Andy, Roger, all
Listening to you two debate this has been interesting but an analogy has come
to mind. Have you ever seen the movie Shortcuts? Well the basic gist is there
are no shortcuts. I feel one way is to try and press the fastforward button
so we can be the Jetsons and the other way is to try and press the rewind
button so we can be the Flintstones. But in the movie the as the cop is giving
a driver a ticket for driving too slow he tells her : driving too slow is just
as dangerous as driving too fast.
Another comment:
ROGER: In Chapter 24, Pirsig writes, "Society exists primarily to free people
from
these biological chains. It has done that job so stunningly well
intellectuals forget the fact and turn upon society with a shameful
ingratitude for what society has done." He then goes on though to call modern
American society a nightmare due to our failure to use society to keep
biology under control (to control crime, to instill decency in people, etc).
Pirsig's solution (foes of Platt beware!) is a "policeman or a soldier and
his gun."
ERIN: Please tell me you are interpeting this metaphorically not literally. If
you are taking this literally let me suggest another movie "It's all the rage"
which mocks the "gun solution"
How I interpreted this was that society had to be an authority for the
biological level, there has to be consequences for the biological but there is
a big difference between authority and authoritarian.
Let me use the analogy of parenting styles. Baumrind has identified 4
parenting styles based on the degree of parental acceptance and parental
control (authoritarian, authoritative, neglectful, and permissiveness)
Authoritative parents" (high acceptance, high control) They encourage verbal
give and take with children, give age appropriate explanations that explain
good and bad, set limits but willing to negotiate
Authoritarian parents (low acceptance, low control) highly demanding,
controlling, obey without question, rigid , distant and rejecting.
When the children are measured in school with grades and misconduct
best authoritative, 2nd authoritarian, 3rd permissive, and last neglectful.
** One more note somebody once told me that they had talked to a Japanese
police officer who told him that their officers were trained in the martial
arts and were heavily discouraged from using guns (I think by way of
paperwork)
and taken that with the gun policy of Japan, I think the gun solution needs
some technical adjustments.
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