Positive Health Online

Has the world truly gone mad? Is there no common sense left in people, leaders as well as followers? How did we get this far?

Rules and regulations with the intention to avoid conflict, on the one hand, and the intention to increase efficiency on the other, are being invented every single day of our lives. The reasoning behind these objectives is rooted in the belief that one person is right and the other one isn't, on the one hand, and in the belief that efficiency is the highest good, on the other hand. Both are assumptions that are never questioned in a world that runs faster than its feet, the ordinary person in the street, can carry it. There is no time to stop and think about life. In fact, we are being discouraged to do just that. All our authorities are constantly reminding us, "it is five to midnight", "the clock is ticking", "already so much irreparable damage has been done".

Let's stop for a moment and contemplate the two belief systems upon which our lives are being constructed.

Diversity of Humanity is seen as a Threat

Humanity is diverse and always has been diverse. This is the result of a lot of reasons but we can easily see that people who live high up in the mountains lead a different life from those by the sea. They have different needs. They face different challenges. So do people who live in the far north of the planet compared to the ones around the equator. Every area on the planet requires different knowledge and skills, different habits, different rules. And yet, all our governments are trying to do is to unite the people of the world by forcing them to obey the same rules, under the motto "it is good for you".

Diversity is seen as a threat. Ignorance about the needs of others, their habits and beliefs breeds fear into the minds of people. It is, however, interesting to notice that when virgin foreigners meet in the street there is no sign of any fear. They meet with an open mind and a willing hand to help. They smile and are accommodating. It is, and always has been, authority that has informed us to be afraid of others, to fear the dangers of the unknown, of the not trustworthy.

Authorities Divide People into Groups in Order to Control

Authorities divide people into groups they control and then they make huge efforts to unite as many people as they can. Contradictory? Not really. They only want people to unite on their terms, under their control, and in order to control people you need to divide them. They don't want people to be tolerant to each other. They want people to live in fear and disrespect each other. Human beings are not equal and groups are being told they are better, they are more humane, they are free, whilst others don't enjoy those privileges.

Authorities choose their friends and enemies and at the same time the individual isn't allowed to do just that. People are being punished by their own authorities for not being tolerant to everybody, including the ones that have harmed them. People living in a free country are not allowed to choose their own friends or enemies without the risk of being punished. Authorities give privileges to their friends and implement sanctions against their enemies, whilst their people have to give everybody equal opportunities.

The reason for this, they tell me, is that authorities are protecting me from evil people and regimes. This incorporates the idea that we are somehow "better", less evil, than others, and that our ideas are better, more humane, than others. This message from my authority separates me from other people as I, from now on, will be on alert, on the watch-out for these other people, collecting evidence of their evilness. Authorities define evil in a way to portray their own actions as good and the actions of others as evil. All authorities do this. Let there be no doubt as to who is right!

This idea of being right is fundamental to society. Human society as we have known it up till now has always been built on the belief that we are right and others are wrong. And wrong must be put right, must be fought. Human society is about gathering strength in order to squash the perceived evil so the victor can rule. Peace is being achieved through waging war. Tolerance is being achieved through separation. Freedom is being achieved by strict rules. Once you have the upper hand and your power has been established you have eliminated all opposition and now there is equality, tranquillity and unanimity. You have managed to squeeze all diversity into sameness. Having reached this point you use the outcome as proof for your theorem that they were wrong and a danger to mankind. One is right and the other is not.

Diversity is a threat to authority as it is impossible to deliver everything every individual requires when all the requirements are different. But the question arises as to why an authority should be shouldered with the task of filling in the requirements of the individual. Well, if you want people to support you, the authority, you need to make them dependent upon you. Why would any person do anything for an authority unless they need something in return? It is essential to any authority that their subjects are made dependent upon the power and might of the authority. Hence, the authority takes it upon itself to deliver something essential to the individuals. But what can this be? Anything the people need in order to live they provide themselves. What else is there then to offer? I know. Protection. Protection? Against what?

When the authority informs the people that the unknown beyond their land holds many dangers to their lives, it stands to reason that people become afraid. They don't know what they are afraid of because they have no experience beyond their land but when the authority comes to warn them they surely must know what they are on about. The authority promises to protect them. The people thank the authority for its kindness and as they are leaving the authority turns around and says, "By the way, before I forget, you must support me so I can keep you safe".

To this day, we are living this story. Authorities take measures in order to keep its population safe, whether these are road safety measures, health safety measures, border safety measures, trade safety measures, environment safety measures. All of these measures are taken against the naughty people who are threatening our wellbeing by being different. Authority is a power that separates and divides. It unites people that have similar fears.

Our societies, from the beginning of civilisation to this day, are all based on the fear of diversity and the perceived need to be protected against something that is different. At its root lies the belief that things that are different can't be joined together.

Nature, on the contrary, shows us that it is diversity that leads to balance. Every ecosystem is based on the integration of diversity. If differences were truly keeping things apart, men and women would never be together!

Efficiency versus Effectiveness

The second belief on which the necessity of an authority is built is one of efficiency being the highest good. There is a need for an authority to decide how to be most efficient in life. This implies that being less efficient is simply dumb and retarded. What is the definition of efficiency?

Efficiency is the (often measurable) ability to avoid wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time in doing something or in producing a desired result. In a more general sense, it is the ability to do things well, successfully, and without waste. Efficiency is very often confused with effectiveness. In general, efficiency is a measurable concept, quantitatively determined by the ratio of useful output to total input. Effectiveness is the simpler concept of being able to achieve a desired result. A common way of distinguishing between efficiency and effectiveness is the saying "Efficiency is doing things right, while effectiveness is doing the right things." This saying indirectly emphasizes that the selection of objectives of a production process is just as important as the quality of that process.

Convert all of this back to authorities and their raison d'ëtre. Authorities - and we have authorities in all aspects of life - instruct their people on the most efficient way of being. It will distribute incentives to entice people to change their behaviour to meet this efficiency standard. If an authority has been convinced that solar panels are a more efficient way of heating your house than a wood burning stove it will send out this message attached to the necessary incentives for people to become "more efficient". Not only that, but this message will soon be followed by punishment for all those who are still defying the authority. Efficiency is being chosen over effectiveness, and we all have to join in.

Effectiveness can't be measured. If the job is well done, and it is when you are happy about it, then that is the end of it. No need for you to alter anything. When your neighbour does the same job differently and he is happy too, no need for him to change anything either. Diversity rules, not authority. In order to disturb the peace between these two neighbours we elevate efficiency above effectiveness. The common practice how to achieve this and have it accepted by the population is to invent an authority, a body of specialist, who will investigate the most efficient way and who will pass a verdict, who will choose between right and wrong. The government will then hide behind the expert report and implement efficiency as the common rule for everyone to adhere to, for the good of the entire community.

Effectiveness cannot be manipulated, efficiency can. The other important thing about efficiency is that you can easily change it over time. You can reinvent your advice constantly and demand that the population switches accordingly. Anyone who protests or disagrees will be dishonoured and honed for being old fashioned and wanting to slow down the evolution and development of the entire population. You are setting us back to the Middle Ages, is a commonly heard war cry to gather the flock against anyone or anything that questions the authority.

In our society there are plenty of authorities to ensure that efficiency is revered as the highest of all goods. We have a medical authority, a consumer authority, an environmental authority, a fishery authority, a forest authority, a global warming authority, a traffic authority, a meteorological authority, an economic authority, an international trade authority, a religious authority, a law authority, a tax authority, and continue if you wish. What is important to know is that the function of every authority is to implement efficiency. It can be calculated and therefore it has an intrinsic value. People can, for their own good, be forced to adhere to the advise of the authority because it is the most efficient way of doing things. As all of these authorities are subject to the authority that hands them their power they are accountable, not to the people, not to effectiveness, but to their authority. Above people's head is a pyramid of power-authorities where the top of the pyramid disappears into the cloud, out of sight for the ordinary person.

Because authorities are being given their powers by another authority it shouldn't surprise us that what is being considered efficient in one country or one culture isn't in another. Again, diversity raises its ugly head. Efficiency can be calculated in many different ways depending on what is being included and how it is being calculated. No matter which way it is being done, the point is that efficiency is always decided by an authority. Effectiveness is always decided by the individual. In the former someone or something decides for you, in the latter you decide.

Why do we Give our Power Away

Why are we so keen to give our power away? Because of fear. Authorities rule only by installing and maintaining fear for the unknown. We feel vulnerable and are being told we need protection. It is not okay to feel vulnerable, apparently. It is not okay to find out for ourselves as we are taking an unnecessary risk. Instead we could be protected. Of course we pay a price for our protection. You wouldn't think that unfair, would you?

Out of fear we give away our freedom, our sovereignty. Bit by bit our entire life is being ruled by authorities that our fears keep in power.

Are we ready to say "no" to all outside authority and take back local control over our lives? Each group of people deciding what is most effective to them and what is right for them, without any fear of being different from other people?

Are we ready not to live in fear of missing out on opportunities, of not having enough?

Are we ready to live as a conscious part of a local ecosystem, in total harmony with our immediate surroundings, free of outside interference?

Are we ready to be our own authority?