Mnr AM de Lange wrote:
> In fact, I have
> specifically described the political situation in South Africa to show
> that an organisation even as big as a nation may invoke Azazel when its
> organisational learning fails.
You've provided an interesting response to the question of how a nation
learns. Indeed, scapegoating is an ancient political ploy. It also
manifests itself in interpersonal triads, lending itself to very
destructive relationships.
A phenomenon of nationalism, though, is the use of ancient symbols to
invoke scapegoats--indeed these symbols come from far beyond the timeline
that organizations or modern institutions recognize. Of course I'm
speaking about how cultures view their own history, and who they have
historically blamed for their situation. In my experience, the cultural
basis for hatred and scapegoating go back 100 to 1500 years, in most
cases.
Within a multicultural nation-state, such as India (and so many others),
it becomes increasingly easy to rationalize the acquisition and retention
of power as a cultural necessity (to keep "the others" from obtaining
power). Part of this rationalization includes fixing blame. In a
relatively stable and law-based political system, politicians tend to fix
blame on one another's parties--with fringe elements fixing blame on
whatever group(s) that are outside their norms. As the society becomes
increasingly unstable, the fringe moves into a more central role as
scapegoating becomes more accepted as a rational explanation for
instability.
Power (wealth, leverage, domination) are all currency in any political
system--the only hope is ever that the respect for the basic laws and
principles in a people are sufficient to overcome the breaking of that law
by those selected to rule, through a process of checks and balances,
recall and removal from office.
Thomas Jefferson's warning still resounds from that time more than 200
years ago when he wrote, "In questions of power . . . let us hear no more
of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the
Constitution."
How does one overcome the growing pains of a maturing political process,
amidst huge social challenges--how does a nation learn from its' past?
Isn't it ironic, and tragic, that despite the wealth of wisdom and
spirituality that can be found in a nation, that it still moves true to
its' past and reflects the consequences of the actions taken decades, and
centuries ago? The truth has been stated many times--a nation unaware of
it's own history is condemned to repeat it. That's where the learning
starts--with an accurate understanding of the past.
regards,
Doc
-- "The familiar life horizon has been outgrown, the old concepts, ideals and emotional patterns no longer fit, the time for the passing of a threshold is at hand." -Joseph CampbellRichard C. "Doc" Holloway Your partner for workforce development Visit me at http://www.thresholds.com/community/learnshops/index.html Or e-mail me at <mailto:learnshops@thresholds.com> Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2361 Phone: 01 360 786 0925 Olympia, WA 98507 USA Fax: 01 360 709 4361
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