Boethius

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About Boethius

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  1. How are you experiencing the shift from orange to green in the USA? As an example. I think of the debate over mask use (I don't want to use a mask as I don't feel personally threatened by covid VS I should use a mask to protect those around me). In my own life I feel increasingly "guilty" if I know that some action (like air travel) increases overall carbon pollution, whereas I feel good if I know I am buying a product (like silicon straws) that reduces pollution. So in what ways do you find yourself (perhaps against your individual egoistic self!) moving more towards the overall good of humanity?
  2. I am hopeful there is a sensible middle ground to be found on this issue. Perhaps it will help to bring this from the abstract into the concrete.... So to what degree do people support the following actions that a school might take: in elementary school, allowing a gay/lesbian teacher to talk openly about their spouse in elementary school, reading a book about a child that has two mommies or two daddies in elementary school, inviting a drag queen to read a book to children in elementary school, providing a lesson on gender identity and inviting students to share their pronouns in middle school, teaching about anti-bullying policies (including ones protecting sexual and gender minorities) in middle school, making books available to students on queer people, possibly containing profanity and mild descriptions of sex in middle school, inviting students to participate in school-led pride events in high school, teaching about gay sex and HIV prevention in sex ed in high school, teaching about the civil rights movement for the LGBTQ community
  3. That's interesting, and in line with my experiences. Thanks!
  4. Has anyone tried introducing Spiral Dynamics to family and friends? I've tried to explain the evolution of Orange to Green to certain people in my life, as a way of making sense of what's happening politically in contemporary society. I find that some people find it super intuitive and most others don't see what the purpose could be of such a "theory". I'm curious to know about other peoples experiences in this regard!
  5. If the youth believe the problems of the world are overwhelming and there's no hope of them being solved, then yeah I would expect to see a lot of mental illness develop as a result. There are also millennials in their 30s who are declining to form families because they think this isn't a good world to bring children into.
  6. Considering that only 52% of gen Z are non-Hispanic white and the rest are youth of color, might it have something to do with the fact that the US has yet to dismantle its system of white supremacy? A lot of young people are stressed out by things like climate change, racial injustice, and political instability. If we wish to support the young (as compared to bashing them for the sake of propping ourselves up), then maybe we should do something to fix the environment in which they are growing up.
  7. I will answer the questions one by one, from an American perspective since that's what I know best: Decades worth of policy decisions that benefited the Boomer generation most especially, and had little regard for future generations. It's already been escalating, for the past few years, with all of the political instability we've been experiencing. No, it's not, but the Boomers won't be around forever either....
  8. I would guess that contemplative spirituality is the future (and the present, given the popularity of meditation and mindfulness). But to be more than shallow, contemplative spirituality requires a structured container. That's why the traditional religions are not going anywhere; they are simply being upgraded.
  9. My family is similar, and I have found the theory of Karpman's drama triangle to be very helpful. It is a tool for avoiding the mind games, though it's not a substitute for going low-contact or no-contact with toxic people. I also find "grey rocking" to be a useful technique.
  10. I agree that Biden seems to have learned this lesson, but I also think he has much less leverage to work with than Obama did. I can't help but see Biden as a rather weak president (and I say this having supported him in the primary and the general elections). A lot of time remains for the Biden administration to turn things around, however, so I try to remain hopeful. I agree that one of the scariest parts of climate change, which is grossly under-reported, is the effect of forced climate migration on global stability. This is the reason why the pentagon regards climate change as the number 1 threat to American national security. Of course a lot of conservatives probably think we just need to take an "American first" attitude, but that doesn't seem to me to be reasonable (to say nothing of lacking in compassion!) Yeah, I probably agree with this. As all piecemeal efforts fail in the coming years to conclusively "solve" the problem, we will have to increasingly ramp up our efforts and act cooperatively with other countries to face the challenge. I don't see this as possible any time soon -- there are simply too many in-denial Boomers for us to muster the energy needed. I believe that a lot hinges on what China understands as being in its own best interests. It would be one thing if the world could be divided into developed Western nations that have created the problem of climate change versus exploited 3rd world countries (Vanuatu, anyone?), where the primary issue involved is one of compassion. But China is rising as a great power, and while it's clear that China doesn't give a f*** about anyone but China (just look at the Nazi like treatment of the Uighur population) it's not clear how much of a threat climate change is to Chinese interests. So I'm sceptical of our ability as Americans to simply shift resources away from defense and towards fighting climate change. Eh, I didn't mean to be quite so snarky in my previous post. I myself kind of like the idea of living in harmony with the natural world. But I suspect a massively technocratic approach will need to come first before the more romantic ones can be given a try.
  11. I think he was operating at Yellow as well as he could given the constraints of the (predominantly Orange) system in which he was enmeshed. Personally, I don't have much patience for the sort of "Bernie bro" critique that any politician not actively working to implement the socialist revolution is a shill for corporate America, and I can't help but feel that that bias animates much of the leftwing criticism against Obama. That's definitely true! Obama said he kept waiting for the Republican "fever" to break, and yet it continues to go on 6 years since Obama left office. I was really hopeful, back in 2011, that the Simpson-Bowles commission would propose a grand bargain on federal spending that would actually garner bipartisan support, but the Republicans refused to grant Obama any sort of a win. Obamacare. Along with stimulus for addressing the 2008 financial crisis and reform of Wall Street. Was it the socialist revolution? Nope. Did it go far enough? Probably not. But as you yourself say, he was stymied at every turn, and so he probably did the best he could given the conditions he was handed. I think there is the centrism that mindlessly tries to split things down the middle, and then there's the centrism that tries to systematically understand the issues involved and reach a balance of interests between the various stakeholders. The first form of centrism is probably more Orange in nature, at this point in time, whereas the second form of centrism is fundamentally more likely to be Yellow. I argue that Obama's centrism was more of the second type -- not least of all because Obama always seemed principled, to a fault even. Even though climate hysteria on the left is fashionable these days, I don't think scientists are seriously saying that "apocalypse" is what we face, and I'm personally sceptical about whether this is the most helpful sort of language in the world. I do agree policy options for addressing the challenge of climate change are narrowing ever more as we continue to drag our feet in acting, but I think middle of the road options like "cap and trade" and certainly nuclear energy remain our best options. I mean, what else would you propose? That we deconstruct the American highway system, revert to local autonomous communities, and go out in our backyards and start worshipping the trees again?
  12. Who said the purpose of affirmative action, in the first place, is to improve the "condition" of the Black community? I'm not convinced that companies, politicians, or academics are thinking that affirmative action is going to "equalize" the Black community with the dominant white community, let's say. Most of the decision-makers involved are white people, after all, who probably don't have a refined understanding of the needs of the Black community. Instead, it seems to me that most institutions are primarily interested in increasing the representation of people who have been historically marginalized and oppressed, not least of all because it makes these institutions look progressive, equitable, and inclusive. Following this goal, it makes sense that institutions would elevate Black women into positions of power over Black men since Black women suffer a larger number of intersecting oppressions. I will say that it would be very interesting to see whether Black Americans generally feel that affirmative action has helped their community. It could be that your criticism (as I am reading it) of affirmative action is more widely shared.
  13. Well, I suppose narratives do serve some purpose, even if they are never fully true. I'm just not sure what to do with this fact. To bring it to the personal level, don't most people, in their own personal lives, get tired of telling stories about themselves? Doesn't it get tiring always painting oneself as a victim of every interaction, or the hero, the suffering saint, the perpetually misunderstood, etc? Can a person really live their entire life consistently exagerrating and misrepresenting the interactions they have with others? That is what strikes me as a rather boring way to live.
  14. I'm so bored of the various narratives and counter-narratives that seem to form the basis of contemporary politics and societal discussions. I'm tired of ideologues sucking up 90% of the oxygen in the room and going to "war" with opposing ideologues, either on the internet, on cable "news" channels, or in person. It all feels so tedious, and unlikely to change anytime soon. Ken Wilber wrote in his 2017 book (Trump and a Post-Truth Society) that 10% of the US population will be at Yellow by the end of this decade, presumably out of necessity to solve these disputes that ideologues are incapable of working out themselves. But being a centrist in today's society feels extremely risky. I'm thinking of Barack Obama (the only Yellow politician in today's society?) saying in late 2020 that slogans like "Defund the Police" were more harmful than helpful. The progressive activists painted him as out of touch at best, and complicit in upholding white supremacy at worst. And yet he was right! The movement to defund the police has failed in its goal (or whatever you want to call it, since the activists always hedged on exactly what it was they wanted) of defunding the police, and instead cities are awkwardly working out compromise piecemeal reforms of their police departments. So if narratives just lead to unnecessary divisiveness, and conscious dialogue feels a bit pie-in-the-sky at this moment, what is the way forward? https://unherd.com/2021/12/how-defund-the-police-backfired/
  15. I think this is the last thing Orthodox priests would recommend anyone do -- they seem pretty protective of this form of prayer and fearful of the consequences of people taking it up willy nilly. As far as your comments on God, don't you think he wants people to come into the light instead of just rotting in the dark in the basement?