Results of the Forum's discussion on the theme of being "The Product of One's Environment"
Will a child born and raised in New York City to economically secure white parents adhere to the same standards of living as a child born to parents living deep in the Amazonian jungles? Of course not. Is the “privileged” child’s judgment of “how to live a proper life” better or more correct than the judgment of the offspring whose ideas of “high rise” include vines and forested canopies? We think not. Each is a product of their environment, a statement used in the 20th and early 21st centuries to justify aberrant behavior patterns usually displayed by those originating in areas called “ghettos”. In spite of its negative connotations we find it an apt phrase to describe the judgmental inequities propagated by the majority of humans during our time of study (for time line info refer to the Forum explanation section).
We don’t think there is any question that geographic and societal birth location, economic status, parental sensibilities, schooling, peers, multi-cultural exposures, health and global conflicts all play major roles in the formation of each individual human being. Even the Humans seem pretty much in agreement on that bit of logic. So what rational explains this presumed elevation of stature based on such nebulous parameters?
If that same white child had become a member of that Amazonian tribe at a young enough age, prior to her mind being etched with the traditions and ceremonies of her kind, is it not likely that she would not only accept but wholeheartedly participate in the traditions of the tribe? We think so. We’ve documented many such instances while studying the deteriorating relationship between “white man” and the indigenous peoples of North America during the 1800’s. Anglo children raised by Indians when “returned to civilization” had great difficulty integrating back into “white man’s” society and often returned to the tribe that had nurtured them. Even though their skins were white the ways of the “white man” were not their ways. Indoctrinated into the customs of their adopted families the ways of their biological parents were an anathema to them.
A book entitled Realization-It’s not Money that Corrupts but the Attitudes it Draws Forth came out in the early part of the 21st Century. Written by a woman who, as they say, was “far ahead of her time” it speaks of the difficulty humans have objectively viewing societal differences in their world. Those with money tend to think they are “better than” those who do not and those who’ve never heard of it seem to be the best off. What you don’t know exists can’t be aspired to.
How is the perceived possession of wealth-wealth being the validity of subjective rather than objective classifications-justification for judging another person or group’s way of life. We use the term money but wealth can be in education, land, awards, cows, pigs, anything that the specific society has deemed important and worthy of achieving or attaining. When a different group doesn’t possess the same goals they are frequently seen as unworthy or of lesser value. Judged using an inadequate measuring tool their “conversion” to a “proper” way of being is approved.
Would you welcome a bunch of people descending on your home, speaking in an unintelligent babble, blatantly working to change the way you think, eat, dress and conduct every aspect of your daily life? We think not. We are baffled as to why such behavior has been sanctified by groups who would consider it a travesty if it were perpetrated against them. What makes them so special?
We think that Mort in his inimitable fashion has succinctly summed up the situation, “their (the humans) capacity to attain clarity even within their narrow scope of understanding is at best minimal. There are few exceptions to this statement but I regret they are few a far between, and they tend to die before their thoughts are properly recognized.”
Like it or not there are amenities and graciousness that having money can provide. If handled delicately having enough money can help facilitate a more comfortable life. However, when used as a judgmental tool creating wide chasms between people or facilitating the oppression of segments of society creating the illusion in some people’s minds that their way of life while preferable to them is by virtue of their having endorsed it somehow better than another groups is just plain silly. Showing a marked inability, or unwillingness to stretch into another level of thought those displaying this “snobbery” are setting themselves up for recycling into yet another life on the same present level, having not grown enough to be granted elevation to the next level.
Filed this Earth Day Designation: 6/6/2208 by The Forum, Euroswydd, Reiki Clown and Mort. May this report be both interesting and informative for those seeking to understand the workings-or lack thereof-of the Human Mind.
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