Changing Mindset

Happy Saturday everyone!

I am starting to understand my aversion to life in the military. The human aspect is being lost, forgotten, or trampled as rules and measures to increase control become more numerous. I am also seeing this same issue as the norm in business, education, and government. As a nation we are trapping ourselves in a world where the rules are defined by those who have done wrong or by those who have been victimized. Instead of merely punishing the wrongdoers or increasing cultural awareness to provide more support where it is needed, we choose to fashion a rule that removes flexibility from a situation typically harming the greater majority in the process. The harm might not be immediate, but frequently the longer term effects of the “cure” don’t outweigh the sacrifice of freedom. Barry Schwartz gave two TED* talks dealing with the loss of practical wisdom like this. These rules seek to protect from catastrophe, but they also serve to remove human judgment regarding the specifics of the situation. The people that follow the rules slowly lose that essential human trait, while the ones that seek to harm others are not being deterred by these same rules.

The mini-rant will end there, but one day I might explore this more in depth. I feel that this needs to be talked about more than it is these days. Please feel free to share your thoughts on this. I would love to have this be a conversation starter.

I will catch you all next week with a game release and another blog post!

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*TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages.