The second is much more fraught, but reveals just how bound up we
all are with our current ways of doing things. Income is just a
convenient way to record some of the value which has been created through the
doing of work. If income captured all the value which was created (which
is something no single system can do, in my opinion) then Ray might be
right. However, since income (ie dollars) only capture some of the value
we need to look elsewhere for the rest.
I don't think income indicates any of the true
value of work here. It just spreads the money around so no one
will believe that they are getting something for nothing since everyone needs
cash to live. Its a social program that has nothing to do with
inherent value. Sally has made the point about non necessary
jobs and chooses instead to give a guaranteed minimum, not wage but
income. Ed Weick brought in the biblical sin aspect to
leisure as well.
Once we do that, we will never look at work the same way
again.
I agree but I think I just perverted your original
intent of that statement. oops!
Incidentally, I applaud Ray's posts because he keeps reminding us of
the value in the arts. We need to recognize that this value is very hard
to represent at a national level, most of it resides at a much 'lower' level
(ie in the community). Hence, a need for 'community currencies' which
can recognize, capture and redistribute this value.
I don't think I would use the term "value" for this,
however I think you are on to something. Even in a Superfund
site polluted with the worst lead and zinc problem in America, small classes
and lots of performing both in the Arts, Sports and Sciences created a school
that instead of being a nightmare was in the 88th% of the nation's
schools. The average per centage for schools on
reservations is 15%. I recently took tests that
confirmed the environmental abuse that I personally took during that
time. It ruined my ability to deal with numbers and languages and
I don't read as well as I could. The numbers are absolutely
true and I only sing in 26 different languages but my conversation is nada
except in my primary language, however, I can teach a mean course in
interpretation and diction of six of those 26 as well as teach phonetics in
the rest. The tests obviously have some fine tuning to do;
however, they are right about one thing. In order to keep up
the level that I work at the stress will kill me. And I'm not
being rhetorical. So I have to find ways to think of
work differently. To see the process and what it actually
means because the system has created a situation that is literally terminal
for me personally.
The lead with my particular genes did make certain
things impossible and that is the truth in spite of the obvious expertise that
I'm not supposed to have. It also will eventually kill my brain
and that is also true. (Its already begun) So I have little
respect for the system that had so little respect for me as a student and my
abilities. It was only through the super human effort of
family and teachers who truly cared and were some of the most practical
scientists I have ever known that I'm alive and kicking
today.
So I think Local Knowledge is the only way that
people can have enough support and strength to handle the incredible amounts
of data today. That test I took was
interesting. Instead of an even graph with knowledge helping
each other, it looked like the Alps. Some places that were
the highest the psychologist had seen while other places had deep
gullies besotted with lead poison that forced me to work harder on the
things that were available. My father came out of that
experience with a desire to learn about testing and got his Doctorate in
Psychometrics as a result. He specialized in helping people
do what was possible, but everyone didn't have lead poisoning and it took me a
long time to understand that.
I now figure that it is like the pedagogical
tool called "Taboo" where you taboo some part of yourself to make you
work with some other part that has been neglected. The key
to that part is that it be normal and have potential. We do
it all the time in piano when we are severely dominant in one
hand. We just refuse to use that hand and work with the other
instead. Sort of like the way Mickey Mantle (also with lead
poison) learned to switch hit. Do Australians know about Mickey
Mantle Charles? Well this was a ramble. I hope
it was worth it.
Ray
Charles Brass
Chairman
the futures
foundation
PO Box 122 Fairfield 3078 Australia
phone 61 3 9459
0244
the mission of the futures foundation
is
"...to engage all Australians in creating a better
future..."
