Diving for Pearls - a response to the UK riots

I know - the whole grace acquiring thing took way longer than expected :)

Reposted from faceook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Diving-for-Pearls-a-response-to-the-UK-riots/150085801739436):


Hiya, I'm putting this out there because I value your opinion. Please feel free to share back your opinions as you wish (with everyone on this page or just me). If you're not interested, you may simply leave it be, or share it with someone you think would be interested.


I’m sorry if you find any of the following over-laboured or offensive, perhaps you could help me do a little editing.

I have an idea about why we are currently seeing riots on the streets, and what we can do (without too much effort if everyone does a little bit) to help.

It's not a new idea. In some ways it's a return to older values, in some ways it mirrors current government policy, and some people are already doing it! But expressing the idea like this may link things up for some people in a way they haven't thought of before and perhaps promote some positive action.

And I’m not talking about anything I haven’t experienced first hand.

I think perhaps the current divide in society may begin to be healed by addressing the competitive nature of the middle classes. As a class they have a tendency to pour all of their considerable intelligence, energy and resource into their children. This is a good thing. But it is also creating an ever widening divide between their children, and those children who come from less effective systems.

Groups are always stronger than individuals. In healthy families children are supported and they learn how to share resources and work together for mutual benefit. In less healthy families children have to look out for themselves, and often have to defend themselves from daily physical or verbal attack by their own parents and siblings.

Children who are fighting to survive rather than being supported often feel that competition for a good life is so fierce that unless they are extremely intelligent, or miraculously become a pop star or a footballer, then they are basically gonna spend their lives stacking shelves.

More than that, they don't really understand what a good life is. In their version – largely gleaned from adverts - it simply involves having a lot of money (which they will already have figured out at a reasonably young age they aren't going to get from that job in Tesco).

Small wonder they have no interest in investing themselves in a system which looks like it will leave them forever marginalised and unfulfilled.

I think a positive shift could be attained in our society if people freely shared some of their skills with their communities, especially those parts that are struggling.

A trait of the middle classes which may see them disinclined to embrace the above idea is that they tend to care very strongly for the people in their tribe (family/ social group) but much less so for anyone outside of that bracket whom they don't feel they understand so well.
Many give to charity, or partially adopt for a short time some of the scruffier friends their children bring home, but perhaps they feel unable to do more without compromising their own positions, and anyway, they've worked hard, if other people want the good stuff, they should work for it too!

It would be good if we could widen that focus a little so that the middle classes felt they could take as much pride in the health and wealth of the whole community as they do in their own families and houses. This pride needn’t express itself in the form of handing over money, in fact it would be much more useful for them to share a bit of their time and, with that, their life skills.

There are very compelling reasons to do this, not least of which is that if everyone is pulling their weight then certain individuals won't have to work so hard! But, the reason that may ring most true for the middle classes is to do with the fact that it's all very well to build pristine walled communities to keep your children safe (gated, or merely ring-fenced economically), but the moment your child steps outside of that small world they become vulnerable to less pleasant realities.

Essentially, I'm saying the best way to keep the children safe is by sharing resources. Not giving it all away, but just sharing a little bit of your special stuff. The stuff you're good at. The stuff it feels good to share!

Education doesn’t just open doors, it shows people where the doors are.

Nobody has to do anything they don't want to do (I'm not about to offer to cook for anyone outside my family, cos I'm appalling at it - but I can sing a few songs, share my guitar and show people the moons of Jupiter through my binoculars, and I can take some time to help people talk through their problems – that’s all stuff I like to do).

Where a person sees something they care about (a filthy local hospital for example) and they know they have the skills to make a difference they should be encouraged to get involved by volunteering a little of their time and energy.

If everyone gives a little to support the things they care for then there will be ample support where it's needed, and plenty in the pot for us all to share.

A few things to note. You cannot force your values on anyone else. If you create something positive, the people who are interested in it will come.

You won't personally be able to reach out to everyone, and you may find there are people you can't even bring yourself to like!
Don't worry about that. If you can't like them, leave them be. Perhaps one of the people you do like, who is growing through the things they are learning from you, will have the key to help those other people. And when they are unlocked, those people you didn't like may amaze you.

Every person has wonders in them. Yours will look as amazing to the people who don't have your skills as theirs will look to you.

There is an ocean of untapped potential among people who are currently struggling to survive. Imagine what the world could be if we all got to shine.


...


How do we get there?

It really is as simple as giving a little bit of your time over to sharing what you love with anyone who is interested in it.

It's not just the skills themselves which you'll be sharing, it's the knowledge of how to build relationships with other people, and the revelation that attending to the nitty gritty of life is a worthwhile enterprise because of the results it brings.
And you will almost certainly find yourself learning some pretty interesting things in return.

Given time this ethos would hopefully not only greatly lessen civil unrest, but would also provide an economic boon by getting more people actively involved in doing things, and getting more people interested in the things you have a passion for.

In the short term, life will just be more fun for everyone.

Another benefit is that we will become more intelligent as a society as more internal connections get formed; in some cases just strengthening existing connections between people and groups, and in other cases forming connections which include entirely new perspectives into our thinking.

There may be extremely tough looking problems which we can't currently find an answer to simply because the necessary intelligence and perspective is locked in the head of someone we are currently maligning as "a complete scumbag".

With a little effort we can link up with the people round us in fun and fulfilling ways (the ones we like anyway - and I think there will be enough overlap that everyone will find a few hands reaching out to them – although it remains each individual’s choice which hands they choose to accept).

A further benefit of this movement is that we can spend less mental energy worrying about our society and our children – because we’ll be actively involved in that society (as will our children), and will therefore have more energy available to spend in other ways.

On that note, I have an open question for anyone who is intrigued by it. Does the current economic model work? By that I mean, can all the countries attain a certain level of prosperity if things are going well, or can a country only be in a positive position if a certain number of other countries are in the shit?

If the latter is true, it would be great if we could be honest about this and start looking for something better.

Love and empowerment to the people!
x Tanya