I ask, “How come cramming works in school and not on the farm?” And people come to realize that a farm is a natural system governed by natural laws or principles, but a school is a social system—a social invention—that is governed by social rules or social values.
I ask, “Is it possible to get good grades and even credentials out of school and not get an education?” And almost everyone acknowledges this is possible. In other words, when it comes to the natural system of developing your mind, it is governed more by the law of the farm than the law of the school—by a natural rather than a social system.
Then I proceed with this analysis into other areas that people can relate to, such as the body. I ask, “How many of you have tried to lose weight a thousand times in your life?” A good percentage raise their hands. I ask them, “What really is the whole key to weight loss?” Eventually, everyone comes to see that in order to achieve permanent and healthy weight loss, you must align the direction of travel—your habits and your lifestyle—with the natural laws or the principles that bring the desired result, with principles such as proper nutrition and regular exercise. The social value system may reward immediate weight loss through some crash diet program, but the body eventually outsmarts the strategy of the mind. It will slow down the metabolism processes and turn on the fat thermostat. And eventually the body returns to where it was—or perhaps even worse. So people begin to see that not only the farm but also the mind and the body are governed by natural laws.
I then apply this line of reasoning to relationships. I ask, “In the long run, are relationships governed more by the law of the farm or the law of the school?” People all acknowledge they’re governed by the law of the farm—that is, natural laws or principles rather than social values. In other words, you can’t talk yourself out of problems you behave yourself into, and unless you are trustworthy, you cannot produce trust. They come to acknowledge that the principles of trustworthiness, integrity, and honesty are the foundation of any relationship that endures over time. People may fake it for a period of time or cosmetically impress others, but eventually “the hens come home to roost.” Violated principles destroy trust. And it doesn’t make any difference if you’re dealing with relationships between people, or relationships between organizations, or relationships between society and government or between one nation and another. Ultimately, there is a moral law and a moral sense—an inward knowing, a set of principles that are universal, timeless, and self-evident—that control.
I then apply this level of thinking to issues in our society. I ask, “If we were really serious about health reform, what would we primarily focus on?” Almost everyone acknowledges that we would focus on prevention—on aligning people’s behavior, their value system, their direction of travel with natural law or principles. But the social value system regarding health care—which is in the direction of travel of society—focuses primarily on the diagnosis and treatment of disease rather than on prevention or lifestyle alteration. In fact, more money is often spent in the last few weeks or days of a person’s life in heroic efforts to keep that person alive than was spent on prevention during the person’s entire life. This is where society’s value system is, and it has essentially assigned medicine this role. That’s why almost all medical dollars are spent on diagnosis and treatment of disease.
I then carry this analysis into education reform, welfare reform, political reform—actually, any reform movement. Ultimately people come to realize the fourth point: The essence of real happiness and success is to align the direction of travel with natural laws or principles.
Finally, I show the tremendous impact that the traditions, trends, and values of the culture can have on our sense of true north itself. I point out that often even the building we’re in can distort our sense of true north because it has a magnetic pull of its own. When you go outside the building and stand in nature, the north indicator shifts slightly. I compare this pull to the power of the wider culture—the mega traditions, trends, and values that can slightly warp our conscience so that we’re not even aware of it until we get out into nature alone where the “compass” really works, where we can slow down, reflect, and go deep inside ourselves to listen to our conscience.
I show the compass north shifting when I put it on the overhead projector, because the machine itself represents a magnetic force. I compare this to a person’s subculture—which could be the culture of the family or a business organization or a gang or a group of friends. There are many levels of subculture, and the illustration of how a machine can throw off the compass is very powerful. It’s easy to see how people lose their moral bearings and get uprooted by the need for acceptance and belonging.
Then I take my pen and put it up against the compass, and I show how I can make the compass needle jump all over the place; how I can totally reverse it so that north looks south. I use this to explain how people can actually come to define “good” as “bad” and “bad” as “good,” because of an extremely powerful personality they come in contact with or an extremely powerful emotional experience—such as abuse or parental betrayal—or profound conscience betrayal. These traumas may be so shaking and devastating as to undermine their whole belief system.
I use this demonstration to make the fifth and final point: It’s possible for our deep, inward sense of knowing—our own moral or ethical sense of natural laws or principles—to become changed, subordinated, even eclipsed, by traditions or by repeated violation of one’s own conscience.
In spite of the work we do on mission statements, if we don’t internalize them in our hearts and minds and inside the culture of the family, these cultural forces will confuse and disorient us. They will stagger our sense of morality so that “wrong” is defined more by getting caught than by doing wrong.
This is also why it’s so important that pilots be trained in the use of instruments—whether or not they actually fly in instrument conditions. And that’s why it’s so important that children be trained to use the instruments—the four human gifts that help keep them on track. This is perhaps the greatest role of parenting. More than directing and telling children what to do, it’s helping them connect with their own gifts—particularly conscience—so that they are well trained and have immediate access to the lifesaving connection that will keep them oriented and on track. Without such a lifesaving connection, people crash. They become seduced by the culture.
Striking at the Root
I once attended a conference entitled “Religions United Against Pornography” in which leaders of religious organizations as well as women’s groups, ethnic groups, and educators joined together, united by the fight against this pernicious evil that victimizes primarily women and children. It became clear that although the subject was repugnant to people’s sense of decency and virtue and they would rather not discuss it, they knew it must be discussed because it is a reality in our culture.
At this conference we were shown video clips of interviews with people off the street, including many young men and young couples. These were not violent gang members, druggies, or criminals; they were normal, everyday people who looked on pornography as entertainment. Some said they watched it daily, sometimes several times a day. As we viewed these clips it became clear to us that pornography had become deeply embedded in the culture of many of the youth in the country today.
I gave a presentation on how to bring about culture change. I then attended a session where women leaders addressed this issue. They related how Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) had become a compelling force in society when enough women became so alarmed about the issue of alcohol abuse that their involvement created a serious impact on the cultural norms in American society. They gave us booklets that described rather than showed the kind of pornography that was out there. And as I read about it, I became physically ill.
In my second and final presentation I told of this experience and how convinced I was that the key to culture change is to get people so immersed in the reality of what’s happening that they can truly feel its full pernicious, sinister impact on the ethical and moral nature of people’s minds and hearts and how this affects our whole society. The key is to make people sick the way I had been made sick, involve them in the data until they become thoroughly repulsed and motivated, and then give them hope. Get them involved in coming up with solutions and identifying what has happened elsewhere that has been successful. Work on awareness and conscience before you work on imagination and will. Stir up the first two human gifts before releasing the energy of the next two. Then search together for models and mentoring people or organizations that can influence for good and develop laws that promote the good and protect the innocent.