We Are on Trial In the Court of Humanity

Reading various posts, social media, news outlets and opinions I wonder what to believe, what to read and what to ignore.

I could decide to ignore everything published that does not come from one specific news outlets.

Or not believe anything that has no scientific proof.

Or not read anything that does not come from the Christian Bible.

Nothing that comes from sources that I don't know personally like my family, friends and neighbours.

Or anything that comes out of the mouths of politicians who are in parties I do not support.

I could be protecting my own ego, my own sense of right and wrong, my own sense of intelligence.

But in all this wrestling all I am doing is protecting my self, not the society I live in. 

How much does it matter what I believe? As compared to what I do to make others feel at home. How do I keep community functioning to the best of its ability.

Beauty is not always pretty

There are two dominating narratives that want to explain the development of human history.

One is the narrative of empires, how they have conquered, maintained their control, and how the masses benefitted or suffered from their rule, and how their power came to an end.


The other is the history by literature, science, art and freedom of expression -  which amount to the quality of life as it is lived by the common people.

This second narrative reveals that whenever the rule is centralized and the conversation is about making a society "great again", the quality of life for most of the people goes down. The ruling party uses violence, cruelty and fear to dominate the masses while claiming this is what the masses want. However the voice of the commoner has been taken away and replaced with an ideology that demands obedience, and the "greatness" is a  rehearsed display of power over the masses - like marching armies, missiles displayed on wheels, displacement of aboriginal peoples, refugees, concentration camps and wars.

"Greatness" demands sacrifice and the health and happiness of people is seen as unaffordable. Bit by bit, day by day, the masses lose their freedom to a cause, and the chaos of democracy is sacked for the sake of fascism. Life is a resource to be used not celebrated, not lived for pleasure. Resources are taken from the masses and warehoused in the castle of the ruler.

Any political policy can be identified as moving towards centralized power by taking power away from people, or governing from the roots up, moving towards shared power and responsibility.

The less engaged the masses are the easier it is to lie about where the power is coming from.  When people vote for authoritarian rule we need to look more closely at why or how oppression can be internalized as self-interest.

When people get involved in democracy by engaging with the problems and organizing change, it's not as easy to misinform the public. For example when people say they are against social services such as birth control, sex education, health plans, libraries, anti-poverty, affordable housing and community development - you will find massively funded campaigns from a ruling elite.

No matter how well meaning we are as members of a diverse society we are addicted to the promise of solutions, that mostly involve a power-over initiative taking power away from the people and giving it to an "authority".  In that way we lose some of our agency, our compassion and the hope for progress.

Beauty is that unwelcome moment when I realize that I was wrong,  the truth is available if I look for it, and my friends don't abandon me.  It's okay to have opinions as long as I am not more attached to them than the truth. Beauty shines through those moments when I see that none are right all the time and it's more than okay.

Reflections on Beauty

Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1857, USA

Definitions of beauty have changed from the time of the Roman and Greek gods and goddesses, to the worship of a single male God, to today where we are confronted daily with images of feminine and masculine ideals urging us to improve ourselves.

However there are notions of beauty from deeper reflections by poets and philosophers.

Confucius says  “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”  This implies that beauty is larger, more inclusive than the outline of a woman’s shape, that it is everywhere, in everything, and it is up to us to see it.  So if I call someone “ugly” does it reveal more about myself than the one I observe?

If Confucius were alive today, and could see the messages that come from the beauty industry what would he think?  

I remember many years ago, working in an office where a young man repeatedly put down women.  “She’s got a face like a dog” he would say as though a woman’s worth was contained in the shape of her eyes, nose and mouth.  Every time he opened his mouth I felt my skin shrink. I was affected by his comments even though I wasn’t responsible for his opinions.  Why should I care?

I think the answer to that, is, we are raised to be part of something larger than ourselves and sensitive to the messages that tell us how we should be.  We absorb generalizations about men and women on several levels, not just the rational.

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross says “People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light within.” When we receive so much negative feedback how can the light endure?

What I look for in other people is that light within.  It has different colours and shapes but its beauty resonates, affirms and inspires. If I can’t see it in others then do I have the responsibility to find it and draw it out? To see the beauty everywhere and in everyone as Confucius says?

For Anne Roiphe “A woman whose smile is open and whose expression is glad has a kind of beauty no matter what she wears”  I have met men and children and dogs and cats whose expression is glad and who look beautiful to me. If I say that I could be viewed suspiciously by spouses, parents and pet owners.  Because of the commodification  and exploitation of beauty, I cannot say it without offending someone.

How can we celebrate beauty then, in this climate?

“Love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art.” says Ralph Waldo Emerson.  In our art of creating community, there is abundant beauty. We can find it in music, ideas, friendships. 

Identifying the most beautiful things in my life I recall moments with friends and family – their art, their pain, their labour, their concerns and their love. Truth and beauty is embedded within the human family.

Kahlil Gibran affirms this. We find beauty “in a loving heart” and truth “in a labourer’s hand”  Here the most prized elements of civilization are returned  back to a reverence for life.

Dante Alighieri claims that “Beauty awakens the soul to act” The soul, for me, includes all our relations, back to the first living cell that inhabited this planet. Now I understand what Confucius means when he says beauty is everywhere. All I have to do is see it.