eThoughts : Starting With Ourselves and Our Neighborhoods

One of the first places we can start is in our communities, among neighbors. What if in each and every neighborhood we gathered together to raise our concerns for and about living around each other? What if we emphasized genuineness as an agenda? What if we set aside first impressions or old impressions and we listened without prejudice, without figuring out what we’ll say when others have stopped speaking? What if we tried to understand the sense in what was being said, rather than just trying to find out what was wrong or in just trying to win with our perspective?

Sure, the scientist in us has been taught that ideas that are not falsifiable are inherently not as embraceable. For instance, in science either an idea is right or it is wrong. If we try to prove an idea wrong and cannot, we are strengthening the premise the idea is right. When we cannot find exceptions to an idea, it is a stronger idea. When we can, the idea has inherently more limits and/or more flaws. But does that mean we have to approach our neighbors as though they must be inherently falsified? The concept of falsifiability is for ideas, not for humanity. We can embrace our neighbors as people without embracing their ideas. And when we have falsified their ideas, we don’t have to say we have proven they are idiots. And when we have not found exceptions to our own ideas, we don’t have to say we have proven we are geniuses.

This is where science and religion can meet, where neighbors can meet. Hopefully it is where humanity can meet. Right now we cannot seem to extract the humanity of a person from our judgment about whether we believe in their ability to think.

I’m not saying it is easy. In fact, I’m massively discouraged at this point. For instance, if you’ve read some of my other postings, you’ll have read about my problems with barking dogs. It not only continues, but apparently I have become a barking dog according to the report of the animal control officer who interviewed neighbors. Yes, the lawyer lady next door to me has 10 adult dogs where the law only allows 4. And yes, I was told she was finally fined and reproached for it. But the judge simply said she had to get permits. And yes, this has been going on for over 2 years and she admits to have had the dogs for longer than that–she knows she’s breaking the law. And yes, I tried to talk with her (and others about their dogs), and no, she did not ultimately take care of it. And yes, she was also issued a nuisance ticket for barking dogs, which the judge arbitrarily dropped, without hearing any of the evidence (apparently, they know each other). And yes, dogs are pack animals and will bark at each other–it is natural. And yes, that is what is going on (I wonder if it is natural that dogs be kept in pens most of the time–hmmm?). And no, other neighbors are either not interested in getting involved or don’t care or are not bothered. And yes, the law says that it doesn’t matter, if the dogs are barking and it disturbs one reasonable person (yep–it’s that vague), that’s good enough (after all, what if it were a neighborhood of hearing-impaired people–does that mean because barking dogs don’t bother them, it shouldn’t bother anyone else?).

Yeah, it isn’t Baghdad around here. Sure there is a lot to be thankful for–big time. I embrace that, but in embracing that, does that mean I should ignore what amounts to noise trespass? I should wear earplugs at night, right? I should join the throngs of people who are so busy, whose attention is so engaged, that they cannot attend to one more thing. We should believe that which we ignore has no influence, or should not have any influence? We should believe that any kind of ongoing trespass, whether it is noise, light, pollution, etc., does not impact the quality of our daily living? We should argue in the case of dogs, that barking at each other is natural and ignore that being penned in is not?

All right, you’ve got my drift. The neighbors are wrong–really wrong. And their logic is full of holes. We are dealing with a group of people that don’t want to be bothered with one more thing, though they’ll step right out and acquire that one more thing (possessions own us you know, we don’t own them). And I also don’t want to be bothered with one more thing and I’d love for the intrusive barking to go away. I’m in somewhat of the same boat.

But, does this predicament I’m in mean that I have the right to announce what morons the neighbors are? Or, as I’ve often heard from people who empathize with my plight, that there is no barking dog problem that cannot be solved by a bullet?

I don’t know about the real solution. I do know the dogs of our inattention can wreck the quality of life. I also know that moving somewhere else doesn’t insure peace. It is not my neighborhood alone that faces such un-neighborly actions. I also know that I hate being at the center of such negative epithets as is coming my way (as in I’m the real problem). And if canines don’t ring your bell, how about trash, or barking administrators, politicians, or religious ideas? There is lots of unnecessary and intrusive barking, and it is not just the canines doing it.

I suspect that however resentful I am, that however hard it is, the real solution is about community and about elevating the quality of awareness. And I’m pretty sure that what goes on in our neighborhoods parallels what goes on in our world.

I would like to be part of the solution, I would like to see the energy and the emphasis about learning and awareness of the 60s return without the splitting into those who are tuned in and turned on and those who are not. Let’s keep the notion of good and bad ideas separate from our assessment of good and bad people.

Are my neighbors bad people? I don’t think so. Are they difficult? I think so. Can we fix it so they can have dogs and we can have peace? Absolutely.

No matter what we do or how much a community we become, will there always be someone whose emphasis is on destruction? I’m guessing that’s going to be true in my lifetime at least. Do we have to wipe them out? Mostly I doubt it. If we build community and awareness, we take away the food of discontent that the truly psychotic need to feed their insanity. Without that widespread discontent, it’s very hard to get others to join one’s craziness.

Let’s try polishing and elevating the quality of awareness again folks. I suspect that a critical mass of people are way beyond ready. Besides, think of the energy and the heart that such a focus can bring. And without the exclusion part, we’ve got a chance to make it work better than ever before.