What Is The Zeitgeist - Part Ii

THE ZEITGEIST MEMORANDUM PART II www.zeitgeistproject.org Malcolm CC Armstrong, PhD

A Global Call to Action – The Zeitgeist Initiative SUMMARY STATEMENT Inequality and injustice is often a result of the lust for power and noxious ideologies. This breeds arrogance and consequently can cause unforgivable calamities. The Zeitgeist Project desires to be a bridge between the chasms of opposing camps and those unforeseen causes (viz., ideas). It believes that authentic dialogue amongst influencers can be an important means to help ensure the Zeitgeist of the future is defined by hope. In other words, empathic dialogue can itself be efficacious in generating a Zeitgeist of equality, justice, and peace. Organic change, in a spirit of equanimity, is possible by raising the consciousness and conscience of society. For this reason, the Zeitgeist Project is arranging the first Zeitgeist Assembly where people who influence society artistically, spiritually, and intellectually will gather to address the State of the Zeitgeist. The issue which they will address is the following: given the current Zeitgeist what will the future Zeitgeist look like? Imagine what a critical mass of influencers could generate? The Zeitgeist Assembly hopes to inspire foresight, hope, and what the ancient Greeks called arete (the ability to reach our potential). There are many positive aspects of the Zeitgeist, however, we are always on the brink of either devolving or evolving. Issues inflicting the Zeitgeist cannot be addressed exclusively within the realm of philanthropy, which primarily deals with effects. By exclusively treating effects this means dependency for recipients. Consequently, the original issue being addressed becomes epidemic and cyclical. For this reason, the Zeitgeist Project seeks to redress issues as opposed to only addressing them. The Zeitgeist Project is, of course, not a panacea, however, it will play a critical role on the international stage. It will speak to a concern that has lingered across the ages. A concern that has inspired poets, philosophers and artists. A concern that transcends all ideologies and cultures . . . what does it mean to be human in the face of our mortality? This is what has always and will forever define the Zeitgeist.

A pathologist is one who studies the nature of disease and its causes, development, and consequences. A psychologist is one who is concerned with the well-being of an individual and assists one in becoming whole. The Zeitgeist Project has similar concerns except it is concerned with the collective psyche; with society at large and in understanding potential psyche/spiritual ‘diseases’ that may inflict society. In particular, it is concerned with how the future will unfold given the current Zeitgeist. It seeks to anticipate and prevent a future Zeitgeist that might be destructive. How? To encourage dialogue amongst people of 6

influence and thereby discover how the Zeitgeist is affecting us and ask how influencers are shaping the growth or decline of the Zeitgeist. The Zeitgeist Project recognizes the great potential in humans to create a Zeitgeist of harmony; for people to live with hope and for each person to realize that his or her life is significant. Consider how the Zeitgeist is analogous to one’s own body. How we treat our body will determine how long we live. How we feed our minds will determine the quality of our lives. Likewise, the life span of humanity is determinative on the Zeitgeist. This is because the Zeitgeist represents the heartbeat and soul of any society and given globalization it will affect how we collectively evolve. If you look at world history and compare it to today we have in many ways collectively matured, but of course we still face many challenges. What complicates matters further is that we are always on the verge of devolving. We are not always consciously in pursuit of what the Greeks called arete . . . the notion of striving for excellence/virtue in the attempt to reach our potential. And since the Zeitgeist tends to be fragile and fickle, not unlike ourselves, the Zeitgeist has the potential to perform unthinkable evils. If you think about the Zeitgeist, the collective personality of a nation, it operates in a very similar way as an individual. The Zeitgeist operates at the macro level while individuals operate at the micro level. They are mirror images of each other. Another function of the Zeitgeist Project is to have an impact on philanthropy. Philanthropy attempts to correct injustices in society and increase the well-being of humanity. Unfortunately, there does not exist a balanced approach to philanthropy which currently focuses its attention on addressing the micro level of our existence. If we want societal transformation then we must also be concerned about the macro level (i.e., the Zeitgeist). Every era attaches on to something. Often the Zeitgeist is reactionary and will rally around a particular cause. For example, the ‘cause’ a few decades ago was overpopulation, now it is the environment. On a much more fundamental level, it could be argued that what has always driven the Zeitgeist is one of the most basic of all human desires. It is a desire that has many manifestations like the desire for power, fame, money or popularity, etc. It is a desire everyone shares . . . a desire that defines humanity. What unifies people of all races is not simply our anatomical and physiological attributes, but also the fact that we are all desire the same thing. As we mature, we begin to wake up and ask more of life . . . ask more of our ephemeral existence. We desire a WILL TO LIVE 7

in the midst of suffering, paradox and contradictions. We want to justify our existence. We humans, unlike animals (who only follow their instincts), are always trying to make sense of things. The most common question, for example, of child is . . . “Why?” This universal desire to find a “will to live” often divides us because we have different ‘answers’ to what each person defines to be his or her raison d’etre. As a result, different Zeitgeists have emerged throughout the ages. Understanding past Zeitgeists is far easier than grasping our current Zeitgeist. Why? Because we are IN it. The question is, do we want to lift the veil of the Zeitgeist. It has for better or worse matured, but has it lost its innocence forever? Can we go back? Do we want to go back? Too often, we not only LIVE vicariously but also BELIEVE vicariously and allow the Zeitgeist to control us. If we could appropriate our ephemeral natural and our common angst in find a will to live within our fragmented existence we might realize how it is possible to transcend the Zeitgeist. However, as history demonstrates again and again and again . . . most of us are not courageous to lift its veil. Instead, we become resigned. Eventually we loose hope. Why? Because we forget we have power to impact the Zeitgeist. We forget we can contribute to the whole by being part of humanity’s collective growth like Emily Murphy. Today it appears that we have entered an “event horizon” and life has become like listening to an orchestra tune up. Sometimes it seems that we have everything to live WITH but nothing to live FOR. In physicsan event horizon is the area surrounding a black hole where time essentially stands still and what happens next is anyone’s guess. Never before has the Zeitgeist become global and never before has it reached the potential to collapse in on itself. In the last 200 years, humanity has experienced unprecedented change. It is debatable if we have paused long enough to generate enough foresight to ensure that the future IS what we envision it to be. Perhaps, as the religious studies scholar Huston Smith observes, “We have withdrawn ourselves so that we have as little emotional attachment to the world as possible. What we see is not very comforting. We find it far simpler to not be engaged with the outside world.” Regrettably, there appears to be little concern about the Zeitgeist. We tend to want shortterm solutions. Look at the world of philanthropy, for example. Most philanthropy, as well as a lot time, money and resources go towards stop-gap measures (i.e., band-aid solutions). In other words, much of the philanthropic world address issues as opposed to redressing 8

problems. Philanthropy tends to treat the effect and not the cause of issues. This means all the good that philanthropy does do will have to be addressed again the following year. In other words, philanthropy is cyclical in nature. It is being proffered that equal amount of time must be spent redressing issues so that we may be preventive and remedy the causes of oppression, suffering, injustice, apathy or anomie.§ What if we could operate with foresight, instead of waiting until it is too late to act? Ideas have a domino effect and can spread like a virus . . . and some ideas, once they gain momentum, can take centuries to contain and overcome. What ideas TODAY are being generated that will have dire consequences for the future? What if leading influencers could gather to discuss what the future Zeitgeist will look like given current trends? What if influencers made a conscious effort to use their influence to advance civilization? This is what the Zeitgeist Project is all about in its goal to orchestrate the first Zeitgeist Assembly . . . a bi-decade assembly where a nation’s and then world’s leading influencers gather to understand the current Zeitgeist, how we are being affecting by it and how we can move forward to ensure that we do not create a degenerate future. A critical mass of influencers could generate enough foresight so that we could “see” the future. Although we cannot predict with 100% accuracy what the future will look like, this does not mean we should not try to direct its path. What will come out of the Zeitgeist Assembly? It is believed that empathy, dialogue, awareness and the sharing of ideas are essential components to initialize change especially if those dialoguing are the most influential people of a nation or the world. From the Assembly a summary will be generated called the Zeitgeist Report. This report will serve to disseminate what is discussed at the Assemblies. The report will also be published on the internet to allow people from all over the world to comment on the Zeitgeist Assembly and the insights it generates. The Zeitgeist Report will also be distributed to policy makers, artists, government officials, think-tanks, the media, educators, and the UN, etc. We can choose to let the future take its course OR we can choose to sculpt it. If we want the future to be defined by hope then this requires that we move forward cautiously.

§ Anomie was coined by the French sociologist Emile Durkheim to express the idea of social instability caused by steady erosion of values and a sense of alienation and purposelessness experienced by a person or a society.

9

What we do today can redeem the past. What we do today can ensure that all our striving will not be for not . . . that what we think IS good does not END like Mary Shelley’s provocative and revealing novel Frankenstein. As we reflect on our own mistakes, we readily admit we have made decisions in haste. Society is no different. We must not let the Zeitgeist go unchecked. TODAY we must concern ourselves with much larger issues. Issues like harmful ideologies which affect how we think and thereby how we act. We must not ONLY be concerned about extending our mortality but the mortality of civilization. If we want societal transformation then we must start thinking organically as opposed to stop gap measures. The future is ours to shape, but this depends on every single human being playing their part. As Shakespeare uttered, “All the world's a stage/And all the men and women [are] players/They have their exits and their entrances. . . .” If we do nothing the Zeitgeist will continue to control us or worse destroy us. Remaining neutral is no longer an option given globalization. We must attempt to lift the veil of the Zeitgeist and break free of its grip so that we can begin to operate with FORESIGHT and HOPE in pursuit of ARETE. Every effect has a cause. How we THINK today and what we to DO today will have ripple effects into the future. The Zeitgeist Project seeks to operate like a catalyst by causing people to be increasingly conscious of the reigning Zeitgeist and the myriad ways it affects us. We can choose to capitulate to the Zeitgeist, compromise our integrity and believe vicariously OR as Shakespeare penned we can, take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep; No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;

10

To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause . . . Since the Zeitgeist is the character of any given era it can either devolve or evolve over time. Collectively we are always on the verge of evolving or devolving. By bringing together those people who impact the Zeitgeist this initiative called the ZEITGEIST PROJECT seeks to influence influencers and empower people to rise above the “heart-ache” that Shakespeare speaks of and reach our potential (arete). www.zeitgeistproject.org

11