Undercut & Flourish

“Barbarella” – A message about purity, in the language of the 60s

2009-08-06T19:04:00.000-07:00

[Dear readers, a quick note before the article commences: I have replied to comments from Brijesh, KK and VG on the August 4 post...]

Barbarella
I came across this 1968 movie starring Jane Fonda about eight years ago. A single watching made a lasting impression. Apparently, when it was released the film was roundly panned and failed at the box office, but in later years it developed a cult following. Its supporters, who call it a “classic”, rave about the film’s tacky production qualities - which are praised as extremely difficult to pull off - and its camp eroticism, which they say could never be remade with the same finesse.

However, I believe that what makes Barbarella a classic is an anti-erotic or meta-erotic symbolism that runs through the film. I would argue that the film is talking about purity, or the ideal nature of “free love": so, a theme of the 1960s being discussed in the language of the 1960s.

Transcendence
By “meta-erotic” symbolism, I mean that the film’s makers were attempting to convey (whether they were conscious of it or not) a higher (meta-) vision of human consciousness. This is a consciousness that is beyond being affected by the negative force of eroticism that threatens to hijack sexuality and destroy the pure relationship that should exist between love and the physical demonstration of love.

The lead character Barbarella (played by the earthy, no-nonsense yet feminine Jane Fonda) is never erotic, though eroticism constantly chases her and tries to ensnare and kill her. The erotic elements in the film are negative, lacking in energy, harmony or happiness. But they are unable to affect Barbarella, who sails through every encounter entirely unfazed and without losing her warmth and honesty.

An approach to life
The film offers a representation of pure, free consciousness. And as such it makes comment not only on sexuality but also on the nature of life generally, on decision making, and on the problem of fear.

There is one scene in particular that impressed itself on my memory. Barbarella, again being pursued by someone wishing to do her harm, is chased into a death-trap. In that trap, she is offered several choices – but they are all forms of death. True to form, Barbarella gets right on with choosing one. Leaping forth, she emerges into her next challenge, but she does not die, which she would have done had she not made a choice.

Some say that making a decision is more important than what decision is made; but what could be even more important than this – and what I think this scene from Barabarella conveys - is the way in which decisions are made. Adjectives such as forthright, unregretful, and honest would well characterise the approach illustrated in the film.

It has been reported that Jane Fonda regrets her decision to participate in Barbarella. One alleged reason is that she had to turn down the lead female roles in the films Bonnie and Clyde and Rosemary’s Baby in order to complete her work on Barbarella.

But my view is that she should not regret this film. Barbarella is both a more meaningful film than the other two, and represents accurately the unique nature of Jane Fonda - the passionate activist who has always exhibited the qualities of frankness, fearlessness and good humour. That Jane Fonda would say: “To hell with the elitists! This movie is in such a workable package it can reach out to every level. This film can tell you something about life, love and character. Watch carefully!”

Wariness
Before writing this 'review', I thought I ought to re-watch the movie to see if my memory was being selective. Too impatient to rent it out, I went onto You Tube. There I found a trailer for the film. In that trailer, a narrator introduces Barbarella as the most “beautiful creature of the future” whose speciality is “Love”. The style of the piece was strongly tongue-in-cheek and made me seriously wonder if it was foolhardy of me – an invitation to be mocked - to interpret the film as I have done here, especially having watched it just once and so long ago.

I became even more wary when I read comments on an IMDb film forum describing the film as “soft porn” and pointing specifically to an opening sequence where Barbarella conducts a “striptease” in “slow motion”. I could not remember this scene, but found it on You Tube. Now, I have always thought I ranked on the prudish end of the scale, but I think I should place myself on the way liberal end of the scale now!

This so-called slow motion striptease scene lacks any form of eroticism and so to label it “porn” seems absurd. In fact the scene is a good introduction to the character of Barbarella. In this scene, Barbarella is shown floating around heavily in zero-gravity while emerging limb by limb from a black space-suit. The scene recalls the emergence of a butterfly from its heavy, ugly cocoon. Again, this scene looks to me like a comment on freedom spoken in the physical language of the 1960s.

Lasting impression
Whatever was in the film makers’ minds, the film made an impression on me – as a rare filmic example of meta-erotic characterisation and of the link between this type of purity of spirit with the two great human obsessions: beauty and love. It is this feature (meta-eroticism) that enables the creature (Barbarella) to be a specialist in love. And such a creature would definitely be the ideal of the future.

The character of Barbarella is physically and psychologically beautiful. Perhaps it is this – that the story is told on more than one level and is equally effective on all – that is actually responsible for making the film a recognised cult classic.

Wire Walking

2009-08-04T13:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks to some great comments from people, I have been inspired to write something that will give me such great pleasure to share.

What people commonly call "following the heart" is really important, yes. Another way of putting it, also common, is: being true to oneself. But I was talking to a friend recently who had an even more accurate way of putting it. He used the word INTEGRITY. That is, having integrity with and to oneself.

It is like the Hindu ideas of "svadharma" and "svabhava" - each person's "right action" is that which is in harmony with the nature of the "innermost being" of that person - ie their true nature.

I saw a superb documentary film recently that sums up how I feel and try to live (in my own way).

"Man on Wire" is about the French tightrope walker Philippe Petit who danced on a rope between the two Trade Towers (right at the top). If you can't get the film, the book written by Petit is called "To Reach the Clouds". Petit's philosophy of life and his heart are full of integrity.

Some quotes I remember from the film:
"You have to exercise rebellion....
.........to refuse your own success....
.......to live your life on a tightrope...."

New online courses from the Gnostic Centre, New Delhi

2009-07-02T10:04:00.001-07:00

Hi All,

Just to say - I have replied to SJ's comment under the post of June 16th "Any Help?" In case SJ is logging on any time...

This post is for anyone interested in Sri Aurobindo's vision, philosophy and yoga.

The Gnostic Centre in New Delhi, set on a beautiful farm and full of Divine atmosphere has announced its new set of courses.

Taught by experts, you can study, online, about: yoga psychology, integral or transformation yoga, and related subjects. The centre also conducts courses on site, and has a lovely meditation hall and beautiful grounds.

Visit the GC website for more details:http://www.integralstudiescentre.org/

Any help?

2009-06-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

Hello,

I wonder if anyone out there with a busy social networking facility could help me out by kind of letting people know the following? My former work email is being bombarded with hundreds of emails, but I am no longer using that address. So, if anyone wants to contact me, the way to make contact right now is via this blog posting - this actual one. When I have a better method of communication I will update this message.

Best wishes,
Girija

Sri Lankan Article Published Online

2009-05-05T23:17:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

Thanks again for your replies... Well, the article on Sri Lanka has been published by an online news source called The International. You can read the article via this link: http://theinternationalonline.com/articles/51-sri-lankan-conflict-may-have-internationa
(It's full title is: Sri Lankan Conflict May Have International Fall-Out).

Right, have to dash!

Best wishes to all,
Girija

Later...
I have since been sent this link, which you may be interested to watch - the two sides of the story: http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/international_politics/grim+scenes+at+sri+lankan+camps+/3126257

To Readers Re Sri Lanka

2009-05-01T05:27:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

This is to say that your comments on the Sri Lankan situation are interesting and welcome. I hope to use them to research a new article. If I manage to get it published outside of this blog, I will post a link here.
If you have further comments to make, please add them. Is everyone who has commented of Tamil origin? If you could confirm this, it would be useful.

Thanks and best wishes,
Girija

On A Different Note...
If you are interested in Nandan Nilekani of Infosys. In a recent talk here in London, Mr Nilekani made an interesting point about big populations. I like that point of view, so I wrote a blog on it. It has been published on the website of "Clinica World Medical Technology News". The link is: http://www.clinica.co.uk/open_surgery/infosys_leader_india_needs_new_paradigms_to_avoid_rich_nationsrsquo_mistakes

Getting Back On Track

2009-04-10T08:37:00.000-07:00

Negative stress – in short, the opposite of positive stress, which helps us to achieve – can debilitate, even kill its victims. For example, one UK study found that severe anxiety caused by workplace harassment for over two years led to more symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder than a comparison group of UN personnel recently returned from a war zone.(1) And recent research has found new evidence linking anxiety with the onset of dementia.(2)

No longer a soft subject for the hopelessly idealistic, the search for contentment and self-fulfilment is ever more clearly allied with the difference between life and death.

Having experienced negative stress myself, as well as knowing several people who have suffered from it to the extent of needing medication, I was drawn to a small article in my local paper entitled “That eureka moment is incredible."

It was about a young West London professional Tamer El Sheikh (pictured above), who is a newly trained “life coach”. He took up the training when he found himself at a crossroads in his marketing career. Clearly enamoured with his new profession, I felt inspired to call him for a chat.

The Missing Piece - even for guys
His practice – the Chiswick-based Missing Piece LLC – has been up and running for over five months. Tamer says the financial rewards as with any new business start-up are expectedly small but that his passion for the work is unabated. He also believes that the enterprise will continue to blossom due to the high demand for life coaching, which he says continues to be a fast-growing industry worldwide. (3)

“Life coaching is socially acceptable and seeking a life coach does not carry the same social stigma once associated with therapy, especially amongst men who don’t usually like to admit they have a problem. Consulting a life coach is almost quite fashionable.” says Tamer.

Clients come to Tamer with a wide range of problems including negative stress, career, relationships, sexuality - and even for parenting tips. But finances are also an area he tackles. “With the credit crunch, both individuals and small businesses have asked me for help with regards to resource management and allocation,” he says.

Simple But Powerful
So what is it that he has found so rewarding about life coaching? “I was initially bowled over by how simple the process is and yet how effective it is. Life coaches don’t offer you solutions – they shouldn’t. Life coaching is about empowerment and guidance – we are not therapists and do not encourage psychological dependency,” says Tamer.

“We are there to get the client – many of whom are successful and capable people - back on track. We can lose track of our goals and visions, a life coach is there to help remind you of what you once wanted to achieve, and also provide you with the guidance on how to go about achieving it. Or if you find that your life is hectic and chaotic, again, a life coach can give you the guidance to get things in order.”

The Psychological Bit
However, psychology does play a key role and is often the first port of call for a life coach. “Many of my clients actually find that they have minor mental blocks that are stopping them from finding contentment, and a life coach can easily help unblock them. But, some clients do have bigger psychological issues that require referral to a qualified therapist before the life coaching process can begin,” says Tamer.

According to Tamer, very simple guidance can turn a life around; and the reward of seeing people unblock their minds and life is a rich one indeed.

Tamer’s life coaching sessions of 45 minutes duration, start at £125.00. Typically, 3-6 sessions are required, but one session may be sufficient, depending on the scale of the issue to be resolved. He offers a free initial consultation.
You can contact Tamer by email: telsheikh@missingpiecellc.com

References
1. “Bullying in the workplace – changes are coming” http://www.hsperson.com/pages/2Nov06.htm
2. “ ‘Dementia risk’ for shy and anxious” – Channel 4 News online, April 6, 2009
3. For a comprehensive overview of life coaching - and some of its high profile adherents - see Oliver Bennett’s: “Up where you belong”, The Independent on Sunday, January 5, 2003 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20030105/ai_n9682379/

The oppression of Tamils in Sri Lanka – where are the lion hearts?

2009-04-09T10:46:00.000-07:00

On April 7 2009 UK residents of Tamil origin with relatives in Sri Lanka demonstrated in London. They called for intervention to stop Sri Lanka’s civil war, which has recently escalated. Sri Lankan Tamils have been fighting the majority Sinhalese for fair and equal treatment for almost 100 years.(1) The latest crisis may see the destruction of their primary fighting force, the Liberation Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE).

I first became aware of the crisis in Sri Lanka in 1991, when India’s then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was killed by an LTTE suicide bomber in protest against the presence of Indian peacekeeping forces.

Mr Gandhi was giving a speech in Sriperumbudur, around 30 miles from Madras (now Chennai) where I was living. The bomber was a woman. I remember the newspaper and magazine photographs, and the extensive television coverage that followed; the ghastly pictures of bloody dismembered limbs and the dishevelled, deserted podium.

The April 7 demonstration was held by supporters of the LTTE - a terror group proscribed under the UK’s 2000 Terror Act.(2) Many red flags baring the roaring tiger insignia of the LTTE were flown, and one arrest for the same was made under the anti-terror law.

In July 2008, a different group, the Sri Lankans Against Terrorism (SLAT UK) demonstrated in front of No 10 Downing Street to protest against the government’s protection of ministers Keith Vaz and Virendra Sharma who, it claimed, were supporting the LTTE. One of the protesters’ banners read: “LTTE is not sole rep of Tamils”.(3)

Whether the LTTE is right or wrong in its approach to justice, an immediate intervention to abate the crisis is required.

The most recent tragedy is that thousands of Tamils are fatally trapped in the current war zone (Kilinochchi, a northern town and the administrative head quarters of the LTTE). They are being killed, tortured, losing their homes and being separated from their families.

Ethnic struggle
The history of the ethnic struggle between the minority Hindu Tamils and Sri Lanka’s Buddhist Sinhalese majority is peppered with failed ceasefires, failed peace talks, army massacres and suicide bombings.

The tensions stem from the fact that the Tamils used to be favoured by the British when the latter ruled the island. So, when the country gained independence from Britain in 1949, the Sinhalese majority marginalised the Tamils.(1)

Some of the discriminatory measures included refusing to recognise Tamil as a national language, setting up discriminatory laws against Tamils, Tamil plantation workers getting disenfranchised and being refused citizenship, and in 1972 Buddhism was made the national religion (most Tamils are Hindu).(1)

The Tamil people first responded by non-violent resistance in the Gandhian tradition, but the government repressed these peaceful protests, and violence against Tamil activists increased. Soon, a demand arose from the Tamil population for an independent state. The first party to drive this idea forward was the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF). However, its resolutions gradually became compromised and it lost much of its popular support.(4)

It took a group of angry young Tamils to form the LTTE in 1976. Moved to action by the economic marginalization caused by negative discrimination against them in the workplace and in higher education, (4) they did what all young people do – they imitated the nature of the authority that had power over them. Mirroring the government’s approach, they returned violence for violence, deploying relentless violent attacks, including suicide bombings and air raids.(5)

What comes after the LTTE?
The Sri Lankan government believes that the recent atrocities in Kilinochchi are the LTTE’s last stand and that the LTTE is nearly destroyed.

It is a very big question as to whether or not it would be a good thing for the LTTE to be defeated, given the history of discrimination and intolerance the Tamils have suffered at the hands of the authorities. (6)

However, what is clear is that hundreds of people on both sides of the divide are dying violently, their children are being brought up in a situation that is likely to brutalise them, and the Tamils say they are now facing nothing less than genocide.

The meaning of the word Sinhalese is “perfect lion people” (Sinha = lion; Hela = pristine) and originates from stories surrounding the founder of the Sinhalese people, Prince Vijaya.

So isn’t it high time the Sri Lankan government came to its senses and showed some lionhearted leadership? Because right now, the country is in peril and has been dubbed a “failed state”.(7)

But the leaders on both sides, Sinhalese and Tamil, have the highest humanitarian responsibility to procrastinate no longer. They must take the road of political discussion and diplomacy, and in this they must transcend petty ethnic egoism in order to achieve success. This alone can take Sri Lanka – the “Sacred Island” - into a dignified, unified and prosperous future.

References
1) See “Timeline: Sri Lanka, a chronology of key events”, BBC online
2) The LTTE is proscribed by around 32 countries worldwide
3) “Sri Lankan Against Terrorism reprimanded two Labour MPs for participating in the LTTE sponsored event”, http://www.asiantribune.com/?q=node/12450
4) “Self-determination: a Ceylon Tamil perspective”, Conciliation Resources
http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/sri-lanka/self-determination.php
5) The LTTE offensive includes what it called its first, second and third “Eelam wars”. Among their numerous assaults are included the assassination or injuring of several state leaders, including Rajiv Gandhi and President Kumaratunga; assaults on air and navy bases; and the bombing and destruction in 2001 of nearly half the country’s Sri Lankan Airlines fleet in an attack on Colombo international airport.
6) After writing this piece, I came across an interesting analysis of the crisis by Arundhati Roy on April 3: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/sri-lankas-war-on-the-tamils-is-about-racism-not-terrorism-20090402-9l21.html
7) Wikipedia: “Sri Lanka was considered one of the "world's most politically unstable countries" by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank in 2004. The Economist labels Sri Lanka a "flawed democracy" in its 2006 rankings (ranking 57 and positioned among 54 other flawed ranked ones), and Foreign Policy ranks Sri Lanka 25th (Alert Category) in its Failed States Index for 2007. However, Sri Lanka, according to the US State Department in 2005, was classified a "stable democracy" amidst a ceasefire period of the long running civil war.”

Education lifting off

2009-04-05T03:43:00.000-07:00

In the run up to Easter it seems appropriate to post some links to a couple of websites that symbolise something about new and bright beginnings.

They are The Hawn Foundation and the Rainbow Kids Integral School. These projects offer an enlightened approach to education through integrating elements that aid a healthy psychological state. Both teachers and students are encouraged in practises that develop qualities such as mindfulness and gratitude.

They have had good results in terms of social skills and learning outcomes that have not gone unnoticed by mainstream education systems. A colleague of mine, a teacher and lecturer in the UK's further education sector told me yesterday that spirituality in education is the current "hot topic" in educational circles in England.

This is good news and could be an exciting prospect for both teachers and students: the promise of a new start - maybe the opening of a door onto a brave new world.

2008-10-11T04:35:00.000-07:00

Editorial for: Could this be Gordon Brown’s golden hour?

The thought that has haunted me since I wrote the article “Could this be Gordon Brown’s golden hour” is: Are we seeing the Law of Attraction at work?

The Law of Attraction (LoA) claims that thoughts attract things. It states that we manifest in our lives whatever it is we believe to be possible and real, including the things we least want to manifest - things we fear.

Mr Brown’s arrival on the scene has been followed by a Wuthering Heights-like crisis that he is having to weather. A man who publicly identifies himself with the solemn, shunned figure of Heathcliff is then actively rejected by Britain (Catherine) only to be put in a position where, after her death (economic meltdown), he takes charge of her child (us).

So did the crisis attract Gordon Brown or did Gordon Brown attract the crisis? We could similarly ask: did Churchill attract World War II, or did the War attract Churchill? It would seem more likely that the destinies of these men and of Britain were interwoven. And in saying this, we reach beyond the LoA, which focuses on the present, and reach towards the Indian theory of Karma, which has a long-term view: we have many lives and reap the results of our actions both immediately and across those lives.

The LoA, to my knowledge, has nothing in it to suggest it is not in alignment with the theory of Karma, and if it is in alignment, would counteract a criticism that has been levelled against the LoA. Namely, that it cannot explain how something bad, such as abuse or physical maiming, could happen to a child or young animal, for there is no way such young creatures could have thought up and believed in these kinds of catastrophes.

Whatever the truth, it is without doubt interesting that a situation which has shown up the fragility (futility?) of materialistic pragmatism – the value system by which many of us live our lives– has also thrown up a scenario of non-materialistic spiritual or occult interest:

* Events have colluded to give Mr Brown what he desires – the opportunity to show this increasingly dissolute country a more grounded, less materialistic approach to life and to the future;
* And, on the other side, this possession-obsessed country with its growing disapproval and also fear of material frugality and steady stoicism has attracted to its helm during an economic downturn a leader that lauds those qualities.

Whether the country has attracted the perfect leader at the perfect time, or whether its fear has attracted its least desired outcome; and whether Mr Brown’s desire is akin to a divine will that will save the country, or a perverse righteousness that will leave us wading through a quagmire - or to return to the Wuthering Heights metaphor: a prisoner in a cold and friendless mansion, only time will tell.

2008-10-11T02:25:00.000-07:00

Could this be Gordon Brown’s golden hour?

How oddly appropriate that just as a heavy-set, self-claimed destiny-burdened Prime Minister takes up the reins, the country falls into a depression. When crises can make (or break) leaders, even more appropriate it is that this former treasurer is faced with specifically a financial challenge. It all seems so perfectly planned.

A man who has been inundated with criticism since the beginning of his term for being dour and uncharismatic is now faced with the kind of serious challenge he has always claimed his kind of personality was made for. Could ‘Boring Gordon’ be re-christened ‘Golden Brown’?

Although I was a supporter of Mr Brown at the beginning of his term – I identify with his inability to play personality politics and I sympathise with his inclination to avoid indulgence in such superficialities – I have occasionally had my faith shaken by his apparent lack of youthful vision and enthusiasm.

It is at such a stage of low faith that this latest crisis has struck and it is clear: this is perfect Brownian weather. Will this, again self-claimed, Heathcliff lead us through the wild, cold moors of financial gloom and let us into his safe, albeit none too cosy, mansion?

This kind of desperate scenario is what he claims he was made for. If so, it could be his making. If his stoicism, his sensible and old-fashioned attitude towards life enables, in the immediate term effective damage management and for the long-term balance and stability, it could be his golden hour.

Ultimately we may find ourselves grateful for his solid, grounded presence and approach – as, inversely, we were led into bitter disappointment by Tony Blair’s charismatic but ultimately suspect approach to the biggest crisis of his reign, 9/11

Criminal children call for honesty

2008-07-13T01:47:00.000-07:00

In a bid to tackle the growing incidence of violent crime committed by youths, the government is being again pressed into forming and reviewing initiatives concerning the justice system and parenting. However, frontline activists think that it is a radical reform of the social welfare system that is required.

Several government initiatives will reportedly be released in the week of July 14 2008. The focus will be on the justice system and parenting, according to interviews with home minister of state Tony McNulty during the week of July 7.

Proposals for one of these initiatives, a review of school behaviour policies, will include: “pressure on parents” of unruly children to tackle the bad behaviour; the setting up of direct links to teachers to provide parents with support; methods to increase the involvement of parents in their children’s schooling and behaviour management; and how to address the problem of parents who defend bad child behaviour and oppose school punishments such as detention, according to The Guardian.(1)

A dangerous gap
However, there appears to be a gap between the government’s focus and that being called for by leaders in the work of saving and rehabilitating abused and violent children. While the government is focusing on the justice system and parenting, what child protection leaders are calling for is a reform of the social welfare system, which they say is the ultimate cause of the problems.

“Zero tolerance for violence against children will result in no violence from children”,(2) according to Camila Batmanghelidjh, founder of groundbreaking child welfare organisation Kids Company. But her reference to violence here is not directly in reference to abusive parents. The violence she is referring to is violence by omission: the negligence of a social welfare system that is failing because it is not suitable to its allotted task.

The system is being forced to be something it is not. “[Social welfare staff] are being forced to mimic business values”, says Ms Batmanghelidjh in her book Shattered Lives (p 23).

The unsuitability of the business approach to social welfare is evidenced in its failure. Less than half of the children that need protection are receiving it – the system can cater to just 30,700 out of 553,000, according to Ms Batmanghelidjh.(3)

But the real danger of this “depleted” and failing system according to Ms Batmanghelidjh is that by being forced to appear as something it is not, it has become dishonest: “The government has still not come up with a way of holding to account local authorities who airbrush out their failures – who checks how many invisible children are left outside the system?”, she says.(4)

Escalation expected
This gap between government actions on child crime and the needs of the system as set out by frontline activists means that the problem remains unaddressed. We can therefore expect the problems to escalate because the failure of the system and the escalation of the problem appear to be mutually exclusive.

“Children see the discrepancy between our pretensions and the reality. The abandoned child waits to deliver his revenge for the danger we expose him to. Threats from children bear a message: zero tolerance for violence against children will result in no violence from children.”5
An editorial on this story can be found in the Editorials section
1 The Guardian, July 11, 2008
2, 3, 4, 5: All quotes are taken from “Zero tolerance for violence against children will result in no violence from children”, Camila Batmanghelidjh, The Times, June 2, 2008.

What makes Keiara Bell so special?

2008-07-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

Keiara Bell, a 13-year-old African-American from a rough neighbourhood in Detroit has become famous – and for all the right reasons. She held her own in a tough debate with a politician, Monica Conyers, who she reprimanded for bad public behaviour. Ms Bell’s skills in debate reveal her to be not only intelligent beyond her years but an extraordinarily gifted and natural-born ethicist.

Ms Conyers, president pro tempore of the city council hit local headlines when she name-called the council's president “Shrek” after an angry exchange of views during a hearing in April. When she was invited to meet with a panel of six-graders the following month, it is unlikely she was expecting to meet the ethical tour de force that is Ms Bell, who stood intellectually head and shoulders above her peers (and probably well above most adults) during the debate.

After suggesting that Ms Conyers had “jeopardised” her political position, Ms Bell went on to make three other key points: that disrespecting others during a debate, no matter what the circumstances, is wrong; that even if all human beings experience frustration, adults “have [a] choice” not to act out that frustration in a disrespectful manner; and that it is wise to think before you act.

The final piece of advice – to think before you act – is clearly what Ms Bell excels in and what, along with her natural ethical conscience makes her so special. These qualities – self-awareness and ethical conscientiousness are signs of a mature mind and emotional consciousness – qualities that are desperately needed in those who work on the frontline of civil services such as politicians, social workers, health workers, teachers and career advisors.

Ms Bell’s wise advice was, fittingly, the last word in the debate. Ms Conyers backed out at this point with the unremittingly pugilistic: “Look, I’m not going to be combative with you young lady,” proving that she hadn’t learned a thing.

* The front page of the Wall Street Journal ran the story on May 27 2008, “Detroit Politician Gets Lesson in Civility From a 13-Year-Old”. You can view the events (the hearing, as well as Ms Bell’s debate with Ms Conyers) at: YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPpzqTF4K-Q&feature=related

Editorial on "Criminal children call for honesty"

2000-07-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

The country is being rocked by youth violence. Next week, new measures on knife and youth crime and youth behaviour will be released. Many questions hang in the air.

What is it telling us? Will the frustration of those on the frontline of youth crime be addressed? Will those measures and reports contain inspired ideas or will they merely attempt to control the uncontrollable?

What are the ingredients of this time-bomb? Is there more abuse of children now, which is leading to an increase in retributive-style behaviour? Or are young people feeling more empowered, which is then interpreted by them – abused or not - as the basic human instinct to conquer and defend territories? And if they are interpreting it in this way, why?

Indeed: why not?

Whatever may be the answer to those questions, it is a fact that highly disturbed children from violent and abusive backgrounds can - and choose - to develop a positive interpretation of their power and also thrive in constructive and self-fulfilling ways when the environment is conducive. This is evidenced in the successes achieved by Camila Batmanghelidjh’s Kids Company.

SOS from industry
That Camila’s special skills and insights need to be replicated countrywide is clear. But let the vision be extended beyond the vulnerable to include the welfare of all children. For, unless the fundamental cause of the disease is treated, there will continue to be breakouts.

There are too many ‘ordinary’ children who feel oppressed by the current school system and by the attitude of society towards them. A number of reports over the years from experts and from UNICEF reveal UK school children to be among the unhappiest testify to this.1

All of these make reference to a wrong approach both to education and our attitude to life in the UK as partly responsible for this misery. It is possible that, the old-fashioned “what shall we do with them?” attitude to children has never really gone away. It has been replaced by placing an economic value on children, viewing them as future cogs in the wheels of industry. A view depressing to most adults let alone the young and the hopeful.

Our society often appears, on the surface at least, to be greedy, aggressive and selfish. These are probable contributors to the development of violent behaviour, as a recent article citing the government’s “behaviour advisor” Sir Alan Steer has pointed out.2

But there is also a lack of interest in learning for the sake of the individual human organism. It seems that any attention paid to education in the UK is out of desperation - that businesses are not able to source suitably skilled employees.

In the US the attitude may be the same. A letter in The Wall Street Journal3 from the chairman of the department of economics, Berry College (Goergia) criticises a May 16 article that bemoaned the effect on the economy made by the decline in students taking summer jobs.

After explaining that the reduction may be due to a wealthier society, he said: “Instead of bemoaning that, you might consider the pleasant possibility that two-thirds of teens now have the option of travelling, attending camps, or merely relaxing during their summers.”

The emphasis from school stage through to college and beyond is mechanical, inhuman and stressful.

Education is viewed solely as a means to get a career, to earn money, or to be the best, to achieve excellence, to be respected or famous.

Where is the little individual person in this system of shiny hard perfection and production? Little ordinary me is taken out of the equation very fast. And that is frightening. In such a system, it would not be surprising if everyone at some point asked: “How can I keep up with these great wheels of systems and society and expectation?”

Children protected by loving and supportive families may survive, but without that protection the individual would be extremely vulnerable.

People who find themselves in this oppressed situation risk losing their sense of self and then their sense of self-worth. This would make them vulnerable to the negatives of society - be that consumerist advertising or violent or materialistic role models.

It is probable that this situation would be the perfect weapon to incapacitate a person, make an individual apparently incapable of finding work, or suitable work that fulfils them, maybe for the rest of their lives.

Ken Livingstone summed up the cold truth in a news interview the week of June 30 2008. He said that there was no getting away from the fact that today’s society needs people to be literate and numerate.

A harmless comment? Common sense? I would argue that the comment embodies our current emphasis on the system over the individual. It is an example of an apparently practical and harmless viewpoint that is entirely unpractical in its approach, and that amounts to an act of violence on the human spirit. For, it is an ultimatum – and this ultimatum is unbearable for those who have not the resources to concede.

The spiritual lessons of The Birdman of Alcatraz
In a powerful scene in The Birdman of Alcatraz the lifer Richard Stroud explains to the chief of Alcatraz why the penal system’s attempt to force people to conform to a set type, to kowtow to the system, is a blind and unworkable approach: it is akin to the tyrant beating down his subjects until they become his obedient slaves, his allies, or escape through death. And, after all, what is a physical death compared to a spiritual one?

Leave alone the complex and damaged psychology of abused children, most children and young people per se do not have a sufficiently developed mind or ego to make good use of a tyrant.4

For most, the first and only recourse to maintain self and dignity in tact is some kind of physical or verbal violence. A physical violence in return for a spiritual one.

A call for a ‘leap of faith’
The mounting levels of youth violence are calling for honesty from the system and from society, according to Camila Batmanghelidjh (see related blog).

Elsewhere she explains that the dishonesty is forced by a system that is unsuitable. For example, a social welfare system that is expected to “mimic business”. Social work is not allowed to be an “emotional vocation” any more, it must be business.5

The same argument could be applied to the education system. There are already excellent examples of alternative education methods that place human – intellectual and emotional - values over economic ones. These systems recognise that wealth is born from Man not the other way around. They therefore nurture the human first. So, why are these alternatives being ignored by those in charge of mainstream education?

Is it because it requires a greater trust of human beings and of their capacities – their intelligence, their inner powers, their perceptions? Is it because it requires a humbler understanding of the great gifts that children offer to society and how to best enable them to endow society?

The call is to transform this society from a steel and concrete juggernaut into an organic hothouse where every human cannot but blossom to their greatest potential.

It’s possible that some find it frightening to think of our leaders and our governmental parent, who now can be harrassed into controlling us and telling us off and laying out rules for us, being replaced by a truly free society. But if it is true that “When liberty turns to licence, dictatorship is near”6, it may be that we have no choice and that we will be forced in the end to take that leap of faith. But, how many lives must be lost before then?

1 Three are listed by The Independent (March 11, 2008), which states the following:
(1) “Global Report on Child Welfare and Happiness” by UNICEF - Just over a year ago, this report by Unicef, the UN children's agency, revealed the results of a survey which showed that UK schoolchildren were the unhappiest of 21 countries surveyed in the Western world. The report blamed a lack of social cohesion and poor parenting for its findings.
(2) A Review of Primary Education by Professor Robin Alexander - Two reports from this Cambridge-based review of primary education – the biggest inquiry into the sector for 40 years – highlighted similar concerns. One revealed a worrying "loss of childhood" among today's youngsters. This, it said, had led to schools being engulfed by a wave of "antisocial behaviour, materialism and the cult of celebrity". The second warned that constant interference by politicians in the primary school timetable with the stress on tests and league tables had put pupils off lessons and damaged their learning.
(3) An Inquiry into Testing and Assessment by the National Association of Head Teachers - After taking evidence from a range of academics and writers, it said that ministers had presided over the death of fun and play in the primary school curriculum. It, too, argued children's education had been damaged by putting them off learning through too much repetitive teaching for tests.
2 The Guardian “Youth Crime: Greedy, rude adults ‘fuelling teen violence’” (July 11, 2008).
3 The Wall Street Journal “Many Teens Reject Summer Job Concept” (May 28 2008).
4 The Fire From Within, Carlos Castaneda (chapter 2 “Petty Tyrants”).
5 Shattered Lives, Camila Batmanghelidjh (p 23)
6 The Life of Greece, Will Durant (quoted from “On the trail of utopias”, by Aurovane, Auroville Today, p. 11).