The Problems with the American Social Experiment, Part I

If you read back through this blog, you'll find that I've been wrestling with the peculiarities of America for some time now.

I think I have identified the problems. There are at least two, and they stem from the very creation of America, from the Philadelphia Convention of 1787. Feel free to research this event if you're not sure what this was. I suspect that many (most?) Americans know something about this.

The two results of this convention that has had major consequences to American life today are first, the ruling arrangement or 'plan', and second, the Constitution and Declaration themselves. I'd like to look at the Constitution and Declaration first.

The American Constitution and Declaration are a source of great pride to Americans, so much so that they are largely revered and considered flawless, even if Americans wont actually say so. It is a point of pride to announce that in the face of social adversity, Americans seek to defend the Constitution.

But what if there are some manifest 'problems' with the original text, perhaps the original assumptions? From an outsider's perspective, here's a glaring one:

“Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” from the Declaration of Independence

and the Second Amendment to the American Constitution, which is typically truncated to the latter half

".. the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

While these are actually from different documents, they are central within the American psyche. The problem? Combined, they imply that it is socially acceptable to be greedy at the expense of the social good, and to defend the fruits of that greed with deadly force.

So seemingly, not only has this nation's manifesto declared the individual as the priority over the common good, this assumption has been further entrenched by allowing ready access to a means of defense that would normally be reserved for only those who've demonstrated suitable training and maturity.

"Grab and Defend": It is hard to think of an uglier message to hand the people of a nation.

I fully accept that this is only the most superficial interpretation of these documents, and they also contain many other quotes that should counter this interpretation, however, they don't seem to lend themselves to the same abuse.

Consequently, this 'Constitutionally decreed' freedom to pursue unbridled greed, however shamelessly self-serving, and the subsequent enabling of the deadly means (firearms) to defend the winnings, has set a social tone for Americans that gives rise to the distressingly high level of violence they live with, it would seem.

A Wannabe Visionary Philosopher

I have a quest.

For over 30 years I've been on an ongoing investigation of the human condition, and I've been the primary source.

I've kept a journal that has investigated every aspect of my life, and with blunt honesty, I've considered every motivation that has driven me. I alluded to this in my contribution to the wikiHow How to Become a Philosopher.

In the course of this, I've assembled a picture of the world and how it works. Please believe that I've arrived at some startling conclusions.

The problem with the claims I may make is that I have arrived at them by use of inductive, deductive, and abductive reasoning, often with the proofs being inferred instead of being explicit. The problem with this is that I can't make a claim, then provide a rock-solid deductive explanation of how it is I come to know it; I can only tell you that it NEEDS to be in such a way, and I'll do my best to convince you.

Why should I be permitted this luxury? If I'm to consider the whole of the human condition, there is NO WAY that I can supply explicit deductive arguments for every new idea. As it is, the mandate to know everything is already ridiculously large for any one person aspiring to be a Visionary Philosopher.

The problem with having a vision of the world is that it's very difficult to get it out of my head, to present to you. There is a mechanism I'm experimenting with, what I'd call Visionary Fiction. Should I have any success with this, the least I can say about it is that it'll be an interesting read, or so I hope.

The Noises in my Head

I wish I could maintain a worthwhile blog.

I have tons to say, but I'd prefer not to waste your time with anything mundane. I think that if you're going to read MY blog, the least I should do is to offer you something fresh.

OK, so what might that be?

I think that I have a perspective of the world that is unique. It is so because inasmuch as I'm able to do so, I try to view the world in the 'Big Picture' perspective: to consider the events I see around me as symptoms of a history, given specific circumstances.

My most recent investigation has been America, simply because the blogoshere is rife with American concerns. So I've been considering what makes up America.

If you care to click on the Next Blog tab at the top right-hand corner of this page, and rummage through the many blogs, you may note the number of political and military blogs posted by Americans.

If you ask about these posts "What is it of itself" and consider what motivated that person to make that comment, eventually the greater picture that I've been able to glean after looking at many such posts, is that America is a military state.

A significant portion of the American tax dollar goes toward either military associated causes, or directly to the military. Furthermore, it could be argued that the military is America's social assistance program, though there is a chance you may be required to give your life to get some of that benefit.

There are many repercussion anyone can observe that come out of this arrangement; if you're required to tolerate the strict regimen of the military for some portion of your life, you'll only voluntarily accept that if you know that once you've done your duty you'll be largely left alone. This has made Americans very libertarian in their civilian lives.

Also, the freedom to keep and use firearms among the general population, specifically military assault weapons would normally represent a complete failure of a society, however since civilian life can be seen as 'R & R' (rest and recreation) to military life, firearms to this day are viewed as necessary for security, be that personal or national.

The freedoms of civilian life don't end with firearms; remarkably, practically anything of a 'social' nature is denounced as 'socialist', which is only slightly less reviled than 'communist.'

Furthermore, since even the American founding fathers were suspicious of government (see my previous blog), Americans in general don't warm to the co-operative nature of civilization. Often enough, they sneer at the whole concept of working within the law and order, and largely dismiss anything co-operative as 'nanny state.'

From an outsider's perspective, I'd suggest that this arrangement has somewhat arrested social evolution within America, such that while it is the world's superpower, certainly in might, population, and economy, they do not have communities to envy living in: None of their cities make the top dozen.

Another symptom of this arrangement is the bellicose nature of American culture. While a trusted American acquaintance has suggested that this has its roots in the Puritanical origins of America (he'll correct me if I got this wrong), I have more reason to believe this military state arrangement is the reason.

Consider: Regardless of the intellectual capacity of an individual, if he hollers 'Those damned immigrants are ruining this country!' for example, are you going to correct him if he's wearing his service beret and tells you he fought for your freedom? Frankly, you're far more likely to forgive his shortsightedness for the sacrifices he has made on your behalf. I'd suggest that this is the origin of the arrogant presumptuousness that Americans are all too often noted for, however unfairly.

Another problem I have encountered in attempting to discuss socially evolving matters, like urban transit for example, is that Americans often aren't on the same page as you would witness in Europe (or Canada. We have a lot in common with Europe). Who gives a hang about urban transit when we have the car? Oh sure, it pollutes, but so what? Everything pollutes, blah, blah, blah... Too often, serious matters are poopooed for the sake of personal expedience.

If you're an American reading this, please don't take offence: I must emphasize that this is an outsider's perspective, and while I've tried to be as fair and objective as possible, I'll admit that I can be wrong. Please don't hesitate to tell me so, but I'd ask that you might give me some idea why.

Thank you for your patience.

Guest Article: The Urban Transit Guerrillas

The author of this blog has allowed me to tell you about our movement. I'm a member of the Urban Transit Guerrillas (the UTG) in Toronto.

We are an underground movement that attempts to get people out of their cars. It is a daunting mission. We do so because urban transit needs riders to justify its demands for money, but ridership only goes up once enormous amounts of money is spent.

Toronto's transit system has languished because of this Catch 22 problem, and we of the UTG have decided to force the matter by sabotaging the motorist's experience. We are NOT violent, but we are determined. Typically we make the motorists life HELL.

What do we do?

We capitalize on all those many nuisances a car driver will deal with in the course of their daily commute. For example, some of our members may work on road construction sites, narrowing lanes for work that will only be starting the next day. Others push cross-walk buttons as often as possible during rush-hour.

One of our most popular (and effective) activities takes place along the busy highways running into and out of the city; originally, one of our members managed to talk his buxom stripper girlfriend to walk with him along the median between east and westbound lanes during rush hour. Brother, that tied up traffic for miles!!

She has since left him, but another member has stepped up to the mission; a transvestite who loves the attention. Lately however, we've found that even a bald old poop with a moose-horn hat can snarl traffic.

We also have autophiles among our membership. Many have rare and/or antique automobiles that they argue thay can't enjoy because the motoring experience has been overrun by way too many cars. Rarely can they take their valuable cars for a spin for fear that some snoozer on their cellphone will smash into them.

For awhile, we had infiltrated the nerve center of the traffic light co-ordinating office, and managed to set traffic light timing so that a driver just kept missing the green lights as they proceeded along some of the major streets. Unfortunately our man retired. We're looking for new talent.

We have many honorary members as well. These people are professionals when it comes to souring the driving experience, like all of tow truck drivers, parking police, parking lot attendants, taxis, etc. You get the idea.

Our American counterparts, collectively know as the Transit Rebels, are having a trickier time since Homeland Security harrasses all underground movements. However, they still make headway. They have better success getting their recruited truck drivers to clog roadways.

We recognize the value that the car is capable of adding to modern life, but we also know that excess is NOT best, when the most expensive luxury ladened car is still no more than an noisy, polluting chair that its frustrated occupant has chosen to drag around because s/he wont consider alternatives.

Urban transit is like any other aspect of social existence: it requires our cumulative energies to work. To neglect this because 'I don't want to stand on a crowded bus full of smelly people' means that for all the taxes you pay to live within a city full of conveniences, an inordinate amount will need to go to support the added infrastructure for your car. While some amount is necessary, huge snaking roadways are a sinkhole for cash.

Eventually, urban densities will squeeze out the real estate hogging needs that your ton and a half of metal requires; we can already see that in London, England. Also, there's the matter of those walks to and from the bus stop that your doctor has been telling you you need in order to lose a couple of pounds.

So if you have a bus or subway or commuter train stop close by, but you still insist on driving, remember, we're out to get YOU.

Learning to Ride a Bike

Yesterday, I went to work at 3:30 am. I was home just after noon and I was exhausted. Still, I felt that I should take the time and take my 7 year old daughter with her bicycle and teach her to ride without the training wheels.

I couldn't help wondering how pitiful it was that fatherhood was such a grind. I love my kids, all 3 of them, and I'd like to enrich their lives every opportunity I can get, but far too much of my life is consumed with distracting obligations and I don't get around to them.

As it is, I wont work overtime; while this brings more money, it would make me a stranger in my own home. When I am home, I have too much to do there as well...

Is this normal? Am I a whinny wimp?

We bought a tiny bungalow (800 sq ft) in a suburban community. When my wife was pregnant with our third child, with two preschoolers and a raft of kids she was doing daycare with, we decided that we would need a bigger house. We looked around, but nothing suited us. Since I had overseen other renovations in the past, we chose to renovate.

I was the general contractor for a reno that tripled our floor space. When my daughter was born, my wife had to vacuum out her crib of wood and drywall dust before she slept, in our stud-wall 'room'. For anyone who has done even modest renos to either the family kitchen or the washroom, you probably have some idea how much stress is involved. Doing the whole house was a recipe for divorce.

But we survived it. Furthermore, since our debts had likewise grown, I now needed to finish the basement in order to rent it out. Before I got married my parents had done this for many years, so I knew how to make this work.

I spent the following 5 years doing the evening and weekend work in the basement. My kids would ask me 'Daddy, can you take us to the park when you're finished renobating?' Perhaps now you can understand why I wanted to take my daughter and teach her to ride her bike.

During these last 5+ years, I had to stop doing my 6km runs because I needed the energy when I got home to do the basement. Despite doing construction, the net effect was my gaining 40 lbs, and my blood pressure went up too.

I'm done now, and I've gotten back to running, though I haven't lost any weight yet. I can only tell you that as a parent trying to give my kids as much as I had, its too much work. I'm not lazy, but I can readily see why families break up, even if they don't take on mad missions as my wife and I had.

I have a life long history of documenting and analyzing the events of my own life in order to understand what goes on around me, and I know that society favours having one or no kids. Little allowance is made for the huge undertaking that kids require, and while it is the most rewarding thing anyone can do, it's a reward that can easily crush you.

What a thing to conclude...

Where to now?

OK, so I'm trying to sell myself as a Visionary Philosopher.

I'm really smart.

Just ask me. I'll tell you.

I wrote an essay about how civilization had inverted the dominant psychological role of the woman in the sexual relationship, making her the aggressive pursuer. Before even the most primitive law and order of early civilizations, the woman pre-empted rape by diving into her man's head in order to predict him, and later control him.

My wife told me to stop talking foolish.

Maturity Map based on AQAL and SDi structures