Problems of the Heart
The problem of civilization can be solved only by the heart - by the appearance of a new type of man. By an inner vision and a pure will.
The Man Without Qualities – Robert Musil.
A friend remarked that while he enjoyed my musings, he felt they were more directed toward societal issues and had less application to individuals. This meant they had less impact on him than if he could see specific applications to his own life.
That comment was made several months ago, and it has been percolating in whatever part of my brain these thoughts reside as they foment (ferment?) It is the human condition for one to pay less attention to ideas that do not have a direct personal application.
Of course, to direct my commentary to individual actions, is to risk offending those who with considerable justification would say – who are you to tell me what to do, or how to think, or how to vote?
Anyone who has read more than a couple of my essays knows I believe we have some serious problems in our society – here in Canada, and in our Western civilization generally. The more history I read the more I realize the problems I see are neither new nor unique to us.
One of the critical issues we face as Canadians is our smugness. We see ourselves as so much more fortunate than others. An air of moral and intellectual superiority with respect to our American neighbours exhibits this smugness. , With respect to poorer and less fortunate nations we pay lip service to how much we have to offer by way of assistance and expertise, but rarely do we walk the talk.
Our smugness allows us to ignore the systemic rot that has crept into our political structures and the historical foundations of our society. We stand idly by as proof upon proof is presented to us that our senior government is guilty not only of permitting but perpetuating cronyism, self-dealing, dishonesty and craven disregard for the exercise of prudence and fiscal responsibility. These are matters of the heart. There is something missing in our hearts if we refuse to take action to hold accountable those who have breached the trust we have vested them.
I have met no one who is able or willing to defend the practices and actions that formed the subject matter of the Gomery inquiry. The Dingwall affair is but another example of the lunacy into which we have descended. We are asked to believe that a political appointee who resigns in response to an investigation into $750,000 of questionable expenses should be entitled to a severance package to avoid a lawsuit. How long must the list of malefactors become before we are prepared to take individual action through the exercise of our free vote, and hold our politicians accountable?
It is as though we are caught up in a massive crowd and despite our intentions to change direction, we continue to be swept along, even though we may object to the direction in which the masses take us. Elias Canetti wrote about this phenomenon in his novel Auto-da-Fe and in his book Crowds and Power, the culmination of his life long study of the behaviour of the masses. “They act but know not what they do. They have their customs, but know not how they came by them. They wander their whole life long, but still cannot find their way; even so are the people of the masses,” wrote Canetti.
Put aside all political ideology or antipathy toward one political party or another and ask yourself – what does it say about my heart if I am willing to turn a blind eye to corruption? How can I be smug about the freedom we all enjoy as Canadians if I allow this freedom to be enjoyed by dissembling politicians? What will it take for me to see that freedom without prudence, or duty or responsibility and the other limits to freedom becomes but a parody of itself.
Consider for a moment the voters in Vancouver Centre in the next federal election. It appears they will have a choice between the incumbent Hedy Fry and the renewed and rehabilitated Svend Robinson. In Fry they have the admitted liar who invented a cross burning incident in Prince George to further her political interests, and in Robinson an admitted felon. Robinson is a parody of a parody. Like the child who killed his parents then threw himself on the mercy of the court citing his plight as an orphan; Robinson escaped a criminal record by pleading a mental condition and the fact he had suffered enough by losing his job as a member of parliament and suffering public humiliation. Now he comes forward and says his mental state is perfectly fine and he should get his job back.
I conclude with sadness not bitterness, that those who vote for Hedy Fry or Svend Robinson are neither insane nor foolish nor irrelevant. They are merely acting in accordance with the light which illumines their own inner vision.
If I am right, it would take countless individual acts of pure will and restored inner vision to begin to make even the slightest adjustment to the course charted by this massive crowd that is our nation, as it travels through time.
Much more than that, it would take a massive outpouring of grace. But since all human nature resists grace because grace changes us and the change is painful, it may be a long time yet before the crowd changes course.
The Man Without Qualities – Robert Musil.
A friend remarked that while he enjoyed my musings, he felt they were more directed toward societal issues and had less application to individuals. This meant they had less impact on him than if he could see specific applications to his own life.
That comment was made several months ago, and it has been percolating in whatever part of my brain these thoughts reside as they foment (ferment?) It is the human condition for one to pay less attention to ideas that do not have a direct personal application.
Of course, to direct my commentary to individual actions, is to risk offending those who with considerable justification would say – who are you to tell me what to do, or how to think, or how to vote?
Anyone who has read more than a couple of my essays knows I believe we have some serious problems in our society – here in Canada, and in our Western civilization generally. The more history I read the more I realize the problems I see are neither new nor unique to us.
One of the critical issues we face as Canadians is our smugness. We see ourselves as so much more fortunate than others. An air of moral and intellectual superiority with respect to our American neighbours exhibits this smugness. , With respect to poorer and less fortunate nations we pay lip service to how much we have to offer by way of assistance and expertise, but rarely do we walk the talk.
Our smugness allows us to ignore the systemic rot that has crept into our political structures and the historical foundations of our society. We stand idly by as proof upon proof is presented to us that our senior government is guilty not only of permitting but perpetuating cronyism, self-dealing, dishonesty and craven disregard for the exercise of prudence and fiscal responsibility. These are matters of the heart. There is something missing in our hearts if we refuse to take action to hold accountable those who have breached the trust we have vested them.
I have met no one who is able or willing to defend the practices and actions that formed the subject matter of the Gomery inquiry. The Dingwall affair is but another example of the lunacy into which we have descended. We are asked to believe that a political appointee who resigns in response to an investigation into $750,000 of questionable expenses should be entitled to a severance package to avoid a lawsuit. How long must the list of malefactors become before we are prepared to take individual action through the exercise of our free vote, and hold our politicians accountable?
It is as though we are caught up in a massive crowd and despite our intentions to change direction, we continue to be swept along, even though we may object to the direction in which the masses take us. Elias Canetti wrote about this phenomenon in his novel Auto-da-Fe and in his book Crowds and Power, the culmination of his life long study of the behaviour of the masses. “They act but know not what they do. They have their customs, but know not how they came by them. They wander their whole life long, but still cannot find their way; even so are the people of the masses,” wrote Canetti.
Put aside all political ideology or antipathy toward one political party or another and ask yourself – what does it say about my heart if I am willing to turn a blind eye to corruption? How can I be smug about the freedom we all enjoy as Canadians if I allow this freedom to be enjoyed by dissembling politicians? What will it take for me to see that freedom without prudence, or duty or responsibility and the other limits to freedom becomes but a parody of itself.
Consider for a moment the voters in Vancouver Centre in the next federal election. It appears they will have a choice between the incumbent Hedy Fry and the renewed and rehabilitated Svend Robinson. In Fry they have the admitted liar who invented a cross burning incident in Prince George to further her political interests, and in Robinson an admitted felon. Robinson is a parody of a parody. Like the child who killed his parents then threw himself on the mercy of the court citing his plight as an orphan; Robinson escaped a criminal record by pleading a mental condition and the fact he had suffered enough by losing his job as a member of parliament and suffering public humiliation. Now he comes forward and says his mental state is perfectly fine and he should get his job back.
I conclude with sadness not bitterness, that those who vote for Hedy Fry or Svend Robinson are neither insane nor foolish nor irrelevant. They are merely acting in accordance with the light which illumines their own inner vision.
If I am right, it would take countless individual acts of pure will and restored inner vision to begin to make even the slightest adjustment to the course charted by this massive crowd that is our nation, as it travels through time.
Much more than that, it would take a massive outpouring of grace. But since all human nature resists grace because grace changes us and the change is painful, it may be a long time yet before the crowd changes course.
posted by Ben Buan | 1:55 a.m.
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