I know when it is time to stop drawing when I can no longer decide which color belongs where. That is an indication that my logical mind is attempting to impose its will on my artistic inclination. It means I am beginning to think that certain colors "belong" together while others do not. I am letting myself, either consciously or unconsciously, get sucked into the fallacy of the color wheel, you know that pie-shaped wheel of primary colors that shows the relationship among colors, which go together and which don’t. I call it the fallacy of the color wheel not so much because it is wrong, but because it is limited. It implies artificial boundaries, aesthetic divisions. I much prefer the implications of a sunset.
Next time you see a really fine sunset, one that just takes your breath away, stop and stare a bit. Think about the colors. Are any of them “wrong?” Do any of them “not go together?” See what I mean? The sunset tells us that all colors go together. All colors can be woven together in a pleasing harmonious construction. The same is true of people.
Ah, caught you a little by surprise there, right? But a "sunset perception of humanity" is really what lies at the center of our old friend Distilled Harmony - most particularly in the notion mandated by the first and primary tenet - foster harmony. These days I suppose I am drawn to a need to take a closer look at Harmony by its seeming decline in the world around us. Particularly this morning where I encountered a news post about 6 people being shot down on a greenway in Raleigh, NC, where I spent 40 odd years of my working life. The shooter was himself 16 years old.
That is exceptionally upsetting , yet each morning’s news of the latest shenanigans of the Putins, the Trumps, the Xi Jinpings and the other anti-democratic, authoritarian “would be dictators” currently strutting across the world stage is more than sufficient to curdle your cornflakes. I find it incredibly depressing that, seemingly, significant numbers of individuals, both here at home and increasingly around the globe, are rallying to these Ill-conceived, morally bankrupt philosophies. But more than simply depressing, I find that “the world is too much with me.” 50 years ago I would have been - and was - out on the streets marching, protesting, getting in peoples’ faces. Power to the people and all that. Nowadays it’s more like “stop the world, I want to get off.”
It is, I suppose because I am older, maybe a bit wiser, and certainly more cynical, that I find I do not fit comfortably in any “political group.” The Trump-led rising fascism of the alt-right here at home is repugnant, and the all encompassing social brief of the populist left seems at times to strain credulity. So finding myself “groupless,” it is not strange that I find myself strongly inclined to re-dedicate myself to a purely personal implementation of the first tenet of Distilled Harmony - foster harmony. But as the title of this post indicates, and my brief foray into sunsets and color wheels also implies, a personal approach to fostering harmony is not quite as simple as it might appear at first blush.
The primary problem is that fostering harmony is an exercise in persuasion. The challenge is to convince people that treating people humanely and gently is a better way to live than bullying, berating, or beating them into some questionable semblance of an appearance of agreement. Right, but how do you accomplish this persuasive task? Before retiring I observed that a significant number of our majors were beginning to specialize in public relations - which is one of the current academic pigeonholes for folks seeking a career centered on persuading audiences, clients, customers, publics, etc., to feel favorably about the product, company, or person who is paying their salary. It was, at least back then, primarily a corporate path. Big companies had PR departments, often called something else, like Community Relations, or Public Outreach. Advertising departments usually lived somewhere in these corporate niches, because, obviously the sole purpose of advertising is to persuade us to think positively enough about a person, product or philosophy to open our wallets to acquire or support said person, product or philosophy.
Anyhow I didn’t think that the best route for me to foster harmony lay in any of those directions. First of all it would seem to imply getting a job. No. Been there, done that, albeit in one of the most “boss free,” “do your own thing” environments around - the increasingly endangered professional environment of a university campus. Still, shudder, no. No job. So, ha, ha, I laugh at your idea of some PR-ish job. And even if one were to become staggering successful in the corporate world, that is no guarantee that you could, or would, persuade people to live a more gentle, harmonious life. Need I say Elon Musk? Mark Zuckerberg? Jeff Bezos? Bill and Melinda Gates are delightful exceptions - but sad that they seem to be outliers.
I probably cannot leave a discussion of this world of public persuasion without mentioning the latest - to me anyhow - critters in the corral - influencers. As I understand them, “influencers” are individuals who have created a large enough public persona that influences folks to behave like, believe like, and most often shop like the influencer, emulating their purchases, appearance, style, etc. Ah, brave new world that has such people in it! They thrive most obviously in digital space, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, etc. An internet search revealed that I know none of the current top influencers - with the possible exception of actors and athletes hawking various versions of cryptocurrency or sub-sandwiches. So seeking to join their ranks in my personal attempt to increase global Harmony, would seem an ill-fated sojourn.
So, what’s a guy to do? Here’s an idea: Get small. Think inside the box. I have noticed, and written about here on the Wall, an interesting notion seemingly shared by an overwhelming number of faiths and philosophies. The notion is varyingly expressed; the phrases vary, some long, complex and flowery, some wrapped in supplications, some poised as commandments, some as the inescapable results of scientific examinations and the resultant algorithm, some irrefutable logical conclusions, but all these many flavors of assertions all point in one direction - a desire for a peaceful harmonic world; a world free from fear and want, a world in which humanity lives in concert with one and other and with the natural world.
Right. So how do we get there? Again, get small. Think inside the box. My ethical upbringing springs from Judeo-Christian roots so I first encountered this “shared interesting notion” thus: “Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.” Attributed to Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, but found in both the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible. However, I have found similar versions in the writings of virtually every faith and philosophy I have had the pleasure of reading; Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Quakers, Hinduism, and all the versions and divisions thereof have their own versions of that simple truth: Treat others as you would like to be treated - gently, compassionately, with respect and tolerance.
But I still come up against a problem. Who are these “others?” Apparently that is not a simple question. Human history is fraught with examples of armies - philosophically pure or religiously devout - bent upon the destruction of other armies apparently less philosophically pure or religiously devout. As a species, we seem to have an unfortunate inclination to be rather restrictive in our designation of the “others” with whom we wish to include in our reciprocal harmonious “doing unto.” Far too often the “others” are pretty well restricted to us - others who look, think, and believe like us. An old Pogo cartoon condensed that subtle bias beautifully: “We have met the enemy and they are us!” and sadly, from Alice in Wonderland - "Off with their heads!"
How do we avoid this unfortunate inclination towards self-deception and mutual destruction? Again, get small. Think inside the box. Look out your window. Get in your car - or better - hop on a bus, or a streetcar, tram, trolley. I don’t really care what you call it. Go grocery shopping. Walk past a park, a playground. Go have a burger at a fast food joint. Get a pizza, eat in, don’t take out. Visit a part of town where you just don’t feel comfortable. Look around. These are the others. These are the folks we need to “do unto as we would have them do.”
How do we accomplish that? I find myself less drawn to public harangues and chanting. My knees aren’t much good for marching anymore. These days I’m more drawn to the idea of personally striving for new harmonic norms in our everyday lives. Adopt polite behavior, kind behavior, responsible behavior, tolerant behavior. Let the harried parent with three kids in the giant SUV have the parking place close to the door. At restaurants, be nice to the service people. On the road merge gently - a behavior much in need of encouragement here on the freeways of Chicagoland. Smile. Recycle. Sweat the little stuff. You know what I mean. We know how we want to be treated - so we really do know how to treat others. Sow harmony in little varied bits of harmonious behavior with the actual people with whom you share your neighborhood and your life. Who knows we might just discover that those little bits could one day flower into a lovely sunset of harmony.
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