Empathy

Very disappointed this week to hear some young neoliberal conservatives talk about what we need to happen in the political arena. The statement that stood out to me was the one where this young man asserted that we need to stop being 'politically correct' and make decisions by means of logic rather than empathy. He said 'empathy' in a way that for him put it as synonymous with 'stupidity'. If you want to watch the video concerned, click on this link: Project Segment About Alt-Right Politics.

Some of the FB comments on the video are equally disconcerting. Empathy is one thing we need much, much more of. And that's not just my opinion. David Orr says this:

The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And these qualities have little to do with success as we have defined it. (Orr, 2005:96)


According to Daniel H. Pink, emphathy is one of the key qualities we need to make this happen. Without empathy we are likely to have more wars, more racial discrimination and atrocities, more of the things that we really don't want. I recommend those young men concerned start using the right side of their brain instead of aligning themselves to the far right of politics. 

ORR, D. W. 2005. Ecological Literacy: Educating Our Children for a Sustainable World (Z. Barlow, Michael K. Stone Ed.). San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.

Developing Focus

So, some months down the track, and my research question has 'evolved' to become: Recipes from the Gingerbread House: using the witch archetype to address the hidden curriculum in Queensland Secondary Schools. Obviously the research is reacting to constant massaging and sieving and my current considerations have moved further into the whole education field...something I am reasonably familiar with. As such, my readings include the likes of Ken Robinson and Dan Haesler, and the usual subjects who maintain that an educational revolution is essential. I posted this video ages ago on ARTiculation, but it is a great video, seen by millions and reminds us that creativity is an essential outcome of education in the 21st century.

Goddess

Sculptor and researcher Merlin Stone's book 'When God was a Woman' alerted me to the fact that once upon a time, societies were largely matrilineal and the deities worshipped were commonly female. This was way before the first profit of Yahweh, Abraham, turned up at around 1500 BC. This is very different to what is taught in Christian circles. The Bible tends to be regarded as a history of the world and is believed to be 'inspired' by God. Since the world existed for at least 10s of thousands of years before Abraham (some say millions), clearly it's not a history of the world, rather a history of  the Hebrew religion. Somehow the religion of Yahweh displaced the ancient Goddess religions practised by most of the ancient world. The key question is how and why, which I will discuss next post.

Where did it all begin?

Well, first, I am female. Secondly, I was brought up in a fairly conservative Christian tradition, which by nature is patriarchal. My whole upbringing was based on the understanding that being female made me somewhat 'less than'. Not just because of the religious association (although there is no doubt this reinforced it) but because that is the way our western culture works. It is patriarchal. This got me thinking...WHY? Why is the foundation stone of society one that favours males over females? Note that my question is not whether this is actually the case. That is not up for discussion...just ask the half of the population that tick 'F' on the forms they fill in. I'm not just talking about the gender pay gap or even domestic violence, although both these issues are BIG and need to be talked about. The fact is that despite some improvements, our society is based on a belief system that is patriarchal.

In certain circles, asking WHY questions can get you into trouble, or at least get you told you 'think too much'...what the? Despite that, I am embarking on a journey to find out WHY and I expect that I will come across some information that will ruffle feathers...open a can of worms. As Oprah says (often!)...'when we know better, we can do better'. My research question is hopefully going to contribute to the world by helping us to do better on the issue of gender equality.