A religion of Science Fiction and myth

A Star Trek depiction of abundant civilizations in the galaxy must remain in the realm of science fiction. In 2000, paleontologist Peter Ward and astronomer Donald Brownlee of the University of Washington in Seattle penned a controversial book, entitled Rare Earth. The book describes the conditions necessary for a habitable planet. In addition to the location of the planet relative to a type G star, it appears that the moon and gravitational pulls from Jupiter also contribute to Earth's habitability. Our moon is responsible for the 23-degree tilt of our planet's axis. Jupiter shields Earth from bombardments of asteroids and comets in the inner solar system. When you work out the equation, the case for sentient life can be reduced to mathematics.

• Only about 9% of stars are type G stars.

• Only 7% of planets are rocky planets.

• Only 7.5% of rocky planets have moons like ours that tilt the axis and cause tides and plate tectonics.

• Less than 20% of solar systems have Jupiter-like planets that protect the inner solar system from asteroids and comets.

The math equation looks like this: 0.19 x 0.09 x 0.075 x 0.2 = 0.002565, or about 0.26%. This Goldilocks analysis is not the only argument against intelligent life on another planet. There are also other factors to consider.

If there is other sentient life in the galaxy, why haven’t we heard from them yet? SETI has been looking for these communications for over 60 years. Scientists believe that the universe is 13.7 billion years old. If our galaxy is only 100,000 light years across, then the chances of intelligent life communicating with us are extremely probable. We should have received 130,000 messages by now. Scientific investigation continues to validate the anti-alien side of the Fermi paradox. However, conspiracy theories, even when they involve science, can be a form of idolatry. We think we know better than anyone else, and we pacify our fear of the unknown by inventing a man-made answer. As it says in Romans 1:25, we worship the creature instead of the Creator. Our desire to find answers overshadows the simplest explanation for everything. God has created the heavens and the earth as it says in Genesis 1:1.

The conclusion that sentient life exists outside of our planet has been popularized by science fiction and myth. When science fiction combines with religion, it can warp our thinking even further. Scientology has created an entire religion centered around alien life forms interacting with us. Science fiction has continued to develop our lust for conspiracy theories and has advanced myths about sentient life outside of Earth as well. The Mormon religion believes that sentient life exists, and that we will reign as gods somewhere in the universe as a reward for our faith.

Recently, when I was flying on a plane back from India, I met a man named Ram who sat next to me. I asked him if he was Hindu. He said yes, and I explained that I had read the Ramayana, and I appreciated some of the themes in this epic tale. I told him that the epic frowned upon polygamy because of the infighting of the king’s wives that caused the protagonist of the story to be banished for fourteen years. The protagonist in the story is also named Ram. I told my seatmate that I thought Ram’s wife Sita was a model for virtuous women that I admired. I then explained that the gifts that Ram had inherited from Parashurama were amazing but unbelievable. He was patiently listening to me until this point, but suddenly the tables turned. He told me that I had not understood the Ramayana. He said that there were probably ancient people that gave gifts to men like Ram. He truly believed that there had been a civilization before us that had interacted with other civilizations that had more advanced technology than even today. My only conclusion was that he must have been referring to aliens.

I was taken aback. Had this man really incorporated science fiction into his Hindu religion? After I left him, I supposed he must have been referring to Aryan mythology. This myth contends that the Aryan race was the most superior human race, and that Aryans were in a life-death struggle with inferior races to keep the culture of mankind from being destroyed. This myth started by comparing the Indo-European languages and developed into a racist theory that culminated in Nietzsche’s philosophy, which Adolf Hitler developed into Nazism. Mythology is dangerous when it develops off the guard rails of its etymology. This Indo-European myth started off as a comparison of the Sanskrit language similarities with European languages. It was thought that the Aryan civilization migrated north and spread their language with them. As the myth developed, the language transfer took on a life of its own. Because the language was thought to be superior, then the people must also be superior. They were thought to be white, blond, and blue-eyed, and therefore looked more like the northern Europeans than the darker Dravidians they intermarried with. It was thought that this intermarriage weakened the Aryan civilization. It was an easy leap from here for the Aryan dispersion to take on racial overtones. Intermarriage meant the weakening of a super race that brought the utmost progress for civilization. So the myth of purifying that race led to racism and a holocaust. Perhaps a new myth that the Aryans were aliens will also develop.

Another myth that led to a bloodbath was a Serbian myth about Prince Lazar. The prince made an apocryphal decision to die as a Christian martyr in favor of a heavenly kingdom. He rejected an earthly victory against Ottoman Sultan Murad I to proclaim the Serbs as a chosen people. In the Battle of Kosovo, the myth presents the battle as "a titanic contest between Christian Europe and the Islamic East" in which Lazar renounced "the earthly kingdom for a heavenly one". There are many parallels to the death and betrayal of Jesus Christ in this myth. It includes a last supper with nine Jugovic slain brothers, an appearance by Elijah as a falcon, and a sacrificial death for a higher calling. The Kosovo myth is incorporated into the Serb national identity's multifaceted mythomoteur, creating a myth engine that gave the Serbian people an identity as a chosen people. Vidovdan became a Serbian national and religious holiday that commemorates the Battle of Kosovo and the Serbian martyrs who died in the battle. In 1914, Gavrilo Princip, the Bosnian Serb member of Young Bosnia, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, which initiated the July Crisis and led to the outbreak of World War I. We all know the bloodbath that resulted, and a myth dangerously provided the motivation for the spark that caused WWI.

The Bible says in 1 Timothy 1:4, "Pay no attention to myths and endless genealogies. These promote empty speculations rather than God’s plan, which operates by faith." God’s plan is for us to live in peace, not endless speculation that creates arguments. When we live by faith in a creator God, then the arguments of speculation filled with pride cease, and we can open the door to the revelation of the good news of the gospel.

Of course, many myths can also be epic stories that are harmless. They can serve as a record of our virtues and values that cross generations and instill goodness from our culture. Unfortunately, they can also serve as a source of prejudice and bigotry. The Christian faith is a faith that is based on historical facts about the events centered around the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is not a faith based on an ever-developing myth. Men wrote the Bible, inspired by the Holy Spirit, to instruct us on how we should live. In John 16:7, Jesus Christ himself said, “It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (Comforter, Advocate) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you." Jesus provided us with a helper to navigate idolatry, endless speculation, and pride. The ultimate goal is love; that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. This is the answer to our fascination with science fiction and myth. We must humble ourselves and take steps of faith every day that yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

The Inuit imagination and silence

Kiviuk Crossing The Sea Simon Tookoome (Phillipa Iksiraq) 1982 Linocut; Stencil Baker Lake The Inuit civilizations extend through northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland. The sister civilization of the Tuvin people live in northern Siberia and Asia. They are many miles apart but they share similarities in culture and beliefs. Since both civilizations exist in the harshest of climates there is strong evidence to suggest that their development is climate affected. Have you ever wanted to go back in time? By visiting the Inuit civilization we venture back into practices when some civilizations were hunting and gathering communities. These people hunt, trap and gather whales, marine animals and caribou that are stored over the long hard winter. I have often desired to time travel. Perhaps this is the reason I am fascinated with this civilization. Have you ever heard throat singing? When people are forced to lead a contemplative life style over the long months of winter without television they develop interesting entertainment alternatives. Throat singing works from overtones that make one voice sound like two or even three. They make multiple overtones coming from one person. Other types of throat singing make humans sound like whales. 

https://youtu.be/hWN36wBKFBM  

The Inuit Director of the movie, “Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner”, Zacharias Kunuk, said “In the Inuit language, the silence is meant as a "letter"--the way that silence is used and the way that silence is ended is very important. We tried to capture as much of that sprung rhythm and the importance of nothingness that is so much a part of their lives by establishing that pace in the editing and in the storytelling.” The Inuit binge hunting season is followed by a prolonged period of quiet and serenity. This kind of solitude can tend to simplify language. But, at the same time it can excite imagination. The virtue of the Inuit people are active imaginations and silence that affects communication. The elements of their imagination are silence and daring. The silent pauses of the language of virtue will always remind me of the Inuit people. Kiviuk; A story told by Kuvdluitsoq in an interview with and translated by Knud Rasmussen Kivioq is an Inuk adventurer who travels across the Arctic facing various hardships, both real and fabulous. Kivioq was a man with many lives. He was a hero in many legends of the Inuit and he got into many adventures with creatures that lived in the Arctic. This story tells of how the ice came to the seas of the Arctic. The to’talik widow dressed her newborn son in the skin of an unborn seal. She trained him to hold his breath in a pail of water until he could hold his breath long enough. One day she sent her son, transformed into a seal, in front of the kayaks. She instructed him to lead the kayaks out to sea and when they were far enough she would raise a storm. When the kayaks went far out to sea a storm broke and soon everyone drowned except Kivioq. Kivioq was driven off of his course by the storm and came to a land he did not know. He saw a house without a roof and windows. He left his kayak at the edge of the beach so he could quickly flee. He climbed up the house and saw an old sorceress tanning a human skin. Kivioq spat and the sorceress tried to look up. Her eyelids were so big that they fell down over her eyes when she raised her head. She wondered how it could happen that the house had a leaky roof when it had never leaked before. When Kivioq spat again she took her ulu and cut off her eyelids. She then saw Kivioq. Her eyes were so frightful that a man could die from her sight. She invited him inside to dry his clothes which she hung on a drying rack. She went outside to fetch fuel for the fire as she intended to eat him. When Kivioq stayed alone he saw many dead heads everywhere. One of them started to speak and warned him to escape or he will be killed. When Kivioq went to take his clothes off the drying rack, they disappeared. Fortunately, his helping spirit flew in and returned his clothes. The sorceress saw him go. She ran into the water to catch him but when she could not reach him she slashed at the granite rock with her ulu as easily as if she were cutting meat. But Kivioq harpooned a stone and it smashed. He warned her that he would have harpooned her in the same way. She asked him to become her husband, but he refused. She was so maddened with rage that she threw her ulu at him and turned all the water to ice.

Why did the United Nations fail?

When President Woodrow Wilson conceived of a League of Nations he did not anticipate a universal group of rogue Democracies. When democracy does not contain a foundation of shared values, then self interest is likely to prevail. Wilson’s vision was one of trading blocks who had a vested interest in sharing resources or protection. To widen that net to fledging democracies which are really extensions of economic conquest will not lead to world peace. Neither will it lead to non-predatory trading practices. Self interest proceeds from this kind of jury rigged nation building. This is because the origin of these nations can be found in the special interest of an imperialistic initiative. Despite the proclamation of liberty and equality the founding fathers of these fledgling countries ultimately follow the example and not the propaganda of their conquerors.

I do not say this because I feel that the United States is an imperialistic power to be hated. The ideals of the United States are universal in acceptance but only truly embraced when self sacrifice is chosen over selfish interest. A self determined government without sacrificial participation by the population will produce an apathetic citizenship. Recently I visited Tiananmen Square in Beijing China. On one side of the square stands the entrance to the Forbidden City bearing Mau’s famous portrait. To the left of The Square as you face Mau’s portrait there is the hall of the people. I really wanted to see the hall of the people, but our tour guide had very little interest in it. In the hall of the people the representatives from various Chinese provinces caucus every year to set in place five year central planning. He could not tell me the name of his provinces representative, nor did he want to find out who he was. The lack of participation in government and the sacrifices associated with self determination can disconnect people from interest. The foundation of American freedom has components of liberty balanced against equality. The two great minds of Adams and Jefferson were in conflict over this paradox most of their lives. Madison was able to balance these values with a synthesis of freedom. His constitution balanced powers of self interest as well as unequal populations comprised of both the strong and the weak.

The foundation of peace is to protect the weak and innocent from the strong and powerful. When a person takes a stand for someone weaker he has invested moral capital into action that is not in his own self interest. A person who can push a selfish agenda and participate in this kind of action is living in personal conflict. This is why the United Nations must work at much more foundational level to implement change. Only when leaders create structures for people to participate in selfless sacrifice can the freedoms of democracy be embraced.

So how do we create these structures? The failure of both the United States and The United Nations has been to rubber stamp the already complete structures of United States Government. It is in the process of creating these structures that selfish interest can be discarded for the intangible value of self sacrifice. Short cutting this process is destined to produce self interest on the part of special interests. Of Rudyard Kiplings six honest serving men perhaps the most appealing is; “When” can we cheat the process? When has the population embraced the process long enough that we can begin to short cut the sacrifices necessary to embrace democratic principals? This is the wrong question because this question is a testimony to the instant society that we currently live in. In the days of text messaging and fast food instant gratification there is little patience for slow solutions to problems.

This is not to say that the dynamics of change are absolute. Process is certainly a continuum. What are the stress points of conflict resolution? Peace can not be achieved with out participation in resolving conflict. When government invents structures to build this kind of participation it has backfired on them. The self interest of the people running the initiative can get in the way of the true democratic principals. When non-government organizations take these kinds of initiatives there have been more favorable results. When outside forces like the United States or United Nations support the weak to create non-government structures, then the process instills the kind of values that make the virtues of democracy consistent and permanent. So one stress point that has been successful to outside manipulation has been the creation of non-government organization by the weak or oppressed. An example could be the women in India who benefited from micro loans to start their own businesses. This has served to equalize two different populations that have been unequal. When women in India are empowered to become self sufficient, then they can exercise greater liberties of choice over traditional male dominance.

Another strategy that has been effective is to employ technology as a bridge of resolution. The process of exercising greater choice can come from a technological break thorough. For example a new optical breakthrough can give people with poor eyesight the ability to read. Technology could also be used to protect. For example a new burglar alarm system could be used to protect a senior citizen who could be exploited by a younger foe. In both of these cases technology has served people by bridging conflicts or increasing opportunity. When I was in China I attempted to purchase a new pair of reading glasses. Because my prescription is only 1.5 I could not find any. I have made the judgment that the Chinese believe that if my eyesight is that good, then I should not require glasses. This is not the case. I can assure you that I need glasses as I type this essay in the shadows of the Greater Philadelphia International Airport. My point is this. So far in China, technology has not been necessary for people like me to participate on an equal footing with others when it comes to reading. In the future when individuals like my self to choose to read or a labor need with reading ability increases, then a new optical technology can help to resolve the potential conflict.

Democracy is a word that means different things to different people. If this concept implies self determination, then it can be confounding to see that the values that some people selfishly cling to may be defined by some as an abuse of human rights. An example will help clarify my point. When I was in Panama I noticed that the government had given aid to indigenous people which did not produce its expected results. The indigenous chieftain used the aid for selfish purposes, like expensive automobiles and did not distribute the wealth in the way that they expected. The balance of liberty and equality with freedom is universally perceived as good as long as time and effort are applied to instill values. This effort will require indoctrination at young ages and the cycle may not be broken for two generations. So if we break apart the word liberty and equality there may be value in attempting to introduce change on more primitive levels. The foundation of liberty is choice and change. When change becomes too uncomfortable we look for equality to bring these forces back into equilibrium. Equality can also be broken down into primitive forces. Equality is a complex word, and for the purposes of this essay it can be defined as protection from disorder. It is this protection from change that makes the process of instilling democratic ideals such a resistant task. Everyone embraces choice but change happens unequally across diverse populations of people.

When sacrifice is introduced as in the sacrifices of the American Revolution, then the process of conflict can instill values more quickly. This is because in the midst of conflict the desire and need for protection from change is increased. Choice is more desirable when all of our basic needs are met and we look to meet needs that are higher up on Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy. These values are on a continuum. The greater the desire for change and choice the less there is need for protection and order. So sacrifice is a way to introduce equality into a country just as technology can introduce choice. Are sacrifice and technology the only processes that instill democratic values? These processes are located in Western thought. Eastern thought may have a different process to accomplish similar ends.

I have found emotion to expedite change in my recent visit to China. I visited Shirjazwung, a moderate sized city by Chinese standards of ten million people. Our students stayed with Chinese residents in their homes. They had the rich experience of cultural and language immersion. I was able to get to know some of the parents that were housing our students. I witnessed one Chinese man break down into tears to get his way. He was manipulating his emotion to keep the current order of home stay he had with one of our students. I could only imagine how he might also do this in a board room of a business meeting that he attended. His emotion was a kind of self inflicted sacrifice that showed people that he was openly suffering. Whereas in the west sacrifice was used when protection was increased here choice was expanded by implementing this strategy. One man actually cried when we decided that the home stay was not working out. These emotional outbursts were choreographed to reach selfish ends. In the US this type of outburst would be thought of as effeminate and he would lose the respect of other men. In China this strategy was used with quite opposite effects. The dynamic process of increasing choice by self sacrifice was similar to sacrifice that increased order and protection in the West.

Cooperation is a trait that I have found prevalent in the indigenous American tribes. School teachers on reservations have found that typical competitive strategies to motivate students can have reverse outcomes when implemented with indigenous school children. The desire to cooperate was much higher than to compete against one another. For example a student would choose a lower grade rather than willingly make a fellow student lose face. When a population would place a strong value on the land and its creatures it is natural for them to imitate what they observe. The vast majority of dogs, wolves and horses are known to follow more than they choose to lead. To be a leader it takes strong competitive skills. To be a follower it takes superior cooperation skills. Does it make sense when so much emphasis is placed upon fitting in to their surroundings that indigenous children would also choose to fit in?

The strategy to increase collaborative skills among the school children of the West is an example of a practical way to groom cooperative values in competitive culture. Perhaps if the Native American and Chinese students place a stronger emphasis on individual achievement strategy in a competitive environment this will serve them well. The global connectivity of the world has produced a by product of shared diversity that can lead to better strategies in conflict resolution and education. It is my hope to take this diversity dividend and use it to learn new skills of conflict resolution.

This is all wonderful rhetoric, but a practical example could be helpful here. I currently serve as the advisor for the Student Government organization at our high school. The Council is an advisory body. They can only make school policy decisions when the administration of the school empowers them. When our organization was created I was careful to not spoon feed existing structures for the students to duplicate. What they did was invent an organization that is very similar to our country’s government through trial and error learning. This process of learning allowed our students to embrace self sacrifice in creating structures to regulate speech, create initiatives, and establish rules by which they made decisions. Many student councils are just popularity contests and not representative of the student body’s opinion. Many times the election process is dominated by popular student body cliques. I teach at a cyber school. Most of our students do not interact socially. For this reason we have had fewer problems with our students creating initiatives dominated by a special interest group’s private agenda. The individual emphasis of our students learning platform has contributed to apathy and also made it harder for one or two students to dominate the organizations election process. This apathy however is also the most destructive determent to student directed collaborative learning.

A keystone of self directed learning is for students to feel as if they are making a difference by applying the lessons that they have learned. Apathy can make a student feel like their input will not contribute to anything or make a difference. A more hybrid model of learning could also include project based learning and seasons of face to face interaction. This face to face interaction can minimize the damage of apathy. The leadership center at our school has introduced, individual and group projects retreats, international and domestic trips, and conferences to increase the face to face interaction with students. When education becomes experiential then it is very difficult for students to feel that what they have learned does not matter. Experience also includes those from diverse backgrounds because they work out the solution to project problems in a specific way that reflects their past experience.

A peace conference could be one exercise that could directly examine the issue discussed in this essay. The preparation, planning and implementation of this event present a wonderful opportunity of applied learning along the way. Even one teacher and their students can make a difference on a subject like world peace. The alternative may be to have our students read a critical thinking book like “Making Peace” and be tested on comprehension as well as some problem based scenarios. Can education be directly connected to the problems that it addresses? Why not?


Pat Parris

My Political Spectrum

Psychology and History

Could the late Sigmund Freud be a modern Plato? He sat in his arm chair and spun theories that have made a huge impact on modern thinking in history. Possibly his most important contribution was the revival of the evil nature of man. This concept is rooted in the drives that motivate men. These biological drives are physical. This science of Biology quickly runs out of explanation when dissecting the thinking brain. Freud was able to use simple facts about the human body and spin scientific theory to explain the brains operation. These drives were both sexual and survival oriented. Before Freud the evil nature of man was out of favor. His theories helped the modern church to embrace reason as Augustine and Aquinas did and modern sciences to take a hard look at the presuppositions that link facts to theory which Newton and Einstein were all too aware of. Freud is more like Plato than Aristotle because he did not use the scientific method to form his theory. Many neo-Freudians like Aristotle would differ with their teacher and develop their theories from empirical evidence of deductive reasoning.

The rediscovery of man’s evil nature with faith filled writers and artist with despair. The writings of Kierkegaard, Camus, and Sartre reflect this melancholy. The neo Freudians made perhaps the largest contributions. They provided explanation and structured framework to his theory to make them constructive and not destructive. Abraham Maslow pioneered much of the work or the early neo-freudians. His hierarchy of needs will be something you will hear of throughout your educational career. It starts with survival needs. Men will be motivated to action to survive and perpetuate their species. Once survival needs are met like food and shelter then a person may pursue a higher stage. For example if someone is hungry then he will not care too much about recognition until the need to eat is satiated. At the top of the pyramid of needs lies self actualization. It is here that a person encounters a match with their higher needs and how they then decide to live. Francis Fukihama's interpretation of Hegel placed recognition at the base of this higher need.



Erick Erickson was another neo Freudian. Our needs may keep us alive but our wants give us identity, purpose and meaning. Desires can encourage great achievement or define our prejudice. Erikson believed that there are eight conflicts that emanated from these desires. These desires are not the actual needs and become more important to us because our actual needs for food, elimination, mobility, learning, purpose, belonging, and meaning are met more easily in affluence because primitive expressions of these needs can be bought. The idea of combining virtue and conflict is an interesting dialectic. You start with the biological drive which comes into contact with Virtue and thus forms conflict. Virtue is a process that is also formed by dialectal conflicts of opposing character traits. When we place virtue against conflict we then can give new wisdom to problems in human nature. Hegel’s dialectic reasoning works well within Erickson’s system.


1. Stage One Oral-Sensory: from birth to one, trust vs. mistrust, feeding;
2. Stage Two Muscular-Anal: 1-3 years, autonomy vs. doubt, toilet training;
3. Stage Three Locomotor: 3-6 years, initiative vs.inadequacy, independence;
4. Stage Four Latency: 6-12 years, industry vs. inferiority, school;
5. Stage Five Adolescence: 12-18 years, identity vs. confusion, peer relationships;
6. Stage Six Young Adulthood: 18-40 years, intimacy vs. isolation, love relationships;
7. Stage Seven Middle Adulthood: 40-65 years, generativity vs. stagnation, parenting;
8. Stage Eight Maturities: 65 years until death, integrity vs. despair, and acceptance of one's life.
The virtues, in the order of the stages in which they may be acquired, are hope, will, purpose, confidence, fidelity, love, care, and wisdom.
From… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Erikson





Carl Jung is the most mystical and metaphysical of the neo-Freudians. I have used his concept of archetypes and archetypal throughout these posts. It is probably the mysticism in his theories that attract me. Jung also uses dialectic reason to arrive at his motivating symbols and themes. Opposing conflicts result in a sacrificial hero that we long to emulate. The themes in particular can be tied to specific folktales. The Prince of Lazar and William Tell are two examples of these archetypal themes. Neither tale is based in truth but people continue to build armies, institutions and culture around these themes.


Psychology has rescued the concept of man’s evil nature from history.
Psychology is the study of man’s mental processes and behavior. When we consider that the conflicts and virtues of man are made up of his mental processes and behavior it is understandable why such a scientific endeavor could lead to such monumental results. In ancient times mythical beliefs were linked to scientific inquiry. In the feudal system the church and nobles had common ground on the subject of property and education. When the Catholic Church opened the door to classical thinking by injecting the scientific method into belief it resulted in a polarization of the physical and metaphysical realm. Finally Psychology has attempted to re-link education to belief by producing the virtues necessary to alleviate conflicts brought on by progress and technology. The marriage of the spirituality with science represents our attempt to take this development to a new level. Perhaps dialectic of virtue and conflict has been the reason behind archetypal folk lore that has drawn us together around common themes for centuries.



The Language of Virtue attempts to enlarge the minimalist thinking generated by Freud’s early theories. Motivation tied to biological need is necessarily individualistic and selfish. Motivation that is tied to needs of belonging is more virtuous. When we recognize the conflicts generated by biological and social needs we can institute virtues to create bridges of common ground and reconciliation. A practical example could be the folk dance from Michael A. Sell’s book, “A Bridge Betrayed”. The song and dance “sevdalinka” is an archetypal bridge in the Balkans that can reconcile differences between the Orthodox and Muslim faiths. Perhaps if we are on the alert to find and introduce more of these bridges then we can initiate the virtue of peace. I am planning a trip in 2008 to Damascus to initiate the archetypal bridge of a “Pilgrimage for Peace”. Since the Hajj is the 5th pillar of Islam and Mohammed was a merchant it is my hope that these two paths of common ground in the East and West could create a bridge of peace in turbulent times. How this will all play out will require your help will you join me?

“Immmigration, Similarity and Diversity”

"Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

The desire to be similar


When my daughters were young my second daughter Noele used to delight in finding things that looked similar. She like matching out-fits. When she saw that we were wearing similar colors she would say with delight, “We are twins”. Have you ever experienced this kind of simple delight?If you have then you will understand this next post better. The desire for homogeneity, which means wanting thing to appear and be the same, is strong throughout history. Although most societies value homogeneity, Tribes’ countries and peoples with geographic features that isolate them tend to hold onto homogeneity longer. For example Japan maintained feudalism much longer than Europe. They did not develop a constitutional form of Government until Douglas Mac Arthur forced then to. When you look at the map below you can see the trends of immigration and emigration in the world.

The United States is one country that has many immigrants every year. Generally the more affluent a country is the better they are able to embrace diversity. This is because technology can ease the conflict of change by creating safe harbors of protection for those that would resist change. The blue portions on the map need to have structures in place to facilitate change in their institutions. The yellow countries are very stable and can continue to use existing institutional structures.



Homogeneity has its benefits. When everyone has the similar desires, then value systems change becomes undesirable. An example of this could be sports entertainment in the countries of Japan and the US. In Japanese baseball a team member is praised for his ability to be a team player. In the US the praise goes to the individual. Individualism lends itself to diversity and homogeneity lends itself to team dynamics. Because of this dynamic we could say that the United States values purpose over belonging as a need and chooses Identity over intimacy or even Generatively.


Diversity demands that change take place in political, educational, economic and social institutions. These built in conflicts and its resulting pressures can slow down progress in fields like politics and religion and speed up innovative progress in fields like Science and technology. Old structures that are meant to facilitate progress become road blocks when they conflict with the existing structures they were designed to help when immigrant’s desires and needs are hindered. Sometimes these road blocks become acceptable in certain areas of the country. These are the roots of prejudice that can also be viewed as a reactionary desire for what is traditional.


The Immigration and integration of Middle Eastern people into the Western world has set up the need for unprecedented institutional change. The Middle East is a diverse cross section of many tribes and three sects of Islam. In The United States the stereotype in New Jersey of the Middle Eastern Gas station attendant is good example of an immigrant taking a less desirable job. This is genuine service that the immigrant has provided to the people of New Jersey. Unfortunately from the previous post it is evident that the stereotype breaks down into a form of racial profiling for Middle Eastern Airline passengers.


Immigration forces us to nurture the values of tolerance and institutional change. Institutions are not easily changed but, the messy immigrants with their foreign and dissimilar ways can force change. One current change occurring in education is the cyber schooling movement in the US. In this case the immigrants were families of the religious right who chose to educate their own children. When this was just home schooling it did not drastically affect the public school system. Now that is funded by government money there are changes taking place that border on a revolution of American Education. I am very much a part of this revolution. My wife and I home schooled our 5 children and we are now teaching in a cyber school funded by public monies. In many ways we feel like immigrants in a foreign land. It is the author’s opinions that embracing change in institutions that are brought on by technology and choice can create values that better reflect our ideals in a world filled with change. Perhaps this is the golden door of opportunity for people outside of traditional institutions clamoring to get in.

Terrorism, Virtue and peace

You are invited to the Hajj for Peace.


Probably the most significant problem in the west today is the spread of terrorism. The most common source of these attacks in recent years is from extremist elements in Middle Eastern countries. My wife spent her early high school experience in Beirut, Lebanon just before the six day war. I have probed her for information about Middle Eastern values. From a previous post we have learned that obedience was the culminating virtue of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Sultans were able to out mullah the mullahs in their development of a heavily regulated, orderly, and reverent society. In this post I will attempt to apply the principles discussed in the civil war and diversity post to understand and reverse the process of terrorism in the west.

The stages of conflict that lead to genocide are here…

1. The prejudicial stage
2. A predatory stage
3. Revolution
4. Civil war
5. Genocide

If we identify the parties in the current conflict in Iraq, then we may be able to place them in their relevant stage. If we can do this, then we may find compromise in the common ground of virtue. In the prejudicial stage we have the United States and countries in Western Europe which we will call “The West”. There are also Islamic dominated countries in the Middle East like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, and Syria who also hold onto prejudice equally divisive. Many people in the United States and some western European countries have adopted the prejudice of Orientalism. In this mythology the west marginalizes the strengths of Middle Eastern countries by concentrating on their weaknesses. Specifically a trait of uncompromising ruthlessness and intolerance toward outsiders can be a stereotype of these societies. Certainly the west’s knowledge of Middle Eastern countries many times amounts to a cursory reading or watching of “Ali Babba and his 40 thieves”. Michael Sells in his book, “A Bridge Betrayed” has coined the term “Balkanism” to label the prejudice of The West toward the plight of Bosnia. Perhaps the best summary of balkanism is a quote from US Secretary of State, Lawrence Eagleberger in July 1995, “They have been killing each other with a certain amount of glee in that part of the world for some time now.” Both the Clinton and Bush Administration have struggled with supporting Bosnia because of these stereotypes. So the prejudice of “The West” could be defined as an expansion of Balkanism to include countries like Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Iraq. The prejudices of Orientalism and Balkanism have contributed much to the distrust by Middle Easterners of The West.

The people in these Middle Eastern countries have reciprocated with prejudices of their own. They have called The West “Imperialists” because they wish to manipulate the world’s oil reserves. Well intentioned evangelical Christians who wish to convert Islamic people are seen as “Jihadish” in their motivations. This second prejudice is not easily spotted by people in the west and may represent a “blind spot” in Western tolerance.

These prejudices have become irreconcilable which has led to predatory stages in both the East and the West. In the East we are probably most familiar with Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden. This group has made significant progress toward the revolutionary sage. There is a much larger group which they can recruit from that embraces the radical teachings of “Jihad” that include groups like the Mujahideen. In Iraq itself some have questioned that they have already reached a state of civil war. As long the prejudicial ideologies are confined to Iraq there should be no logical jump to a revolutionary stage. But, the saber rattling in Iran has hastened progress toward an Islamic revolution.

The West has entered into its predatory practices with the US military. In 1990 the US entered into the Gulf War known as Operation Desert Storm. In 2001 a predatory attack upon the World Trade Center and the Pentagon killed 2,973 people in the US. This was followed by the Second Gulf war in 2003 which resulted in the present occupation of Iraq. So far from a revolutionary perspective the West’s anti-Islamic ideology has been interpreted as Zionism and racial profiling. For this reason the support of modern Israel by the “The West” is perceived by the east as a predatory practice.

So the stage is set for terrorism to develop into civil war and even genocide on both sides. It is not beyond “The West” to employ genocidal strategies in war circumstances such as the My Lai massacre. The eastern powers being the weaker of the two may use this strategy earlier because it does not require many resources and it is infinitely effective.

As we saw in the last post the virtue of diversity can create a middle ground where both parties can embrace each others virtues and celebrate them. In the case of our eastern friends the west could embrace obedience in the practices of devotion, giving alms, fasting, and even pilgrimage. The east may reciprocate by embracing the equality and liberty of their freedom. The language of virtue is a process of resolution between two different but not irreconcilable values. The means are never justified by the end when the process of reconciling virtues becomes the end itself. Since the adoption of virtue is the process, then peace becomes the end as well as the means. Perhaps an international pilgrimage to the Holy Land could be one step toward the middle ground of process to reconcile these virtues.