If you could have a superpower what would it be? Why?

 

Do we possess a natural inclination to morally refine ourselves? Is there a drive to change ourselves, our environment and ultimately the world?

From an evolutionary view point, prominent atheists such as Sam Harris have suggested the logical and mutually beneficial rationale for the ‘inherent’ desire within man to be good. “We are good because it works in our favour in the long run. Society will be safer because we need to trust one another,” claims Harris.

Theists would point to our God-given souls that pine to cleave to God and His goodness as the inner spark for moral redemption.

Both approaches seem to suggest that, at least in principle, we want to not only be good, but be better.

Is this true?

Given an opportunity to do an anonymous good deed, would we? Do we look for opportunities to help, or pretend we are blind to the injustices and misfortunes of others?

Would a cash windfall motivate us to direct that windfall towards making a positive impact on our surroundings, or would we self-servingly use it as a means to take more for ourselves?

In a witty, insightful and somewhat confronting and depressing piece, author and actor John Hodgman conducted an informal survey in which he asked people to choose a super power they would ask for if they could. It became evident that how we answer the question reflects a lot about the kind of person we are.

“Does the choice of power indicate the person you wish you could be, or reveal the person you’re afraid you already are?”

Sadly, “No matter which power people choose, they never use it to fight crime.”

If we are indeed designed, by nature or by divinity, to strive for goodness, perhaps many of us are lemons...

Have we become irrelevant to the next generation? or We have become to the next generation!

Historically, the passing of the baton from generation to generation was considered a transfer of the mantle of wisdom and leadership. Our antecedents were appreciated and respected for their knowledge and worldly experience; they were our guiding lights.

The broad-based value of honouring elders in general, and parents in particular, was always understood as a statement of deference and admiration. It was a way for society to acknowledge the social hierarchy, with seniors considered superior, both in character and wisdom, than their progeny.

But we live in a different era. The knowledge of our elders has become redundant. Their frames of reference are insignificant and their wisdom is obsolete. Children are worldlier than their parents even before they reach adolescence, and the accepted paradigm of parental wisdom is all but nullified. People have become fossilised while still in the prime of their lives.

Perhaps there are two dialectical responses. On the one hand we can accept the new paradigm and all that it entails; we cannot change progress. Our relationships with our children will be more cordial than reverential, and more casual than respectful. As parents our roles as models will be ever decreasing.

An alternate approach is to become moral giants by committing ourselves to lives of value and purpose. By investing in our character, we act as a guiding light to our children. We may know less than them, but we will always be 20 or 30 years ahead of them in terms of character refinement. We will always have something to teach, and they something to learn.

But it requires willpower to be that example, to be endearing and enduring role models.

Us and Them...

Xenophobia: "Deep-rooted, irrational hatred towards foreigners" (Oxford English Dictionary)

The interaction with ‘others’ presents a challenge to all people of all faiths, races and cultures. We are challenged to look beyond superficial differences and to find the inner being, the human part that we all share.

I am not sure whether we in society are becoming more tolerant of each other, or more splintered. I regularly overhear conversations dealing with ‘us’ and ‘them’, where ‘We’ are the preferred lifestyle and value choice, and ‘They’ are to be distanced, excluded and, at times, ostracised.

Racism is born out of a narcissistic sense of superiority. Whether the group is privileged by virtue of birth (colour and culture) or by way of choice (religion), this innate conviction of superiority results from a deep insecurity and self-doubt. The louder I shout, the less convinced I am.

“And you shall love the stranger, for you were a stranger in the land of Egypt.” The Torah demands that we see ourselves in others.

Our common humanity unites us, our pithy insecurities divide us.

Role Models

In a beautiful column I read recently by David Brooks, he cites two kinds of value systems, or, to be more specific, two different kinds of bucket lists.

There is the professional bucket list, which details the goals and ambitions we must achieve to attain prestige, wealth and honour in our lives.

The second list is the eulogy bucket list, the one which details the things we accomplish and people we touch that will leave our lasting legacy.

Most of us invest more time in the former than the latter, although I imagine we are more sensitive to and enamoured with the latter than the former.

How can we re-direct our efforts in a way that would re-focus our goals and ambitions?

One way is through role models.

Role models are those individuals who have trail-blazed the path towards perfection. Are our role models people of character, people of ethics and people of morality? Do our role models inspire us to be better, kinder and gentler?

As parents, the role models we wish for our children should be us...are we the role models we want for them...?

Tell me the future...PLEASE!

Last week I took a drive up the coast to a ‘Psychic Fair’. 

I went as a sceptic and left as a cynic.

Of greater interest than the psychics were the people who sought their services ‒ honest, hard-working Australians who were desperate to catch a glimpse of their futures or to receive messages of consolation from the ‘other side’. Their guiding motive was to have the hidden revealed.

Knowing the future is power; uncertainty leads to feeling vulnerable. Anxiety is the fear of uncertainty, “what might happen”.

There are two responses to anxiety:

1.     To put in every effort to create certainty.

2.     To accept life’s inherent uncertainty.

In most cases, the first option is ideal. If I can predict the future, then I can ensure I am fully prepared for it. But can you be fully prepared? What if the predictions are wrong?

A more considered response to uncertainty isn’t panic, but rather acceptance. It’s not that certainty isn’t desirable, it’s that it’s unattainable ‒ there are too many variables.

The false prophets promising guarantees of financial security, perfect health and ideal relationships do their ‘followers’ a disservice. The hard work of preparing for the challenges of life is the only guarantee. There are no short-cuts.

An empty vessel makes the loudest sound...

 

"It has often and confidently been asserted that man’s origin can never be known, but ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: It is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science." ‒ Charles Darwin

“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.” ‒ Plato

Recently, researchers at Yale proved that using a search engine to research a random topic makes people think that they know more about everything ‒ even topics unrelated to the question they just Googled.

In other words, a slight educational advantage creates a disproportional perceived knowledge advantage. Although we overestimate our abilities in general, where we are marginally competent, overestimation is exponentially worse.

This might explain why the most outspoken people are seldom the most knowledgeable…

Living in comfort with uncertainty

Once we lived comfortably with not knowing all the answers. We allowed the mystique of the unknown to not only puzzle us, but to inspire us. We had many answers but even more questions. Life and the world were mysterious.

But now we are all-knowing. Whether we are religious or anti-religious, we are certain of our convictions. We are right and others are wrong. We have all the answers; we have become fundamentalists.

Fundamentalism is the certainty of possessing the truth. There is no other way of considering an issue. “We are right and everyone else is wrong.”

There is comfort in a fundamentalist approach because it presents the world as a series of simple choices: good versus bad, wrong versus right.

It is this simplicity that makes all forms of fundamentalism appealing, because a complex world is a frightening place. By pigeon-holing communities and stereotyping individuals, I am protected from having to see the complexity of each unique person and each unique situation.

Our fear of humanising the ‘enemy’ and living with uncertainty causes us to move towards extreme positions.