule, a comment alleging that the person hasnt gotten far enough away from the land.

walls. One is hardly encouraged to appreciate the naturally salty smell

at a leaf, and more image-enhancing to ogle paintings hanging on museum

Beauty then becomes a cultural creation. Its plebeian to gaze in awe

of fresh sweat but may support with impunity a billion-dollar artificialscent industry. Open fields of flower and weed are plowed under while shopping malls are featured on magazine covers. Wild rivers are headed

toward extinction while the beauty of Hoover Dam is depicted on postcards. Rainfall is shunned but fountains are adored. Were urged to rid our lives of soil, the smell of animals, the world of insects, hot or cold weather,

thunderstormsand to construct an artificial environment thats considered

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more civilized.

life. Were offered man-made substitutessome of which are beautiful, but most serve to separate us even further from our place in the world. The more we accept the modern, manufactured symbols of beauty, the less we know ourselves. The less we know ourselves, the weaker our identities be strong and independent enough to strive for an ethical life? TWELVE If I can decide for myself whats beautiful, might I not discover that become. Thats not so hard to grasp. And with weak identities, how can we

Our typical perceptions of beauty are symbols of a disconnected

I myself am? And if Im beautiful, wont this remove the need to become the person the people around me (and my culture) desire?

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Beauty and Being

Chapter 26

ONE Its funny how we spend a whole lifetime trying to become what we are. TWO I said in the last chapter that beauty has to do with the desirability

of living. I dont mean mere existence, as in the maintenance of the body through nourishment and sleep. Our dreams are much too filled with to get up in the morning, and having a good reason to do so. THREE

yearning for that. Im speaking of living from the point of view of wanting

outline the impediments. People cant be told what the essence of their being ought to be, any more than we could walk up to a raccoon and proclaim to it, This is how we want you to experience yourself... FOUR History teaches us that the Western world has experienced a great

No one can describe for others what it means to be. We can only

change in what its meant to be since science supplanted religion as the predominant form of worship. Science, or belief in the truths revealed by the five senses, has been wildly successful in creating a faux-sacred world of

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material comforts and playthings for a large number of people, something that the Roman Catholic Church was never able to do. And theyre free to shoot their mouths off, too, something the Church was none too keen on. science is that of the left. Technology, or the ritualization of science, If religion was the ideology of the right hemisphere of the brain,

has provided a new way to save people, not from insecurity about the afterlife but from insecurity about life on earth. The soul is supplanted by the psyche, and penance is done for sins by striving for greater efficiency. FIVE Science dissects and analyzes. It can take a tree and show us the

xylem and phloem and the cellular structure but it cant tell us what a tree

is. We may someday be able to understand a tree but not by taking it apart. A tree is a being and by dissecting it to satisfy our curiosity we destroy its wholeness. We lose its essence and are left with pieces. We cant take the pieces and put them together again because thats not what a tree is. This should tell us something.

SIX We learn to see ourselves and our world in fragments. Cubism was

the essential art of our preceding centurywho was Picasso but a latter-

day Dr Frankenstein? What are we seeing but modern mind taking things apart and being unable to put them back together again? Whether he was is the same.In school were not taught to see the beauty of a frog; were where we dissect the whole world but cant put it back together again. participating with us or merely showing us what we do, either way the result taught to dissect its body in the lab. This helps to prepare us for adulthood

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SEVEN Were skeptical of the fetishes of the Haitian voodoo doctors but are

we free enough of bias to see the fetish of the computer? The computer, all the fragments which we ourselves cant. We can only take this

which is the ultimate symbol of the modern age, stores in its surrogate mind fragmentedworld in small doses, which we call website pages or printouts. Only the computer can put all these pieces of the world together. Fortunately, it doesnt have to make sense out of them. EIGHT It seems we cant see the totality of life. Who but the parents think

that a mentally retarded child is beautiful? Is it because these parents

see the whole child while others just see a mongoloid face? Who but the

disenchanted complain about the marring of the American landscape? Is it

because most of us have separated civilization from the Grand Canyon and Yosemite Falls in our minds, and blithely point to these latter areas as the pockets of beauty here and there instead of having beauty all around us? NINE It feels as though the freedom weve gained in the last several natural beauty of America? Have we become satisfied with ever-shrinking

centuries has simultaneously imposed on us an unfreedom: a restless, theres no doubt in my mind that we long to be whole again.

skeptical, dissecting frame of mind we cant seem to escape from. Yet

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TEN Why do children seem to be such total beings? Inexperienced as they

are, how is it that they can so often just be themselves? Ironically, I think its their inexperience itself that permits it. After all, what is experience now were trained to use the five material senses: sight, hearing, touch, but conditioning? Experience is gathered through our many senses. Right taste, and smell. Perceptions experienced through other senses are said to

be extra-sensory. We skeptically label this ESP. Could this be a bias of our of precognition, of a sense of rootedness, of direction, of harmony, of

conditioning? Do we give credence to the sense of aesthetics, of proportion, danger, of timing, of obligation, of play, of fairness, of spirituality? Do

we cultivate these and other senses or do we so completely misunderstand human receptivity that we naively assume we can grasp reality through what does this mean? a mere five? When its said that we only use ten percent of our brainpower, Children havent learned to filter reality exclusively through the five

senses and the restricted logic they create. They havent yet become

desensitized to the nuances of different orders of reality. They can, like

primitive savages, see a wholeness to life, a sacred web of beings, myths,

forces, and interactions that we sophisticates scoff at. But this wholeness,

were beginning to realize, is necessary for our fulfillment as human beings. ELEVEN To be means to be able to see beauty by perceiving the wholeness of

life. If beauty has to do with the desirability of living and our modern mind cant understand whats beautiful, we certainly have something to ponder.

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Beauty and Power

Chapter 27

ONE Since koala bears live almost exclusively on a diet of eucalyptus

leaves, the person who controls the worlds eucalyptus trees could control the entire koala population!

TWO Too fantastic a scenario? Consider that individuals and small groups

have often directed the destinies of millions, from dictators to medical associations, war financiers to angry prophets. The koala is lucky. No

one owns the trees and doles leaves out to him for performing a certain or that hes fired. In koala country, no one owns the trees. THREE

way. Hes free to express himself without someone saying hes no good

Someone owns the hills, the fields, the meadows, the buildings, the jobs. The prestige. Everything belongs to someone. You want it, you dance.

In America it seems to many of us that someone owns all the trees.

A child quickly learns about this ownershipfood, toys, pets and mittens, possess as many of these things as possible. This way, no one will be

shoes and beds. We grow up with the notion that to be free, well have to able to kick us out of their yard, take back their bike, deny us their pail lives.

and shovel. Well buy all these things and more, so well control our own

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we cant afford. So if we just had a little more money, we could buy more control. But this binds us to work in an unhealthy way: it becomes a tool for creating the kind of life we want instead of a constructive and ful-

Yet as adults we learn that things can be repossessed or stolen; others

filling activity within itself. We need the job, so the control we seek in our right around the corner lies automation, recession, inflation, disability, someone elses ambition...

private lives may be lost to the office in our working lives. And as always,

never enough. Were hooked on our own eucalyptus diet and, unlike the koalas case, someone owns the trees.

Someone owns the trees. Maybe well grow up to own a few, but

FOUR Here in Daytona Beach the hoi polloi from Indiana and New Jersey

seem to have the power to say whats beautiful for an entire generation.

Yet they themselves dont create the imagesthey merely inherited them.

Blond hair, tanned skin, large breasts or biceps, cute face, brightly-painted that are revered. Who can walk the sands with pale skin, flat chest, and a preference for mass transit and Wagner?

cars with big engines, rock n roll, cold beer, these are some of the images

FIVE In Daytona these popular conceptions of beauty breed conformity.

Theresnothing wrong with conformity if its based on some true order to be accepted, it can feel very unfree.

commonality. But when its imposed, when someone has to conform in If the guy in the 53 Chevy cant meet a lady, hes been emasculated,

hasnt he? And if he goes back to Detroit to take an assembly-line job for

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a year so that he can come back in a Corvette, bought on credit, isnt this is not his own, his image of beauty imposed Let him pick up a tanned

also a form of emasculation? His new power is merely borrowed, his work blonde with big breasts; what kind of woman has he acquired? What kind of man is she getting? There are going to be doubts, I promise you. Heres the utility of the ever-present beer: it plunges the doubts into oblivion. But in the mornings I can read the faces very well. SIX Oh, those koalas! Eating when theyre hungry, engaging in

autoerotic activity whenever they want, living each day full of interest, free of doubt.Nobody controls their eucalyptus trees. control? Why does someone control ours? And how do they get us to accept this

SEVEN Lets not talk about a conspiracy. Discussions of power always seem

to thrive on the creation of an enemy but in this case theres no conspiracy because we ourselves are the enemy: we fight ourselves. There are two a free person and that of a person restricted by the expectations of those and our peers (and the police) feel its acceptable.

contending images within our minds that struggle with one another: that of around us. In Daytona were free to do anything we wantprovided that we The many expectations that spell out reality for us arent part of

some diabolical plan to control our minds. Theyre simply part of a great

web of shared definitions that give life its meaning. Every culture has them and how much of their power over us is of our own doing.

in one form or another. My concern is the form they take in our own culture,

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EIGHT Im looking at our culture as having the power to define what is.

What is beautiful, what is good, what is bad, what is respectable, what is

utterly worthless. Do we really make our own judgments about these things? as we already noted an earlier chaptersince beauty is associated with what is good (the desirability of living) and people will do just about anything dictate how people will live. to have whats considered good. Whatever defines beauty in a culture will

The power to define whats beautiful is one of the most monumental of all

NINE What force in America defines whats beautiful? What keeps us on

this particular eucalyptus diet? Lets face it, advertising plays a major role. While in one sense no more than an extension of our own consciousness, on the whole advertising can be regarded as a campaign to shape our with these perceptions.

perceptions along material lines and to urge us to adopt a lifestyle in tune This creates an environment where perpetual consumption is a way

of life that few can escapeour status is somehow tied to our pattern of buying. The house we live in, the clothes we wear, the car we drive,

the toys we surround ourselves withall these things broadcast to others who we are. They proclaim our value to the world. What value? Our character? Our inner strengths, the clarity of our vision? Our compassion? TEN I grew up learning to criticize the communist propaganda machine

for its relentless selling of the communist way of life. In our own country,

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where life isnt directed as much by the government as by private industry,

does anyone wonder why we dont speak against the relentless selling of the bought it? And somehow feel we should be happy with it? Are you happy, reader? Do you feel this is the best we can do?

American way of life in the same way? Could it be because weve already

business propaganda. Both are selling eucalyptus leaves. It would be naive in its influence than, say, the Soviet state machine was. After all, who in given me to achieve and express my identity? ELEVEN We all make fun of television commercials. We laugh and say that

I think we have to be aware of the similarity between State propaganda and

to think that our own propaganda system, advertising, is any less pervasive America is free to say, Im going to give up the only means my society has

nobody really believes them. Were much too sophisticated for them. But it appears that we do believe them. We may not accept the factual message carried by their content, but weve undeniably bought their

cumulative message: you show who you are by what you buy, and you may even become what you are by the same means. Advertising works on many levels. Soon we arrive at the most potent level of all: we ourselves become walking advertisements.

TWELVE Advertising can create in our minds a false sense of beauty. Yes, I

know, were smart enough to know when were being charmed, but do we reality of manufactured beauty images isnt fully appreciated. We dont

underestimate the power of these collective sales images? Maybe the potent simply see ads now and then and exercise discrimination over which well believe. In fact were submersed in a product-buying milieu twenty-four hours a day and cant come up for airthere is no air, theres only the water

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we swim in. So we may feel were above being suckered by ads but the truth is, were all participating members of our culture, to one degree or anotherbeing immersed in it as we areand those who learn its ways

best are the ones most rewarded. So if our response to the statement that ads, were just being naive. Is our current regime the only way product

advertising creates a false sense of beauty is that we dont really fall for the information may be disseminated or television programming supported? Of course not. Cant we develop a more mature vision of the possibilities of our connection with our spiritual roots? commerce that doesnt play on human foibles and which helps us to re-establish The inevitable future of todays advertising: we may not go to war for our

goods, but to protect the identities these goods give us. THIRTEEN

we can do is become aware of the influences that shape our thinking, our beautiful. Or better yet, the pleasures of walking. FOURTEEN

We cant drop out of society. There just arent any Walden Ponds left. What

perceptions, our ideas of beauty. We may even come to see the 53 Chevy as

Yet a pervasive commercialism has helped to reduce language to a tool to words for too long now and have lost faith in them. In place of faith we words.

A man is as good as his word. Thats truer than we may realize.

push products, to get an edge on competitors. Weve been manipulated by create a consumer protection agency to protect us from the false claims of Inevitably we see everyones complicity in the sellingafter all, we

sell ourselves, tooso we grow to distrust their words, and maybe even our own. Words are no good anymore. If a man is as good as his word and

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words are no good, a man must be no good. We look at each other, not with boundless love, but with a measure of pessimism. If we cant love and trust one another, whats the use?

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Beauty and Art

Chapter 28

ONE What is art? Please, dont ask! Its like the old saying: If you have to

ask, you cant afford it.

TWO If weve been given a false image of beauty so that products might

be sold, then a purer vision of beauty becomes the domain of artists. In

Daytona there was a twenty-one-year-old artist who made religious sand great knowledge. What does he know that we dont? Why is he the artist and we merely spectators?

sculptures on the beach and everyone I talked to agreed that he possessed

explain it to us.

Artists apparently know something we dont. We need art critics to

THREE

FOUR The thrust of society today is toward expertise, and art falls under

its spell as well. If we dont understand art, if were unsure of the spiritual the critic.

knowledge and technical skill of the artist, we need a mediator. We turn to When we have to ask the question, What is art? and get an answer from

an art historian or critic, our initiative is blunted and we lose yet another opportunity to exercise our own perceptual judgment. Discussions of art

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too often revolve around the question of whether one agrees or disagrees

with the critics assessment. Even on the beach, where I was able to enter or the general drift of the comments was, I hear hes really good, or They Sausalito?

eavesdrop on more than a few conversations about the sand sculptors work, say his picture was in the newspaper. Is it really any different in Miami or I had a talk with the artist about this and he said good-naturedly

that this aura of importance was to his advantage since it helped fill his hat with donations. People gave more when others said he was good. He then confided that he had fractured his foot recently and owed about four hundred dollars in medical bills. Who could blame him for taking advantage of this modest public awe? Anyone poor enough to be living out of the back of a station wagon deserves a little break now and then. Its unfortunate that good, wouldnt it be better for him hear it from his admirers and to have confidence in their perceptions? I saw your picture in the news- paper offers nothing of value to an aspiring artist. FIVE This artist knows something we dont. Knowledge important

he had to rely on a public delusion in order to make a little cash. If he was

enough to merit a newspaper article. People drop money into his hat more His vision is shrouded behind the aura of importance, revealing to his

perhaps because hes important than because he shares his vision with them. audience only a display of technical skills. Yet he acquiesces because he its not in his motive but in our misunderstanding. SIX We delegate judgment. Well, who has time for aesthetics? Were too

must eat. He capitalizes on our misunderstanding but if theres a fault here,

busy just living. And earning a living. We let the experts worry about it.

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Could this be why some people often say that the public has such poor taste in music, painting, film, even clothing or interior decoration? Those who opportunity to develop an aesthetic sense? have spent time in Europe will see this more clearly. Have we had so little

SEVEN Art is a binding human experience. It can be anti-social on a super-

ficial level but its profoundest message is deeply social. It expresses

a hope that even the most private and unsharable images may be shared.

for critics to explain what the meaning of art is. Maybe there wont even be artists.

Artists learn to trust their instincts. When were all artists therell be no need

EIGHT Some artists are experimenters and some are folk artists with a

traditionalvision. Some people take up art upon retirement in order

to producesomething beautiful after a lifetime of worldly cares. Some

becomeartists because of the lifestyle. Some are born artists and often

becomebitter toward people when actually its history and not people that

has beenagainst them. With all these conflicting strands, its no wonder that the role of the artist is so uncertain, in the publics mind and in the mind of the artist him- or herself. Its so much easier to reduce art to a commodity so that it may be bought and sold like everything else. When art is reduced to a medium of exchange, intimately tied to

checkbooks, the artist is compelled to be an outsider. We call his rebellion

artists temperament. Temperament is merely unresolved conflict between the artist and the society that wants to sell (or restrict the sale of) his vision. Temperament is anti-social but not anti-person. The artist reacts against the blindness of society but not against humanity, with whom he aligns himself

by sharing his vision. The artist who is free is also free of temperament. This

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is not to say emotionless, but simply beyond the confusion of society. This confusion, creating the market of art and permitting some artists to walk on water while others drown beneath it, must be left behind if one is to be free of us.

of temperament. Were all born artists but most of us have had it beaten out

NINE Raw perceptions are all too rare. Learned patterns begin to take form

early in life. Images repeat themselves. Certain colors are found together,

music becomes chromatic, literature follows a structured plot lineleaves and snowflakes are all different but we dont really see it. Perceptions fall into patterns through repetition. What guides this process? In experiencing art today we succumb to the persuasive words of

critics, to the lure of reputation, price, to traditions, to the standardization of our responses in school, to the power of media in defining for us what we could be defining for ourselves. the hands of the entrepreneur.

When art is marketed, beauty is no longer in the eye of the beholder but in

TEN How is art to be appreciated? Can the person, after having been

taught for years to categorize and evaluate art on the basis of certain

standards created by others, ever arrive at an independent perception? ELEVEN Experts can speak with us but no longer for us. The chance of a true

sharing between the sand sculptor and ourselves is greater when the channel between us is purer; that is, freer of outside interference. This permits a maturation of perception, not through adoption of popular interpretations,

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but through a growing ease of direct perception and the confidence this mind. Like the Suzuki violin method, one learns to play it by ear. TWELVE

instills. How is art to be appreciated? Independently, with pure heart and

No man is an island, but indeed he could be if he were part of an archipelago separated from others on the surface but soundly connected at his foundation free to think and perceive, but never free of the deeper ties that join us all. rather, selective independence is. That is, a weaning away from the

Independent perception isnt the solitary process it may sound like.

Total and unconditional independence isnt the point, nor is it possible;

restrictive influences which shape our perceptions from afar. Selected influences (friends, children, travel or reading, for example) can be enriching and help us to more fully appreciate the world. Our associations our associations, thats all.

contribute to our development. Maybe we just need to be more selective in Theres no point in shutting out the world to maintain our purity of

vision, since the object is to let the world in. We can use help in with kindness, either the sincere kindness of loved ones, the well-

interpreting this world. We cant do it alone. But lets not be killed intentioned kindness of experts, or the sly kindness of entrepreneurs. THIRTEEN Finally, all art has a spiritual dimension. It has the power to join us to one

another, to the artist, and to the world, or to separate us. As always, were not looking for a formula, but a principle.

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Twenty Questions

1.

Perceptions of beauty are among the most intimate and personalized an individual can have. When images are directly perceived, theres a sacredness to them, an inviolability that gives the person a strong sense of

Why does beauty play such a large part in identity?

participation, of belonging. When beauty is indirectly

perceived, or conditioned by society, no such sacredness

exists because beauty is invariably confused with approval mechanism, helping us adapt to society.

and perception thus becomes a psychological response, an adaptive If were forever adapting in order to better

ourselvesas we feel we mustour identities are tied to various designated beautiful things. But if we come to know who we are, independently of these things, our identities arent so precariously attached. 2.

base our perceptions on societys standards?

Are you saying that beauty is relative and that we shouldnt

Im saying we shouldnt necessarily base our perceptions on

societys standards. What wed like to do is raise societys standards. But

that takes independence of thought. If were to free ourselves, we have to

examine the vision weve been taught to accept because this vision is being intrinsic value it might have. 3.

passed on more for its utility in perpetuating our society as it is than for any

synthetic things of beauty?

Why is civilization moving away from the earth and adopting

This process may be rooted in early peoples fears of Nature and the desire to control it. I think the dynamic has

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changed, though, having less to do with fear than a kind

of masculine pride, maybe with more than a little greed thrown in. The

land is something to be conquered, and it then follows that new things of new value system, reflecting the superiority of civilization over the land. 4. Cant man-made things be beautiful?

beauty have to be substituted for the oldsynthetic things which fit into our

Yes, but not at the expense of natural beauty. While we sit outside bulldozers are moving against every wild thing. 5.

in the concert hall listening to a beautiful symphony, somewhere

sunsets?Weve become so sophisticated that weve lost our ability

Are we to give up art and resign ourselves to forever watching

to appreciate simplicity. We often view it as a restriction when we have to

listen to crickets instead of violins (or television). But I think it will take an even greater degree of sophistication to rediscover the beauty of the natural world. We need not give up art. We simply should insist that Nature not be destroyed so that we might have the pleasures of art. 6. Do you have something against beauty queens?

No, I dont. Ever since I dated Miss Ferndale of 1965,

I have had a more than passing interest in beauty queens. believe in their beauty, however superficial it might be. Miss Ferndale, I But the important thing to remember is that we begin to

should add, was the exception to the rule. Her inner beauty far exceeded her outer beauty. She didnt know it, though, as everyone focused on her looks. Sadly, she didnt believe me when I told her otherwise.

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7.

them?

Cant objects of superficial beauty have a deeper beauty to

Nowadays, who looks deeper? Were not that disciplined. 8. Why do you claim that we have to make independent judgments

yet must rely on others to help us?

This isnt the contradiction it seems. We can develop live alone in the world. We need others. What Im

our capacity to think and act independently, yet we dont describing, of course, is the tension between the individual two, and each of us must find the point of equilibrium for ourselves. Lets just be aware of how strong the external images are. 9.

and society. Theres no packaged reconciliation between the

We dont all share the same level of talent, but we do have

Are we all really born artists?

the capacity to perceive the world uniquely. But if every time we express

these perceptions, were taught to modify them in order to fit a preconceived notion of the world, were naturally going to lose faith in our own vision. 10. Can art ever be freed from being a medium of exchange?

Only if the artist in all of us is recognized and art itself becomes the possession of everyone. 11.

becomes popularized?

Wont this water down art, like everything else that

Great examples of human expression wont be any less great because other people are expressing themselves, too. The question here is not how to develop his or her capacity to see. make all art understandable to all people, but how to teach the individual to

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12.

better work from the artist?

Arent critics necessary to educate the public and draw

Critics are more involved in acting as arbiters of taste, and it would be difficult to call this education in its broadest sense. At best our own response is shaped by the critic; at

worst, we mimic the critics opinion in order to win approval from (or need more of them. 13.

refrain from offending) others. However, some critics are educators and we

as social unity, isnt this political and thus destructive to the artistic process? All art, neo-classicism or Dada, is political. Even in its

If artists consciously try to achieve practical ends such

most benign form, art offers a particular view of reality or

creates a reality of its own. This in itself is an expression of power.

Im simply saying that artists can consciously free themselves from the restrictive tenets of their social conditioning and in doing so, have a greater chance to see the bonds which connect us all. This will also free, rather than destroy, the artistic process. 14. Are koalas really free?

Animals are bound to the same requirements for life that we

are: food, shelter, sleep, safetythe difference is that they know their place theyre free. Free to be themselves. 15.

in the world while were still searching for ours. So in a sense we could say

In finding ones spiritual home. D.H. Lawrence once said that people are

You see freedom as accepting ones place?

free when they are living in a homeland; not, as we often think, when they

are escaping to some wild west. The most unfree souls go west, and shout of freedom. I think thats well said. Freedom isnt out there. Its in here.

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The principles of a new ethics that weve been discussing here. 17.

16.

If society becomes free, whats to prevent anarchy?

Any sensory message can be misinterpreted. The best way to understand the world is to use as many of our senses as possible, and to develop them to their greatest capacity. 18. Doesnt modern technology give us more time to appreciate

Can we really not trust the five senses?

beauty?

Weve come to think of technology as a great time-saver. Yet ironically, we have less time today to call our own than we did two hundred years ago. To fully appreciate how technology doesnt save time but actually robs people of time, one must journey to traditional societies which people have ample time to talk to their friends and havent experienced the technological revolution. These neighbors, play with their children, discuss politics or the weather, prepare leisurely dinners, and in general, lead let alone to appreciate beauty? 19. unhurried lives. When do we have the time for such things,

more a people devote themselves to things of beauty?

But isnt it true that the higher the standard of living, the

This is a myth based on some false assumptions about the nature of things of beauty. When we assume a thing of beauty to be for example, we might say that a high standard of living is something apart from daily life, a cathedral or a great painting, required for some to have the leisure time to produce such things.

If we assume, however, that beauty ought to be integrated into daily life

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the pleasing shape and texture of hand-carved bowls, the sweet repose of

the breast-fed baby, the patterns of bare footprints in the moist earthwe

might surmise that people in societies with much lower standards of living

might actually devote more time to things of beautythat indeed beauty is a central feature of their lives. The island of Bali epitomises this. What could we do to bring more beauty into our own lives? 20.

revolution?

How can we turn our backs on modernity and the technological

Even if we wanted to, the momentum of history is against it. One doesnt

easily step off the technological revolution, as those who have tried it well

know. However, if were able to resist thinking we might go back to simpler balanced existence, theres certainly hope. We want to be moving forward, not backward.

times and instead begin looking at ways to go beyond modernity into a more

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A New Vision of America

PART VI

Recalcitrance and Renegotiation

Chapter 29

ONE The fable of the Sun and the North Wind: The latters violence failed

to remove the travelers cloak while the former encouraged him to remove it himself. Thats how we will change America. TWO It seems we have two as yet unfulfilled tasks: to free ourselves, and

finally, to free others. Yet who will be the first to break with our societys stride? It seems we have such a weak foundation for courageous acts.

Looking around us, we see so few precedents. We may gaze with discomfort at history and see how individuals were made to recant, live in poverty or ill-repute. Does this explain our recalcitrance? Or just add to it? THREE Who will help out when we take our stand? Where are all those

boisterous voices that may have encouraged us in the beginning? Silent now? Will our friends be as quiet as the deserted streets of an old goldrush town when we speak up and are suddenly noticed, suddenly singled

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out? Will their voices trail off like tumbleweeds blowing away into the

sand-swept distance? Theres silence all around us. Were afloat in a sea of silence; we drift with its voiceless current. If we struggle, there are sharks that will surely pick up the vibration and close in, our fate too horrible to describe. Am I drawing too wicked an image? FOUR At first glance the edifices of silence seem so powerful, so

impregnable. But modern societies are like the back lots of Hollywood had a will of iron. Today there are many beliefs but few convictions. FIVE

studiosimpressive facades with little behind them. Public morality once

as such formidable adversaries. But are we reading the situation correctly? If we read between the lines, will we discover a more receptive mind than we first believed? Dont the times seem right for a mood of renegotiation

Recalcitrance! Entrenched consciousness! Inertia! We think of these

to appear on the horizon? First for ourselves, then for those all around us? SIX Problem: people cant give up one life until another is offered to

them. Who will move out of one house before another is built?

If people are forced from their homes, theres a sense of dislocation.

In the aftermath of tornadoes, dazed individuals have been found sweeping off the doorsteps of their destroyed houses. Doesnt this tell us something about the human mind?

be constructing new nests even as the old ones through age and brittleness

The ethical children of tomorrow must become builders. They must

are falling. They must draw up the plans, collect the materials, begin laying

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the foundations.

SEVEN

sexual, occupational, informational changes! New faces and minds to greet new hands to help us with our work.

Changes on the horizon! Economic, legal, educational, familial,

us at the store, in the schools, in our streetsnew hearts to give us comfort, Can we build this new home for our wandering consciousness? We may

not have all the tools just yet, but we can acquire them. We have the power fleshly engines to make them equal to the task?

of the cosmos, inner and outer, at our disposal. How finely can we tune these But that recalcitrance! Centuries of philosophy, years of habit! It

may be that resistance wont come from disbelief in the possibilities,

but from a distrust of something new. How is such recalcitrance met? With blazing guns and bitter words? To do so would create a polarityand give the opposition strength. As in some of the more sublime martial arts, the goal is not to defeat an opponent so much as to develop the character and receptivity of the participants. We want no us and them to aggravate already divided individuals. Violence has no role in engendering the America of the future.

are willing to renegotiate reality on that account. This isnt a plea for

The alternatives to present habits must be so attractive that others

EIGHT

candy-coating, nor for a cosmic marketing campaign. We cant resort to advertising. We cant afford to be merely clever when the stakes are so living a life, which is an infinitely greater task? I should say, a good high. Are we talking about the selling of an idea? Or are we speaking of life. Teaching by example is the most difficult kind of teaching. It forces the teacher to understand his or her teachings by living them fully. This is the hardest part of the ethical life. Its easy to formulate codes

or set standards, but to incorporate them into ones thinking so that every

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decision and every act is guided by them is the far more difficult task.

the good life. Intellectual in terms of commitment to its logic, emotional in terms of commitment to its love, and spiritual in terms of commitment to its transcendent, unifying qualities. Too often we can make one commit-

This requires an intellectual, emotional, and spiritual commitment to

ment or another but not all of them. Were either too rational, too emotional, or too whimsical. We need to balance our own lives before we can hope to be in order if one is to help rebuild anothers. NINE Too many revolutions rush ahead, betraying their principles in the achieve the kind of life others would like to emulate. Ones own house must

name of expediency. The road to freedom has always been stained with blood,but a new vision must commence. It has to start with us.

enough to be found in the doing, though it takes a lifetime. Our goal isnt to achieve a perfect world, but to find our place in it. Unlike the technological mind-set which conceives of an end-product and directs all the minds going process which has no end. energy to its achievement, what were talking about is an unfolding, an onThe renegotiation of reality often does take a lifetime, however long or short

Life need not find its meaning in getting things done. Theres joy

that might be. Yet when one is deeply involved in the process, even the briefest lifetime has meaning.

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Chapter 30 Progress

ONE Progress can best be seen in the mirror. You look at yourself and you know.

TWO We think of progress in many ways but they all seem to be related to

one idea: getting ahead. Getting ahead means accumulating more money,

making the proper choices in status-toolsclothes, car, home, jewelry, club and organization membership, buying the latest in electronic gadgetry and so on. Its almost too easy to tell whos gotten ahead.

about something else but I dont think we are. Increased gross national

When we talk about our nations progress, we may assume were talking

product, higher standard of living, enhanced prestige worldwide are some of the indicators of our vision. In both cases were dealing with things of the five senses and the status they bring.

THREE For those of us who rely on these senses, the successful manipulation

of the material world seems to be the most obvious measure of progress. Do we need to reconceptualize progress? To do so would mean developing an entirely new view of life. Anything less would be just a recapitulation of the

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past. What we want to learn from history is how to break free of its

domination. Old ideas of progress keep us stuck on the same old path. We and its thousand closet sister-cities.

can no longer afford as an example of Western civilization Daytona Beach

FOUR We may not like risk. But what risks are we taking now by not

joining the best of the past and the most promising of the future while trying dont know how we can call this progress. FIVE Whats the product of progress? That we live longer? Make more

to eliminate the worst? Why is there decay in even our highest institutions? I

money? Build more highways, win more strategic points overseas? It seems

like too much of our definition relies on quantities. We think we can sum up

the total of civilization with numbers. Even the mathematician sees the folly over a period of time. This means that if we continue our present actions, the nature of progress remains the same. If we want a numerical progress while still experiencing anxiety and loneliness, we merely

in this. In a broad sense progress is simply the shape we give to our behavior

continue as we have been. To talk about changing our conceptualization of progress means to acknowledge our dissatisfaction with the direction our lives are taking.

SIX One way of looking at progress is an increasing faithfulness to the

application of principles to our daily lives.

Principles, or ethical guides to behavior, help give us a framework

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for what we do. Unlike the infant who acts on every impulse, however destructive to itself or others, adults have a repertoire of learned rules that are calculated to bring safety and satisfaction. Principles can be

moral, such as Dont steal from anyone, or simply conventional, such as Dont dance too long with another persons spouse. Principles can also be expressed in the affirmative, like Love thy neighbor or simply the mundane Go for it.

Nature. To narrow down the field so we dont diffuse our energies, we

We need principles because our behavior isnt rigidly programmed by

adopt principles which not only focus our behavior but promise us optimum benefit as well. We consider them so valuable that we revere them even when we cant always live up to them. If we can look at progress as our increasing ability to apply

principles to our daily lives, this can be a lot more meaningful and things.

stabilizing in the long run than excessive reliance on external, material

SEVEN Religious philosophies place a lot of emphasis on principles, but too

often time and tradition transform them into rules for proper behavior. Proper behavior identifies an adherent of that philosophy, showing that he or she is a member in good standing, but in a wider sense this can differences.

serve to separate divergent groups from one another by accentuating their What we need to discover is the meaning of a principle. That is, how

it makes life richer and more secure, not how it can be mimicked by external signs. The principles Ive tried to describe as being part of a new ethics

endeavor to unify people with one another and with the other beings of the universe. Theyre not meant to prescribe strict definitions of proper behavior, but only a broad framework within which that behavior can occur. Indeed, a major thrust of this framework has been the realization of human

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freedom.

EIGHT

home. Ive mentioned this a lot, probably to the point of tedium, but I

Progress can also be thought of as movement toward our spiritual

believe it has to be connected to whatever idea of progress we develop.

The efforts were making today for a better future show a force without

direction. Knowing our needs, would it be too difficult to try to channel our efforts? If we want to get somewhere, which seems so much a part of our experience, I think home is the best place we could get. earth. America on wheels gets us nowhere. NINE Progress is exploring our unseen ties with each other. We know a lot

Centeredness in ourselves, or being at home, is tied to rootedness in the

about making a living, but less about making a friend. Who are the bikers, the Christians, the seagulls? Strangers all of them, to us and to each other. We like our privacy, maybe because we dont know our neighbors motives. In a competitive society, who dares make his or hers known? TEN What about progress and social issues? Ive said before that

problems today are problems of consciousness. If environmental pollution is increasing, its not because we havent developed the technology to remedy and development isnt the only answer. Progress is too frequently seen in as soluble without fundamental changes in our way of living. itits because of the consumptive lifestyles weve adopted. More research technical terms and from this myopic view our difficulties are naively seen Environmental desecration isnt a problem for chemists and engineers, but

for all of us. When the land is once more sacred, there will no longer be a pollution problem.

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Progress is envisioning new approaches to old problems. ELEVEN

wayor another, so are we all. Progress means a rededication to the whole

Im a scientist. And an engineer, a shaman, an artist, a lover. In one

person in all of us. And a society that acknowledges and encourages this.

A strongAmericanothing lessbut a strong person first. And most of all, a whole person, not the shattered fragments of our twentieth-first century selves.

TWELVE A new vision of America, where knowledge meets feeling, where

desire is tempered with affection, where heart, mind, and soul are one. This is progress. This is knowing we have a direction, and that its positive, much? unifying, expansive, freeing, stable, secure, satisfyingcan we expect so

THIRTEEN We need strong faith. We need to base our faith on facts, on physics,

on history, on impressions, on visions, on long deliberations and quick

cosmic flashes, and we need to base it on none of these. We can revitalize and leisure and toys and begin to look more closely at ourselves. We need to look in the mirror.

this nervous, skittish America if we stop associating progress with money

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The New American

Chapter 31

ONE The new American hasnt been invented yet. TWO The new American hasnt been invented yet and Im not going to

invent one. Were not talking about some neo-fascism where a superior race aspires to rise up and use its powers to rule the earth. This book is not a testament to psi wars. To shape a mind or a generation of minds by a single image is immoral. Yet were looking for a direction, a guiding principle. THREE

the lower brain, instinctual powers. The left hemisphere: logic, analysis.

The mind: left hemisphere and right hemisphere, the higher powers;

The right hemisphere: creativity, mysticism. The lower brain: survival and for the lower brain, and vice versa.

gratification. Modern history: the process of mistaking the right hemisphere

FOUR Are we afraid of unleashing thought, of permitting freedom,

because we fear this will turn loose the lower brain, the so-called reptilian brain we all possess? Is it the expression of primitive instincts we must prevent? In controlling the animal in us, havent we also mistakenly controlled art, religion, even science?

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FIVE In confusing the non-rational (right hemisphere) with the irrational

(lower brain), weve confused artists and prophets with witches and demons. Weve perceived the demonic as part of the spiritual realm when its more a projection of the unconscious reptilian drives. Why do we kill snakes? Because they frighten us? Because they spend their lives so close to the earth? We kill prophets, too. Sometimes with bullets, sometimes

with words. We fear the unrestrained mind. We look at the brain as a

domesticated animal and when it strays from the barnyard we cry madness. We may revere the soaring minds of men and women of history, their thoughts already part of our stock of knowledge, but we cringe when the the stake and unleashed upon the world Cant we see with different eyes?

contemporary mind soars, such a threat does it pose. St. Joan rescued from

SIX Were on the verge of an evolutionary step, a renewed initiation into

the cosmic flux. The human race is standing at the gateway; were casting innocent eyes beyond the portal. Were milling about at the feet of a

renaissance. I actually feel that history, once against us, is now on our side. have to overcome our fear.

The world is making ready, and we must likewise make ready. But first, we

SEVEN The person of the futurea superior human being? A genetically-

advanced hominid who is receptive to the spiritual nuances of an evolved

world? Lets not inflate our balloon too much or itll burst. Theres no breed

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of yogis on the horizon, no super-race of sensitives who possess ethical knowledge like Americans possess kitchen appliances. Supermen and women! Loving foxes and stones, forsaking riches for honest

handshakes and sacred Christmases! In the hands of the satirist, anything can be reduced to the ridiculous. Thats the curse of newness. The new

person is no superman. She is no superwoman. And the objects of their love can be made to appear absurd. But the old definitions dont hold together the full power of reality: to create, for one or for many, a new reality. EIGHT New behavior doesnt just happen. Theres something which anymore. What we need to define are courage and conviction in the face of

encourages it, makes it worthwhile. New people dont just spring up after

a rainstorm. They dont hatch from utopian novels, nor do they come from pulled levers in voting booths. Theres something which encourages them. An openness, a receptivity.

NINE The new American need only be new in attitude. It takes no sublime

inspiration to share in a vision. The fork doesnt have to be reinvented by each person who uses itand I think that applies to all human creations, tools and philosophies alike. But a change in attitude must occur, a action. willingness to commit oneself to a different principle, a new course of

TEN Lets not set out to create the perfect society or even the perfect

person. We have to stay within the possible, even when courting the

impossible. What Im speaking of is an environment where people are

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encouraged to love.

have had for this land. We need not be wild-eyed or dogmatic about our our love, were under the profoundest obligation to do so. ELEVEN

We have the opportunity to fulfill some of the promises so many of us

intentions. But theres every reason to make them public. And because of

as the vanguard of a daring and visionary America. Were looking for one in stamping an imprint?

Were looking for a different kind of individualone who will stand

who is strong, free, compassionate, secure, inquisitivehave I gone too far The future is both a wish and an inevitability.

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The Eternal Cosmos

Chapter 32

ONE Theres a process going on here that may be beyond our

understanding but not beyond our means. TWO

above me; sometimes alone, often with others who were as struck with

Many nights in Daytona I stood under the star-filled sky, gazing

wonder as I was. I felt at times that if I could describe the feeling of oneness I had with these stars, these beings beside me, these cool grains of sand imagination. beneath my feet, I would articulate something beyond the most far-reaching As it is I can only stare in silence, occasionally even wondering why

what occurs on this two-mile stretch of beach seems so important. After all, when held against the immense size of the galaxies, of what particular importance is any finite space? An observer at a point outside our Milky Way might consider it curious indeed that one small being would spend so much time pondering over one small space in order to arrive at a more would probably laugh. I would. I already have. THREE Im reminded what modest tools we have for understanding this

cohesive view of the universe. If such an observer had a sense of humor, he

thing called life. We have a brain, yes, and we can be thankful for that.

We have a complex nervous system and some decent sensory equipment.

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We have libraries full of books at our disposal. We have films, lectures, all to help us understand what seems beyond understanding. much do they really help?

informed journalism, religious instruction, computer data, learned societies, We have all these tools, these resources, help us to understand. But how

FOUR The complexity of my receptor system, both built-in and with its

technological extensions, magnifies the complexity of my perceptions. I see more of whats to be seen. I hear more. Im able to touch more. And as I develop my other senses, the subtle ones, I sense more. I suddenly know otherwise progressive scenario that should be perfectly obvious. FIVE Suddenly Im confronted with complexity. I say suddenly even

more, if knowing means becoming more aware. But theres a wrinkle in this

though his confrontation occurs over a lifetimebecause life is short.

Its here, then its gone. While Im here as me, brief flash in the cosmos that it is, I develop my senses, my intellect, my reasoning capacity, my judgment, and complexity comes crashing in on me like storm waves upon helpless sand pebbles. The more I learn, the larger and more turbulent the information grows. Thus I have learning but not knowledge. SIX I watch the stars, I hear the roar of the surf, I experience

companionship with my fellow star-gazers. What do we know? What

has our learning provided us with to better understand this immense and or logic clear enough to answer our questions?

intricate universe and our place in it? Is there an intellect profound enough

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beyond intellect, order beyond logic, within ourselves as well as in the

It shouldnt be so great a blow to our pride that theres intelligence

world around us. Advanced degrees of learning may have much to do with intellect but little to do with intelligence, for intelligence is the capacity to perceive and to make sense of whats perceived, quite apart from the

mediation of the intellect. This is why mentally retarded people can often that quite elude their teachers. They didnt learn these things; they sensed them. The direct perception of reality which is at the heart of Zen and

grasp the essense of beauty or comprehend subtleties in human relationships

found as well in some untrained children, schizophrenics whose intellects are dissociated from their intelligence, and certain artists like Blake or influence on public policy, education, or even popular culture today. Whitman who seemed to have one foot in the other worldhas had little The devotees of Zen who directly (and often suddenly) perceive reality and thus are said to experience satori or enlightenment are all too rare. Retardates who exhibit traces of brilliance are known derisively as

idiot savants. Schizophrenics are sometimes known to display moments of intense clarity of perception, revealing profound truths that often stun those working with them; yet living with schizophrenics is well-nigh

impossible for most of us, partly because they speak the truth too clearly

for us to bear. And many artists, as we know, are considered impractical learned ones and we just cant see their utility.

because their more direct perceptions of the world are so different from our There seems to be an obvious prejudice against this seemingly

mystical ability to reduce complexity by transcending material vision and

experiencing firsthand the nature of the universe around us. This is not only true of our modern era, but of ages past, as the historical study of prophets, seers, and (misnamed) witches plainly shows. Why is mediated sight direct sight?

material vision of the five senses interpreted by the intellectpreferred over

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SEVEN Consciousness is evolving. It may not seem so, since we can observe

that many, if not most of the vices plaguing humanity thousands of years a few, seem to be as prevalent as ever. The other night on the beach, a

ago are with us today. Cruelty, dishonesty, selfishness, pride, just to name friend argued that philosophy itself hadnt advanced an iota since the days and are confronted with the same lack of answers, twenty-three hundred

as Plato, as evidenced by the fact that were still asking the same questions years later! While on the surface that appears to be true, I tried to explain

to him that within this complex evolution of humankind there are definite

gains being madedemocratic government, outlawing of slavery, and so on are just a few manifestations of thisthough on the whole we havent seen enlightenment come to us. We only see a few signposts to let us know that we are evolving, if not physically, then at least in scattered pockets of consciousness over the centuries. New truths are constantly finding their tiny grain at a time. way into society and remaining there until built upon by other truths, one

EIGHT From dog-eat-dog to thou shall not kill is an immense leap

forward in consciousness. From an eye for an eye to turn the other cheek again a quantum leap. Think about that a moment. Thus history provides us with evidences of a development of

consciousness away from its animal beginnings and toward a greater

understanding of the universe and its principles of interrelationship. A mere two hundred fifty years ago there was a thriving international slave trade and today theres a consortium of nations (the U.N.) solemnly declaring the existence of basic human rights. Everywhere there are organizations

working for peace, and even for the prevention of cruelty to animals. Who

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can say that human consciousness hasnt evolved?

NINE A friend said to me that when war ceased to exist, he would know

things had changed. But evolution is more subtle than that. If we look back, change, emerging life forms, genetic transmission, the birth and death

were talking about billions of years of planetary development, atmospheric of eonslets not be too impatient. We cant expect a species spiritual

development to be completed in a mere few thousands of years. After all, the so-called enlightenment of a small number of eccentric people in our brief history doesnt mean the whole human race will automatically be transformed anytime soon.

me; that is, lets not try to rush evolution, as itll unfold naturally in its own sweet time. This is true, but what we may fail to realize is that the way it unfolds is through variations which are different than the normwe encourage evolution, are a part of evolution when we challenge problems way, when we somehow weed out dysfunctions such as Ive attempted to describein Daytona but which are represented throughout America. This selecting out is, in fact, integral to the mechanism of evolutionnatural selectionand critical to the survival of all species. ELEVEN Many individuals lives have been suddenly transformed, overnight inherent in the status quo. We strengthen the species, even if in a miniscule

Sounds like an argument for a kind of Darwinian conservatism to

TEN

as it were, but the race as a whole is slower to respond. Spiritual insights

are, as Ive said, being woven into the social fabric, one slim thread after

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another. In this way more people can take advantage of the progressive

discoveries of a few, not unlike enjoying electric lights today because of

the diligence and vision of Edison more than a century ago, whose findings were in turn predicated on earlier experiments by Michael Faraday, and so on. In the realm of social ideas, however, its to an individuals advantage not only to enjoy the fruits of spiritual progress, but to under-

stand them and experience their power. For example, its one thing to grant women the right to vote but quite another to experience the uniqueness of from working together toward common goals. In other words, one can their contribution to politics and the very special companionship to be had merely accept this rather new social development (and take it for granted), or one can believe in its rightness, feel its power working, and contribute to its fuller fruition. In either case one reaps the rewards of a broader

range of intelligence and experience in the political sphere, but in the latter case one gains a deeper sense of truth about the human community. Ones spiritual home gets one step closer to being defined. Spiritual development benefits not only those whose insights and

visions prompt it, then, but the whole of humanity. It takes time for

humanity to absorb these new and more intense glimpses into reality, and process that goes on all around us, even as I stand quietly on the dark beach with my friends doing nothing but staring wonderingly at the stars. TWELVE Were small. Even frail. But we have a power at our disposal thats maybe even longer for people to believe in them. But its all part of the

larger than ourselves. To survive, we really have to understand this power and how to use it to help us find our natural place in this eternal cosmos we call home.

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A Last Look at Daytona

Chapter 22

ONE Sometimes we can learn more about ourselves from the common and

artless folk, from the streets, than we can from the suspected perfections of our idols behind closed doors.

TWO I arrived in Daytona Beach on a sunny February morning. The water

temperature was 58 and only a handful of swimmers ventured in. After a couple of days the water got warmer and more people came. I stayed. I was no impartial observer here. I got caught up in events and had writingsif the tone is too somberits because beneath all the

a stake in their outcomes. If Ive recorded all too little gladness in these raucousness of the beach I found too little. They say you find what youre looking for but thats not always true. I looked for the best. I looked, as I think we must, for the goodness in others. I think its important to mention that I didnt come here to study

people. I was most probably seen as just some easy-going guy getting by on his wit and a decent tan. The philosophical discussions that I did enter were really out here to live. Living itself is sometimes talk enough. into were often initiated by others and not by me. Talk is too cheap, while I had some good times, too few of which, unfortunately maybe, have

been recorded here. Some warm acquaintances, good body-surfing, many inspiring walks, much support for what I was doing from unexpected sources and importantly, much laughter and mirth. But somehow the

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competitivenessprevented a lot of people from really opening up. The tensions this

produced, as much as anything else, compelled me to record these reflections as I did. THREE To me Daytona is a metaphor. Its a town with a reputation. A place

where the college peon, unable to afford Aruba or Barbados, could spend

spring vacation. A place where drifters could settle in and not stand out. A could settle and enjoy. Daytona, a place where displaced dreams of the young and old might come true.

place where older people on moderate incomes, yearning for Miami Beach,

promises have left countless people disillusioned with their lives and

And yet how somehow typical this is of America, whose extravagant

accomplishments. Daytona Beach Reflectionsmy reflections, the way reflections of the sun on the surf as it rolls in to my feet every day. FOUR

Daytona seems to reflect the realities of our times, and the blue crystalline

the society that spawns them. Theyre showcases of aspirations which are suppressed in the larger culture, yet theyre stifled by the same side with the reason they cant be fulfilled. FIVE Is there a lesson here? Can the cruisers, the Christian witnesses, the restrictions. Theres an irony here: the public expression of desires side by

Beach and honky-tonk towns are never really that different from

drug dealers, the pelicans, the police, teach us anything? I believe the

most important lesson is that theres a better lifewaiting within all of us

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than the one weve been offered. Its this life, rather than the exclusively so much richer. You want to be rich, dont you? SIX In spite of the many criticisms one may have of Daytona Beach

material one, that I believe we could be striving for. The rewards would be

and of America in general, theres a vitality here thats undeniable. Theres such a collection of energies and dreams. I can feel a dynamism thats almost breathtaking. In this I see optimism and hope for the future. I see an immense potential for good if these dynamic yearnings for completion and fulfillment can be given a common direction. One aiming at the heart.

only to the successful among us, but to all of usand everything around us. If I had seen that in Daytona, what a book I could write!

My dream for America is an extension of reverence, not to be bestowed

Twenty Questions

1.

Yes.

Can we build a new home for our wandering consciousness?

2.

profound expansion of human freedom? Yes. 3.

Can a new ethics help prevent abuses made possible by the

appreciation of human nature? Yes.

Can a new ethics unlock the doors to a new understanding and

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4.

than as means to ends? Yes. 5.

Can we learn to treat others as ends in themselves rather

Yes. 6.

Will this help us as a people to renew our faith in ourselves?

than they look? Yes. 7.

Are our separationist social institutions really weaker

recalcitrance than we thought? Or even our own? Yes. 8.

Does this mean we can deal more effectively with others

the good life? Yes. 9.

Will they really be receptive to renegotiating the meaning of

ethical life? Yes. 10.

Is it possible to view progress as getting closer to an

reverence? Yes. l1.

Will we be able to learn and practice the extension of

to our spiritual home? Yes.

Can our striving for an ethical life help to bring us closer

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12.

Yes. 13.

Will we ever be a part of the natural world?

Yes. 14.

Can we not be crazy or superstitious and still love a rock?

knowledge is unifying? Yes. 15.

Can we learn, in an age of fragmentation, that the only true

Yes. 16.

Can we learn that we are one?

Yes. 17.

By binding us together, will this knowledge help to free us?

the future? Yes. 18.

Do each of us have the potential to become a new American of

Yes. 19.

Is there a better life for us there?

Yes. 20.

Is there hope, then, for Daytona Beach?

Yes. Yes, yes, yes.

Is there hope, then, for all of us?

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