Peace: Exploring the Solution

Now that we know the who, how, when, and what of the solution to our problem with distrust which will create the conditions for peaceful co-existence, we must now turn our attention to why this solution will work as well how it will accomplish our stated goal. In the process we will find that this simplistic solution to a complex age-old problem actually delivers much more than it appears to offer.

What will be the immediate result of our academicians using available research information to illustrate the inherent organically systemic nature of the human race? The result is that over the years these academicians as well as those who consume their academic offerings will begin to internalize the idea that they are part of one organic whole.

The problem we have with distrust is not a lack of understanding that we should trust each other but that we do not instinctively see ourselves as belonging to the same side, so to speak. Distrust is founded in fragmentation. The task is to get humans to see themselves the same way that other organisms see other members of their species.

Our current education system has taught us that the way to change someone's mind on a subject is to provide them with sufficient information to bring about a change in their thinking. This works often, but it has to overcome the natural tendency of humans to push back against new information. The proposed solution assumes forgotten the notion that oneness is the reality, and not a desired condition.

This solution circumvents this problem in a manner that first became evident to me more than a quarter century ago. I learned from a college professor that it is easier to convince people to your way by explaining why you do what you do instead of trying to tell them why they should adopt your way. It is also easier to get someone to like you by asking them to do something for you instead of doing something for them. In the first case their defenses are unarmed because they do not subconsciously perceive an attempt to influence them. In the second, they must temporarily experience what it is to like you while considering whether they like you enough to do something for you.

As a result of implementing this plan internationally adult humans will eventually come to view world the way that infants view it. It will not be long before we cease indoctrinating our children in a fragmented view of their species.

But this is only the first step. Next time I will discuss why the focus is on the educational system instead of government or religion, the two other institutions that wield influence in our lives.

Peace: The Plan to be Implemented

Based on all we know about the world around us, neither evolutionary theory nor intelligent design can explain the presence of distrust among adult humans. Distrust provides no survival benefit to the human species so there is not reason why humans would develop such a trait, especially when the positive trait of trust is evidenced among the infant of the species. From an intelligent design perspective it is illogical that an intelligent designer would design the necessary survival trait of trust into the non-human species and replace it with the destructive trait of distrust, but only among the adults of the species. The final possibility that would ascribe distrust to an entity outside of the human species is not any less problematic. All of this adds to the mystery of distrust; it should not exist yet it does.

With such a unique problem it should come as no surprise that a workable solution may mystify. Sometimes I have felt that the solution I have arrived at can only be appreciated after the foundation for it has been completely laid. But in the process of such thinking it occurs to me that the arguments that would explain the solution would make more sense if the proposal were known. I think the latter approach is the way to go. I will present here the who, what, when and where of this solution. The follow-up blogs will address the why; and there are may of these.

As I noted earlier, the goal is to eradicate distrust among humans as a species, not only from individual human beings. We must focus on what the human race was meant to be like rather than on what it can become. Thankfully, it does not require us to inform anyone that we should not be distrustful, nor the development of a new sophisticated area of knowledge. We already possess all we need to implement this solution.

As a first step, in order for humans to eradicate distrust our academic leaders must through scholarly papers or lectures, demonstrate from their existing body of research how each of the systems they deal with illustrate the natural organic nature of the human species.

The first thing you will note is that unlike other curriculum iniatives that address the lower educational levels this one begins with the higher levels of education. The second is that it treats the human race as an organic whole rather than as a loose collection of individual parts. The third is that this step will lead naturally to other steps. These and others will be discussed in the future.

Peace: The Solution

So, how do we eliminate distrust from humanity? This is the question that must be answered. We know that it can be eliminated because the fact that it is not present in the non-human species that preceded us in this ecosystem nor among infant indicates that it is not an inevitable part of human nature. However, it is also true that after thousands of years of existence humans have had no success in overcoming it. How can we accomplish today what has resisted our efforts over all these years? I would like to suggest that we have not eradicated distrust because we have not really tried to do so.

Distrust is a problem for humans. I don't think it has any redeeming properties. We also know that every problem humans experience is related to information. Either the information is lacking, is misinterpreted or is misapplied. I am not making any great revelation by saying that the education is the key to eradicating distrust. It is here that things get tricky.

We must differentiate between being educated and being informed. An educated human being will understand his role in the system we call the human race and will not be distrustful of other human beings. As we have seen throughout history many of the people we consider to be educated are merely informed, for they are the ones who have begun our wars and have orchestrated the fleecing of communities.

It is obvious that something has gone wrong in the education of the human species. It is not enough to teach humans that they should trust each other because, even though distrust is the absence of trust the relationship between trust and distrust is not the same as the light and darkness, or even awareness and ignorance. When light is introduced into a dark area the darkness flees. When an ignorant is made aware his ignorance dissipates. But the entrance of trust does not eradicate distrust. This is because trust is a focussed quality. We can trust one individual while simultaneously distrusting another. This is why trust and distrust can exist in the same breast, and trust can be instantly changed into distrust by changing one's perception of the previous object of one's trust.

When I speak of eradicating distrust I am envisioning a society in which we relate to each other as adults in the same way we relate to each other as infants; without having to be reminded that we should trust.

To accomplish that we need to first recognize that distrust is related to inequality. It does not matter whether the inequality is real or imagined. War and crime are violent efforts to achieve equality. They are also violent efforts to impose inequality. War and crime do not exist in a world where equality reigns.

This presents an educational problem. Almost out of necessity, our current educational systems are based on inequality. The teacher is not equal to the student. The student is being "educated" to serve the needs of a small group. The focus of our education is on small groups instead of on the global needs of the species. This environment breeds distrust.

We need a global curriculum that works in tandem with our current system of education and instills in all men the understanding that they are part of one system even though they may operate in a small area. It is possible because it occurs in the animal kingdom. The key to this approach to education is to focus not on what we can be but on what we should be.

The more I have reviewed this in my mind the more difficult it appears to explain it. Instead of laying the foundation I will present it and return to fill in the gaps and details. It is possible for humans to live without distrust as infants and as adults. Getting there may be easier than we think.

Peace: Understanding Distrust III

So far we have provided sufficient evidence to show that distrust is not merely an interesting social discussion subject but a viable research subject. We have shown that distrust is a scientific variable because it appears in varying quantities in nature. It is not present in non-human species but it is present among humans, but only in adult humans. I suggest a line of research that takes advantage of the fact that while distrust is present in humans but not present in non-human species it is also not present in the infant stage of the human species.

The absence of distrust, in favor of trust, from any of the other species that share the earth with us is an indication that distrust is a less desirable trait than trust; an undesirable trait that is harmful to the species. That being so the obvious conclusion is that distrust is not part of the natural identity of any of the non-human species on earth. The fact that distrust is never found in infant humans indicates that distrust also is not part of humanity’s natural identity. Somehow we have become infected by a foreign quality. No other explanation fits the conclusions we have drawn. Both evolutionary theory and creation point in that direction.

I guess one can say that any attempt to eradicate distrust is really aimed at regaining trust as an essential quality of the species. This means that the search for world peace by eradicating distrust is not an effort to become something we are not but an effort to regain a quality that we lost. The process is actually more of a restoration or healing than a transformation or conversion. Distrust is threatening the future existence of the human race. We now have the military capacity to destroy significant portions of our population. If we think of the human race being divided into trusting infant humans and distrustful adult humans it is easy to see that in order to guarantee the survival of the species we must "become as little children" and regain the trust that characterized us in the "infancy" stage of our development as a species.

This highlights the fact that the human species, just like any other species on earth, is a natural system and therefore is one organism, even though it looks like a collection of individual specimens. So, instead of being viewed as an inefficient machine in need of improvement humanity actually is a sick body that is in need of healing. To understand this reality metaphor, we need to take a look at how a body functions. (I call it a reality metaphor to drive home the fact that the species is not being compared to an organism or body; it actually is an organism and ought to function as one.)

We will use the human body to illustrate the point. Each body is made up of trillions of atoms grouped into eleven organ systems. Each moment an unknown number of instructions are being issued and carried out throughout the body. For the body to function in a state of optimal health these instructions must be issued on time and must be carried out on time. It would not do the body any good if the heart were to contract when there was no blood in it. The heart pumps blood to the tissues to supply them with oxygen. The haemoglobin molecule in the red blood cells has instructions to pick up oxygen from the lung and transport it to the rest of the body where it is released for cell use. Good health depends on those instructions being carried out precisely and on time.

Examples of this can be seen all around us. For an orchestra to produce a musical masterpiece its members must carry out thousands of instructions precisely and on time. Each marking on the score is an instruction that must be followed. Each beat of the conductor’s baton is an instruction that must be followed. The conductor trusts each member of the orchestra to follow his instructions and to follow the instruction on the score. The members trust the conductor to read from the correct score and to interpret the score accurately. Without trust among its cells a body is not healthy. Without trust among its members an orchestra cannot perform. Distrust has inhibited the ability of the human race to function as it should.

Peace: In Between

I recently came across this example of the effects of our distrust. Humans are the only species who have to undertake these projects to take care care of their young because we are the only who make such projects necessary. Until we eradicate distrust we have to engage in the work at hand.

http://www.firstgiving.com/riziki




Thank you.

Peace: Understanding Distrust II

Humans have long been aware of the problems associated with a lack of trust. However, we have tended to deal with the issue of trust by seeking ways to overcome distrust or develop and maintain trust in the presence of distrust. The basic assumption seems to be that distrust is part of what it means to be human. We may think of eradicating distrust in a particular situation but never completely from the human condition. But this assumption ignores two important facts about distrust which, to all intents and purposes, have inexplicably been overlooked. However, these two facts play a central role in forging a solution to this scourge on our cultural landscape.

The first fact is that distrust is found nowhere else in nature but among humans. It is a unique human phenomenon. This is an important piece of information for two reasons. First, it is generally accepted that humans are the last species to appear on earth, and second, the very first step of human science is observation of the rest of nature. This means that everything humans learn that is not a part of their nature is copied, in part, from the other species. We can safely conclude that humans did not model distrust from other species and we are the only species who exhibit this nonproductive behavior.

Even though the second fact is generally accepted by most of us not much attention is paid to it. Because distrust has not been extensively studied by our scholars it is an unheralded fact that there is an entire class of humans who, on the question of distrust, are as distinguished from the rest of humanity as are the other species in nature.

The boundary between the absence and presence of distrust represents the only bright white line in the human experience. It is such a bright line that it effectively divides humanity into two distinct species. Distrust is not a pediatric affliction; it does not exist among infants. One only has to observe the interaction among infants and children to recognize that. Distrust of other humans does not exist in the infant mind, nor does the fear that such distrust generates. But among the adult of the species the picture is different. Distrust is a characteristic of the adult stage of the species. Many adult humans make bold attempts to overcome this distrust but it remains a daily effort. This distinction between the infant and adult stages of the species is both interesting and instructive.

These two facts present an interesting research situation that will be useful as we attempt to understand distrust more fully. It is not often in a research situation to find that a quality being studied is the distinguishing factor. On one hand we find that all other non-human species exhibit no distrust and this is contrasted with the sole human species that exhibits distrust. It appears that this difference can be attributed to a human characteristic. But this is countered by the factor that distrust only manifests itself in the adult stage of the species. Because of our relationship with the rest of nature I would expect to find that distrust would be present among the infants of the species and the adults would learn from the other species how to develop trust. There seems to be no reason why humans would gain distrust as they mature into adulthood.

For our purposes, it is not necessary to determine at which point in the transition from infancy to adulthood that distrust becomes a part of human nature. It is sufficient to understand that this situation exists; that in individual human beings the transition from infant to adult also marks a downward shift from a state of trust to one of distrust.

Peace: In Between

Before I post my next blog in the Peace series I wish to express my appreciation for the comments that have already been made. I would like to encourage you to continue commenting. I would like your input on two issues that have been raised. Trevor has already addressed the first, which would be the costs/benefits associated with distrust, when he wrote that

Greed and associated violence are feeders of distrust and suspicion. Getting rid of distrust means overcoming ethnocentrism, racism, nativism, capitalism, and many other dangerous contributors.

The truth is that it is distrust that is the source of all these. If we get rid of distrust we would get rid of ethnocentrism, racism. I can think of another. I think there are a number of technological advances we dare not make because we don't trust each other to use them honestly. I encourage you to think of such possibilities and share them here.

Another issue would be the three forms of distrust I proposed. What do you think of that idea? In what ways to you see these three forms relating to each other? Thanks for your contributions until my third offering.