Thursday, October 8, 2015

Acknowledging deep personal failure


I finally have to confront my own long term philosophical absolute failure, and share it.

1) Over time I am aware that I am extremely antiwar.  It makes no sense to kill so many people and destroy so much in commitment of life and treasure that most often has no result.  Yet we are fighting non-stop wars, and forward contracting for ten years for more war, while politicians cry for even more.

2) I work on economic development and progress in general, whether infrastructure or human capital.  Yet all around us the economic drivers of growth are in decline and neglected; and in place we have destruction and decay; while those responsible fritter away time on things none of their business.

3) Fifty years ago we worked hard, protested, and even marched against tribalism.  We devoted months and years of our lives to stop absolute adherence to tribal groups and practices like apartheid. Yet now everyone seems to cluster to tribal instincts – cultural, racial, or belief systems – and apartheid is back.

4) At the end of the day I am a bit of a humanitarian, recognizing that how people treat people matters. Yet everywhere we look we humans are practicing man’s inhumanity to fellow man. Somehow the simple delineation of what is right and what is wrong has gotten lost in cognitive capture.

I can’t watch the television news and commentary.  I cannot read short form articles.  I am a failure.

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