Monday, October 20, 2014

Common Just Ain't Common Anymore

A number of years ago, when three of us crossed the angry North Atlantic from Toronto to Gibraltar in a 37 foot boat, I learned some important lessons. Time was merely a measuring tool that was important for navigation and watch keeping. It had nothing to do with when we ate, slept, or sat silent alone in the cold cockpit in the darkest night. I learned the Atlantic Ocean can be kind and caressing one moment, and an angry monster shortly after. I discovered dolphins who, like excited children, came several times a day to lift our spirits or leave us a trail of bioluminescence in our wake. But most of all I learned that when all else is considered, the survival instinct resides at the base of our very existence.

I have always been an advocate that each one of us is the author of our own lives. That is why we are responsible for who we are. Our choices are what make us the person we have become. But living on the Atlantic Ocean also taught me that as individuals we cannot fulfill ourselves apart from the fact that we co-exist with others in the world. My ultimate survival, on that dangerous crossing,  depended not only on my own resourcefulness, but also on the two other crew members. In  that small group our own individual survival was contingent upon all three crew members working in unison for the common good - not always as simple as it sounds!

Collaboration is the basis of all organizations. If a couple cannot find common ground as they grow together, then there is little hope for deep happiness. If families cannot encourage the development of each individual within the context of that group, it will not be a happy family. If organizations and governments are only interested in themselves, the good of the members and citizens is limited and even abused.

Working together for the common good has a long history. In the 14th.Century, for example the monastery belonged to the community, not to the individual monks. The idea of a 19th.Century German revolutionary Karl Marx, gave birth to the Russian revolution believing that the common good was best served if the state owned the resources and then divided those resources equally and according to individual needs. But individual corruption and greed crept into the system and a new elite was born. Today the Chinese recognize that avarice and cupidity led to the final collapse of the Communist rule in the former Soviet Union. They are now attempting to deal with those party members who believe only in their own self-interest - rules, money, and power. The students in Hong Kong might have some advice for those leaders!

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I have always favoured dialogue over debate. At the end of a debate there is a winner and a loser! At the end of a dialogue both parties might come away satisfied. Because we have lost the art of dialogue we are confronted with violence, infantile responses, pig headed opinions, lack of respect and the greed that has seized so many in todays world. What ever happened to working for the common good?

TIME (April 2013) put it this way,"Our politics have become so polarized and increasingly volatile; and our political institutions have lost the public trust. Few Americans today would suggest their political leaders are serving the common good."

I guess it is the nature of growing old that endows us octogenarians with the freedom to be critical of the times. But surely, it is more than that! You don't have to sail across the North Atlantic to learn that cooperation really works!

I'm with Michael Moor who once wrote - "No decision should ever be made without asking the question, is this for the common good?"

And that's Dick's View of the World this Week

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