E.I.C. Enterprises - Changing the world

Normalized Racism

Barack Obama’s recent problems with Rev. Wright, his pastor of 20 years has provided useful insights into the racial divide in America. First and perhaps foremost it has shown the insidious racism which permeates far too many in the “black” community. That this type of thought is considered acceptable, to say nothing of rational, in a Christian church is simply heartbreaking. The sad fact is that as a percentage of the population, full throated racism is much more prevalent in the “black” community than the general population at large.

One would have to visit the KKK or Aryan Nation or various branches of La Raza to hear similar thoughts openly expressed and supported. And of course the twisted idea that some individuals, regardless of their thoughts and actions, can never be racist is absurdity on stilts. But it certainly gives complete cover so one never has to look in the mirror and ask hard questions.

Have “blacks” been discriminated against in the recent past? Absolutely. Does it continue to this day? Without a doubt. Is it far more than most “whites” believe? Most assuredly. It was only 40 some years ago when individuals were met with fire hoses, batons, and snarling dogs for marching for the simple right to be treated as everyone else… to be equal. Collectively we have strayed far from this noble goal.

But signs which read “Irish Need Not Apply” and “No Dogs or Mexicans Allowed” were also common not that long ago. Many questioned whether Italians were fully human and of course everyone has always loved the Germans. Those from Asia were treated as disposable entities, much less than human. American Indians have sadly been abused for hundreds of years.

Some might argue that the history of bigotry against these individual’s ancestors justifies their ingrained and normalized racism. To these I ask a simple question… how can actions and words which only further cement racist thoughts bring about the end to racism? It seems an insane proposition to me. Or isn’t that the goal in the first place? Or is the goal to only replace one oppressor with a new tyrant? A little pay-back if you will, as in black liberation theology. This is a solution to racism?!

An oppressed group of individuals will of course band together and form their own special ways of being… this is an observable fact which is true around the globe. But instead of freeing oneself this only chains the individual to this falsehood, this oppression. Worse yet, this has the perverse result of only spreading and embedding racism… as the distressing teachings of Rev. Wright so sadly illustrate.

I don’t know how to change the past. One million years from now the institution of slavery and racial bigotry will still be a stain on all of humanity… and it was practiced by most of humanity. Nothing said or done today can change this reality. Screaming and fighting to change the past seems like more than a fool’s errand, it leads one to a never ending spiral into darkness, despair, and failure. What is done is done. This not a philosophy, it is a fact.

The only way to end racism is to not practice it. Not really a cosmic thought is it? Ultimately there is only one person on the entire planet over which you have complete control, and that is yourself. If you believe racism is wrong, then rid yourself of racist thoughts and actions. Stop these insane beliefs about “black” and “white” this and that; beliefs which have no basis in fact or science. You can’t control “the other guy” so control yourself.

I will be the first to admit this is no simple task. I will be the first to admit that some might have to mentally travel further than others. That doesn’t change its factual truth. When forming my educational non-profit organization, E.I.C. Enterprises, I had a very difficult time gaining 501(c)3 designation from the federal government. My offense? In the schools I hope to open we refuse to classify individuals by racist slurs like “black” or ‘white”… there are only individuals and we will treat them as such. Sadly, this battle with the government is not over. They demand one be a racist, we refuse.

Schools – and one would hope churches and governments - should teach and promote the factual truth and the factual truth is there are only individuals and no individual is defined by their physical traits or where their most recent ancestors came from. It is no more complicated than that.

The Laggard

We are living in a time of incredible advancements in almost every area of existence. Your average home computer has the processing power of a 1980’s super computer. In medicine, every-day drugs that keep millions of people alive and healthy were dreams on a white board only a few years back. Science is pulling back the curtains of ignorance to reveal the most fundamental aspects of reality. Almost everywhere one looks, astounding progress.

One area bucking this trend is the public education system. Almost any measure of public school K-12 academic performance shows a steady and profound decline over the past 40 years – but hey, things are looking up.

There are reasons for this and the reasons are NOT lousy teachers and principals – the state is filled with incredibly dedicated personal at all levels. It is NOT due to teachers unions; although all unions by their very nature are resistant to change and the teachers union’s job is to represent their members, NOT the students. It is NOT due to a lack of funding. Nation-wide annual spending per student has more than doubled in the past 30 years.

Here in Colorado we spend almost $10,000 per year per student and still over 30% of those who go on to college require remedial assistance – and what of those students whose formal education ends with high school? What of their future prospects? What did they receive for the $130,000 spent on their K-12 education?

It IS due to a system that is severely broken and no amount of hard work alone will fix a flawed system (I speak as an ex-management consultant who is an expert in this area.) The failures of the public education system can be summed up in one word, monopoly. What has the past 100 years taught us about monopolies? They don’t work over the long-term. They don’t provide quality goods and services; they don’t improve, and they don’t voluntarily change. All aging monopolies have the following problems:

• First and foremost the focus becomes protecting the monopoly.

• A profound uniformity of thought and associated biases. In this monopoly it begins in the education colleges (a silly concept to begin with) and continues throughout the system; ruthlessly enforced. A don’t rock the boat mentality is adopted by those who don’t agree but like a paycheck (and friends at work).

• Lack of rigorous standards for both prospective and present members – instead the focus becomes protecting members of the monopoly and properly indoctrinating new members.

• Searching for solutions in fads and superficial window dressing rather than fundamental change.

• Blaming the consumer. It’s not our fault; what you want simply isn’t available. It’s not our fault; you just have to lower your expectations. It’s not our fault; look at all the societal problems we have to confront, you’re lucking we’re doing the great job we are.

• Failing in their fundamental role while at the same time constantly expanding their scope and associated power. Public schools now try to address every real or perceived problem in the entire society – all while the children can’t read and don’t understand math or the history of this country. Physiatrists with years of training and intense effort find it difficult to fundamentally change a single, willing individual. Yet we are somehow to believe that a person with an academically unchallenging undergraduate degree in education can profoundly change 20 or 30 children.

• And finally members just giving up. The thing is a behemoth which no amount of personal effort seems to affect. Worse yet, the thing seems to have a life of its own. No one person or group directs it. It simply happens. Give up and go along – or quit and move along.

There is only one solution - freedom of choice. That’s all. The beauty of the marketplace. The marketplace will discover what is desired, what works. It will provide more and more of this, generally at a lower and lower cost. Only a free market can quickly and efficiently solve this country’s education problems. The same free market forces that transform every area they touch. Look at the world around you if you need proof.

This is not a Democrat versus Republican issue. This is not a liberal versus conservative issue. It is the result of simple business analysis. The marketplace is the only solution. Only freedom can provide an opportunity for a quality education to the millions of children who every day are forced to participate in the public school system’s aging monopoly.

Free This Nation at Risk

In 1983 “A Nation at Risk” told the failures of the public education system. It was supposed to be a wake-up call:

“Our society and its educational institutions seem to have lost sight of the basic purposes of schooling, and of the high expectations and disciplined effort needed to attain them… If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves… We have, in effect, been committing an act of unthinking, unilateral educational disarmament… Each generation of Americans has outstripped its parents in education, in literacy, and in economic attainment. For the first time in the history of our country, the educational skills of one generation will not surpass, will not equal, will not even approach, those of their parents.”

Where are we in 2005, 22 years after this resounding alarm? Every day about 48,000,000 US children in grades K-12 move along the assembly line called the public education system; many towards a future of diminished opportunity, diminished hope and ultimately a diminished life because of the failure to obtain a decent education.

Why? Because the public education system is profoundly broken. Many 8th graders taking standardized math tests (math tests that are derided for only testing on 3rd grade math principles) have 95 - 99% failure rates. 50 - 80% failure rates are very common. The same is true in reading skills.

The odds of an 8th grader who can’t read and doesn’t know math suddenly learning these basic skills is very low. The vast majority of these children are destined to a life of diminished opportunities. Yet every day the assembly line moves each individual one day farther down the line.

Analyzing the situation as an ex-management consultant, this is not due to “bad” teachers and principals. The country is filled with hard-working, dedicated personnel at all levels. It is not due to teacher’s unions; although all unions by their very nature tend to be resistive to change and their role is to represent their members, not the students. It is certainly not due to lack of funds. Federal funding for education has increased 10-fold between 1965 and 2001. Total spending per student has nearly doubled in the last 30 years, but test scores have seen no significant improvement.

This failure is due to a broken system. And no amount of personal effort will fix a system that is broken or poorly designed. The effort may make it work better, but the problems remain. And generally people get tired of trying harder and harder only to find things remaining the same. Ask the thousands of very tired, very dedicated public school employees.

Speaking as an expert in organizational change, it is highly unlikely the present public school system can transform itself to address its deep failures. The performance of the last 45 years proves my point. Sadly, it isn’t even one groups fault; then it would be easy to fix. Rather it’s the nature of the beast.

The only way to quickly improve the public education system (remember those 48,000,000 kids moving on the assembly line with millions more added every year) is by providing freedom from the present system. “Normal” top-down change is not a realistic option. Instead as quickly as is possible, to save as many children as is possible, the system must be opened up. Whether this is through vouchers or some other instrument, immediate customer freedom is the only thing that has a remote chance of saving as many children as is possible.

The focus shouldn’t be on the “system”. The focus should be on how to immediately alter the debilitating education that far too many children are receiving.

This is not a Republican versus Democrat issue. This is not a conservative versus liberal issue. This is simply about providing at least an opportunity for a quality education to the millions and millions of children who every day move along the assembly line of this nation’s K-12 school system.

Who You Are – The Illusion of Ethnicity

Here in Colorado we have the perverse pleasure of watching Ward Churchill, a foolish charlatan who claims to “be” an American Indian (whatever that means), use this claim for his personal and professional gain. This claim is based on a supposed sexual encounter between two individuals a couple of hundred years ago.

This is of course ridiculous but it does open a larger issue; the whole issue of “who you are”. Ward Churchill claims to “be” an American Indian. Others are told they are Irish or German or Mexican or African… the list is long. What exactly does this mean? If you examine the science of it, there is no meaning. It is simply the continuation of scientifically false ethnic group thinking from our less knowledgeable and more tribal past. The American Medical Association states it rather clearly “ethnicity is universally recognized as being socially defined.”

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/13676.html

Which is just another way of saying it has no factual basis. Of course we all have ancestors. You did not just appear on the planet one day. And of course your ancestors had to live some place. And of course we are genetically more like our more recent ancestors than our more distant ancestors. We are not talking rocket science here.

But are you defined by your ancestors? Is it they that define who you are? Why does it matter that some of my ancestors can be traced back to counties we now call Ireland and Germany? These countries, as they are now understood, have only existed for a millisecond on the cosmic clock. What is so special about this small piece of time that we use it to define who we are. The honest answer is it does not. It is simply a historical artifact.

Why not move closer in time? I was raised outside a small town in Colorado, am I LaSallite John? Or why not further back in time? Modern science indicates all humans originated in Africa, therefore we are all Africans. Or let’s go even further back in time; am I Pierolapithecus Catalaunicus Conlin, perhaps the last common ancestor of great apes and humans? Or further back, am I Hadrocodium Michael Wui, perhaps a common ancestor to all mammals? Or even further back, am I reptile Johnny? (some would say so but that’s another story). Or further back, Johnster the happy first vertebrate? Or further back, single cell John-boy. Or even further back, to the very beginning, Johnmeister the spark of life. These classifications of “who I am” are just as valid as Irish or German.

The bottom line is that I am an individual with literally thousands of traits. I am not defined by any ancestor. My beliefs and actions determine “who I am”. Where some of my most recent human ancestors lived has absolutely no basis on who I am. Royalty or thieving, lying cowards; it makes no difference. One can of course have pride in one’s ancestors but that is a personal issue – for good or for bad it is meaningless in defining who you are.

My human relatives include every person on the planet. My ancestors (and yours too) include every living thing on the planet. In fact my ancestors include every living thing that has EVER lived on the planet. I am John Michael Conlin, part of an unbroken string of life that goes back to the very first spark of life on the planet. I am blessed beyond comprehension just to exist.

Perhaps it is time to cut the past loose and cast aside the old beliefs. Who you are is an individual. Who your human ancestors are and where they happened to live is an entirely different question and one does not influence the other. This requires a significant paradigm shift in our thinking, often accepting the truth does.

The idea of race is an outdated, invalid scientific concept: Isn’t it time we discarded it?

It is time to take the last step, the final step in the journey of Fredrick Douglas, Martin Luther King, Jr. and literally hundreds of thousands of other brave souls.  This final step is to at last accept the truth; there is no such thing as race.  It is a failed scientific theory from hundreds of years ago.  It is a false concept that is only kept alive by our keeping it alive.  There is no race gene.  There is no White race.  No Black race. Asian, Hispanic, all an illusion. 

So say the American Anthropological Association (AAA) and the vast majority of experts in the field.  To quote the 1998 AAA Statement on “Race”: www.aaanet.org/stmts/racepp.htm

Today scholars in many fields argue that "race" as it is understood in the United States of America was a social mechanism invented during the 18th century…

From its inception, this modern concept of "race" was modeled after an ancient theorem of the Great Chain of Being, which posited natural categories on a hierarchy established by God or nature.

"Race" thus evolved as a worldview, a body of prejudgments that distorts our ideas about human differences and group behavior. Racial beliefs constitute myths about the diversity in the human species and about the abilities and behavior of people homogenized into "racial" categories. The myths fused behavior and physical features together in the public mind,…

A “social mechanism invented”?  A “hierarchy established by God or nature”?  “Myths”?  Why do we continue to pay homage to an idea that is clearly not true in any scientific manner?

If we treat the idea of race like any other scientific concept; old, invalid thinking must be discarded when new discoveries are made.  Often this demands a profound shift in thinking.  Copernicus’s discovery that the earth is not the center of the universe is an example of a similar realization that demanded this type of profound shift.   

In the 18^th century Goethe captured this reality when discussing the profound impact of Copernicus’s discoveries:

"Of all discoveries and opinions, none may have exerted a greater effect on the human spirit than the doctrine of Copernicus. The world had scarcely become known as round and complete in itself when it was asked to waive the tremendous privilege of being the center of the universe. Never, perhaps, was a greater demand made on mankind - for by this admission so many things vanished in mist and smoke! What became of our Eden, our world of innocence, piety and poetry; the testimony of the senses; the conviction of a poetic - religious faith? No wonder his contemporaries did not wish to let all this go and offered every possible resistance to a doctrine which in its converts authorized and demanded a freedom of view and greatness of thought so far unknown, indeed not even dreamed of."

The false concept of race is treated much the same.  Ridding ourselves of this cruel fantasy is fought by those on all sides.  Ridding ourselves of this failed theory strikes at the heart of many deeply held beliefs.  Ridding ourselves of this obscenity opens us all to knowledge “which in its converts authorized and demanded a freedom of view and greatness of thought so far unknown, indeed not even dreamed of.”  Free your mind to the truth.  There are only individuals and they are not defined by their skin color.

I don’t minimize the incredible and deep re-framing I am asking from all individuals, but especially those who have been classified by this fiction since their birth.  I am asking for a profound change that many will not be able or willing to do.  For many this racist thinking is in their minds as a defining part of who they are.   It is completely understandable.  How could you not think in racist terms if since your birth you’ve been classified by this falsehood?  How could these thoughts not be seared into your being by rampant racism?  And an oppressed group of individuals will of course band together and form their own special ways of being, it must be done.  But instead of freeing oneself this only chains the individual to this falsehood.  Worse yet, this has the perverse result of only spreading racism.  This is a door that swings both ways.

The past is the past.  It cannot be changed.  Often the only way to address the future is to cut the past loose.  Let us all forever put the obscenity called race behind us.  It can start today and it can start with each and every one of us. 

For those who refuse I ask how is focusing on the fiction of race supposed to fix the problem of racism?  It is insane.  Under this crazed form of thinking, the absolute best that can be hoped for is that at some point in the future we can all say that “they” are not so different from “us”.   This is at best only benignly racist.  This is the goal?  The finish line?

The only way to end racism is to not take the first step; the classification of individuals based on certain physical traits.  This is within our power to do.  We only need to begin to do it. 

Let us cast aside the old beliefs and accept the truth; physical traits have no relationship to the individual.  Let us begin to see individuals as just that, individuals.  This requires a significant paradigm shift.  Often accepting the truth does.  Let us do it. It is time to take the final step.

Fermi’s Paradox

In the 1950’s Enrico Fermi asked a famous question. We should think about it seriously – we’re just now reaching the hard part.

Where is everybody? A question made famous by Enrico Fermi, a physicist of international renown. If the universe is teeming with life, and many believe it is, and since the universe or even just our puny little galaxy is extremely old, one would expect to see evidence of these alien lives – they could be millions or even billions of years ahead of us. So the question and the paradox, “Where is everybody?”

I’ll leave it to others to talk about the realities of gamma-ray bursters sterilizing entire galaxies or whether continuous habitable zones where life can reach an advanced level of technology are rare, or a thousand other real issues. The bottom line is the universe is a very dangerous place and many, many, many things must go right if life (assuming there is any other than here) is to develop into an intelligent, high technology species (and yes I include us in this description.)

But I don’t want to deal with those cosmological, geological, biological, chemical, and perhaps even theological questions now. Instead I want to address the paradox from where we find ourselves right now. For the first time ever, we are beginning to take control. From a life evolution perspective, we’re just now reaching the hard part.

All intelligent life that develops technology must walk the same path we are walking. This path is dangerous, unforgiving, uncaring, and set in stone. All technological intelligent life (TIL) must either attempt to navigate this path or wait for certain extinction. There is no other choice.

Why don’t we see evidence of advanced alien life? Because it is DAMN tough to make it.

The TILs must deal with incredible challenges to their basic nature (human nature here). Regardless of how the life evolved, it will be thrown into a situation where because of rapid technological advancement its basic intellectual and emotional designs are not made for the world in which it finds itself. Can they, and us, consciously adapt?

Can they not destroy themselves with the technology they discover? Knowledge is seldom controllable. As it spreads, the planet can’t have crazy, unstable tyrants who use this technology to destroy, because at some point (in our future it is very near) it will be an ability to completely destroy.

Technological advances require a wealthy planet. Can they discover political and economic systems that generate this wealth? Can they make these self-correcting so change is a constant, controllable flow rather than one of catastrophic course corrections? Can they spread these efficient political and economic systems around their planet?

Can they overcome their biases against those not like themselves?

Can they educate their populations so complex issues and the substantial time between cause and effect can be understood? Can they ensure they elect leaders who are wise and consistent rather than just the most effective liar? Can their political systems be built to survive those times when mistakes are made?

Can they keep from becoming fat and happy and then stupid and lazy? Can they allocate their resources wisely? Can they use their minds to deal with the environmental impact of their technology and their numbers?

When they take over their own evolution, like we are just now beginning, can they keep their “humanity”? Can they control the life they will find is surprisingly easy to manipulate? Can they even begin to understand the law of unintended consequences?

The list is long. Mistakes are easy. The costs of failure get larger and larger. If their collective knowledge is lost due to some catastrophe, will there be time to re-discover it before some other uncontrollable action cuts them down? Will there be time for another species to take their place before the opportunity for a TIL disappears from that planet?

In many ways each TIL (if there are any other than us) will discover they are on the edge of a crashing wave. They can attempt to surf the wave using their understanding of all that is (although with not even a remote guarantee of success) or they can ignore it and wait for it to crash upon them. There are no other choices; not for them, not for us.

Only in the past few years have we discovered both that we are on this wave and that we have the means to actively control our destiny as we race along this wave front. But time is short. We have the knowledge. We have the facts. Do we have the wisdom and courage? The choice is ours. Doing nothing is always an option but in that case the future is preordained. We will simply become some other planet’s Fermi’s Paradox as they look into their night sky and wonder, Where is everybody?

Copyright © 2008 John Conlin. All rights reserved

Change… a funny thing

Change requires just that, change. Yet often we fight change for no reason.

Change… a funny thing. It is truly amazing how we hold on to ideas we can’t defend, beliefs whose origins are unknown, and surprisingly even ideas we may not even agree with anymore. Yet we cling to them like a poor soul hanging on to the only tree left standing in a raging flood.

I’ve done it myself, far too often. I lived this resistance to change during my management consulting days. It is prevalent in all of us to some degree. In my consulting work it was easier for me since I didn’t have any “used-to-be’s”; everyone else had their very real, day-to-day experiences. I came in with a blank slate. As an agent of change I’d help my clients and their employees look at their organizations in completely different ways; thus my ongoing encounters with resistance to change.

I speculate this is a simple evolutionary feature. It’s straightforward; it is generally better to be cautious with every new idea (and action) rather than to blindly take it to heart. Do not let go of your present beliefs too easily; you are alive right now and unless you are in a crisis, things probably are not all that bad. There are a lot more ways for things to go wrong than for them to go right. So we hang on tight, whether we know it or not.

And guess what? If you are in a crisis you will find change much easier to accept. Significant emotional events are a catalyst for personal change, for breaking out of an old way of thinking and discovering and embracing a new paradigm.

Looking back on those occasions when we finally let go and accept a new idea, it is startling how hard we held on; often for no real reason (in fact often against reason). It’s not a moral issue; it’s just a trait we all have. Be aware of it.

With this in mind, now look at the world around you (and perhaps in the mirror). Far, far too many people live as though their beliefs are theirs for the choosing – that they have no relationship to reality and don’t need to fit into a larger coherent, cohesive worldview that is in agreement with the natural world. Far too many pick and choose their “facts”, and not surprisingly, the “facts” they choose always support the beliefs they already have.

One would never get onto an airplane which was constructed ignoring the laws of aerodynamics. In the modern world we seem to live as though what we wish, hope, and believe will somehow magically change the very fabric of reality. In the past, many of these views were understandable since our knowledge of the physical world was severely limited – especially when it came to our understanding of us – humans; who we truly are, how we got here, which, if any laws applied to us.

But now we do have the understanding, we do have the knowledge and we do understand our place in the universe like never before. It is time to fit these facts into our daily lives.

The first step in this process is accepting the ultimate fact of our existence on this planet. Our evolution on this planet is indisputable – whether by the Hand of God or the Hand of Evolution, the process is the same. Yet many fight this profound discovery and all that it means.

Those on the religious right often fight this acknowledgement because they believe it leads away from God. Nothing could be further from the truth – it leads one directly to God.

Those on the secular left don’t necessarily fight it, they simply ignore most of its implications; there is human nature (we are not blank slates) and this incredible gift of life (an unbroken string of life perhaps 4 billion years old) demands one to embrace individual freedom in all of its forms; economic, political, and social.

Liberals and conservatives, left and right, religious and secular, east and west – locked into their thinking, both ignoring any truth that contradicts their preconceived notions, yelling past each other with all their might, clinging to that tree like their lives depended on it. Changing might mean the other person is right. Can’t have that!

Have the courage to confront your beliefs. Demand they are built on consistent fact. Demand they all conform to an evolutionarily constrained reality – it is the truth whether one likes it or not. Have the courage to go on a journey of discovery and change. For just a short time, mentally let go of that tree and blindly follow the truth wherever it may lead. You may be amazed where change can take you.

Copyright © 2008 John Conlin. All rights reserved

This @*# Chainsaw!

Freedom and democracy are only the first part; then one must learn to use these new ways of thinking.

In my management consulting practice, I learned a valuable lesson; one that should be taken to heart as incipient freedom rapidly spreads across the globe. There are two parts to re-building any organization (or country). The first is the design and development of new systems. These are the new tools. This is an important process on which all future success rests. Poorly designed tools don’t achieve the desired goals.

But of equal if not greater importance is the second step, learning to use these new tools. If used improperly, the most magnificently designed tool will never achieve its goal. This process of failure, not in the design but in the use, cause problems that will reverberate throughout the organization (or country) and last for years.

I have often used a lumberjack analogy to make this point. For years and years people have cut down trees using hand saws and axes. Advances were made, like two-man buck saws (a large saw with a person working each side), but they were still the same basic technology.

Then one day some smart consultant comes along and convinces some lumberjacks (and jills) there is a better way (he was a good salesman). After much hard work, arguing, and debating, a new tool for cutting down trees is designed; a gas-powered chainsaw. It’s the right tool for the right situation. It is presented to the other hard working lumberjacks (and jills) with great fanfare. They are told how much better their lives will be. How much more they will be able to accomplish with less effort. How this will equate to a better job (and life) for each and every one of them.

Because the workers look forward to the promise of a better life they willingly buy into this new way of doing things (I told you the consultant was a good salesman!). Off they race; positive, energetic, ready for this new good life. But we haven’t trained them. So what do they do? They attempt to use the new tool as they’ve always used the old one – seems like a rational choice to me. They don’t start the chainsaws; they simply push and pull the chainsaw as they attempt to do their jobs. Needless to say, a chainsaw doesn’t work at all like this. It is not an improvement as promised, but is rather a huge step backwards.

The lumberjacks (and jills) work much harder than before and accomplish much less. Their jobs and lives aren’t better, both are now much worse than before. There is now open revolt (again a logical move) and a demand to go back to the old ways. Even though the old ways might not have been very good, they were better than this! The poor consultant is tarred and feathered and rode out of town on a rail (but with check in hand - I told you he was a good salesman!), and the organization goes back to the old ways with a sincere agreement, never again. Never again will they attempt something that stupid. Change isn’t a good thing; it is a bad thing which we will now fight with all our might.

What is the moral of the story? Individuals don’t magically acquire the knowledge required to use new tools; they must be taught, shown, and convinced. New tools demand change in our thinking, in our actions, and how we perceive ourselves and others. And the only way to accomplish this change is through education; both formal and informal. Thus the schools of E.I.C.

If we want freedom to race around the globe (and I put myself at the head of this line), and we want it to be a lasting change and not a one time event, then we need to remember that freedom is only the first part. The second and more difficult part is promoting positive change through various types of education. Help these individuals design the new custom tool and then help them change themselves and others so they may use it to all its glory.

This moral also applies to the problems of our inner-cities and minority academic success, but this consultant is only offering one story, so that one will have to wait for another day.

Copyright © 2008 John Conlin. All rights reserved

An open letter to the non-profit world

As a new member of the non-profit community I must admit I am confused. Why do so many of you believe it is acceptable to use the incredible coercive power of the government to forcibly take money from your fellow citizens to fund your “good works”?

How can one justify that all in the name of doing good? I know it is easier to take “government” money than convincing individuals to freely donate but how can you morally justify using governmental power to take away a person’s property, and should they refuse to contribute--their freedom… just to fund your “good works”? I am certain it is easier for police to operate without search warrants but thank goodness we don’t discard them simply because it is easier. Why do so many of you think it is acceptable to force others to support your cause?

Who am I? I am John Conlin, the founder of E.I.C. Enterprises Inc. (www.eicenterprises.org ) a start-up 501(c)3 organization whose goal is to provide a quality fact and science-based education to the poor and disadvantaged here and throughout the world. A large task indeed.

I’m an old marketer and salesman. I’d rather individuals be allowed to keep as much of their own money as is possible and then I’ll attempt to convince them to freely give it to me. How can one ethically think otherwise? If you believe that every human life is a profound gift, and I do, by what right do you take another’s property except in the most important areas? All of the great religious beliefs emphasize the importance of charity, but they speak of individual charity, not forced takings.

As I designed the business plan for E.I.C. Enterprises I thought a great deal about funding but on what grounds could I philosophically defend the concept of forcing other’s to support this cause? It would be much easier to spend my efforts bellying up to the government trough. I can see no morally consistent justification to forcing individuals to support my efforts, regardless of how important and profound I may believe them to be.

Now perhaps I am a hypocrite because E.I.C. schools will take vouchers and other such instruments but only if they are directed by the parents. Long ago this country decided it was in every citizen’s best interest to assist and even force the education of all children, and individuals are taxed accordingly. The wisdom of this can be another debate. My schools will simply compete in the marketplace for the privilege to assist in the education of these children.

I ask again, why do so many of you think it is acceptable to use the power of government force, ultimately the force of the gun, to compel others to support your cause? I’d like to know.

Copyright © 2008 John Conlin. All rights reserved

An open letter to the education community

As a new member of the education community I must admit I am confused. I believe all would agree that at its most basic, the goal of education is to teach the truth. No true educator would allow their students to be taught incorrect facts; 4 + 4 really does equal 8.

Yet there is one area where far too many educators seem quite willing to blithely ignore the truth. In fact they have become one of the primary propagators of a belief that is factually invalid; of an idea based on a failed and discredited scientific theory from hundreds of years ago. Yet it is championed by people who call themselves educators.

What is this failed yet championed “scientific” theory? The theory of race and its related false cousin, ethnicity. The concept of race is a failed scientific theory from hundreds of years ago. It is a false concept that is only kept alive by our keeping it alive. There is no race gene. There is no White race. No Black race. Asian, Hispanic, all an illusion. The ethnic concept of Hispanic didn’t even exist until the 1970’s when the US census bureau needed some classification for “them”

So says The American Anthropological Association (AAA) and the vast majority of experts in the field regarding the concept of race. To quote the 1998 AAA Statement on “Race”: www.aaanet.org/stmts/racepp.htm

Today scholars in many fields argue that "race" as it is understood in the United States of America was a social mechanism invented during the 18th century…

From its inception, this modern concept of "race" was modeled after an ancient theorem of the Great Chain of Being, which posited natural categories on a hierarchy established by God or nature.

"Race" thus evolved as a worldview, a body of prejudgments that distorts our ideas about human differences and group behavior. Racial beliefs constitute myths about the diversity in the human species and about the abilities and behavior of people homogenized into "racial" categories. The myths fused behavior and physical features together in the public mind,…

A “social mechanism invented”? A “hierarchy established by God or nature”? “Myths”? Why do we continue to pay homage to an idea that is clearly not true in any scientific manner? Why in God’s name do we do so in our schools?

Ethnicity is the same. The American Medical Association states it rather clearly “ethnicity is universally recognized as being socially defined.”
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/13676.html

Which is just another way of saying it has no factual basis. These things are called social constructs – i.e. they are made up and propagated by societies, but they have no basis in fact. Other social constructs have been a belief in witches and their necessary killing, that the rights of women are barely above that of a goat, that slavery is acceptable, that killing those who aren’t of your “tribe” is acceptable, that all Irish or Italian or Mexican (fill in your racist or ethnic or gender slur) are worthless, criminal, stupid (or intelligent, beautiful, good dancers)… you get the idea.

Of course we all have ancestors. You did not just appear on the planet one day. And of course your ancestors had to live some place. And of course we are genetically more like our more recent ancestors than our more distant ancestors. We are not talking rocket science here.

But are you defined by your ancestors? Is it they that define who you are? Why does it matter that some of my ancestors can be traced back to counties we now call Ireland and Germany? These countries, as they are now understood, have only existed for a millisecond on the cosmic clock. What is so special about this small piece of time that we use it to define who we are. The honest answer is it does not. It is simply a historical artifact.

Why not move closer in time? I was raised outside a small town in Colorado, am I LaSallite John? Or why not further back in time? Modern science indicates all humans originated in Africa, therefore we are all Africans. Or let’s go even further back in time; am I Pierolapithecus Catalaunicus Conlin, perhaps the last common ancestor of great apes and humans? Or further back, am I Hadrocodium Michael Wui, perhaps a common ancestor to all mammals? Or even further back, am I reptile Johnny? (some would say so but that’s another story). Or further back, Johnster the happy first vertebrate? Or further back, single cell John-boy. Or even further back, to the very beginning, Johnmeister the spark of life. These classifications of “who I am” are just as valid as Irish or German.

The bottom line is that I am an individual with literally thousands of traits, as are you and as are all of your students, their parents, etc. We are not defined by any ancestor or physical trait. Our beliefs and actions determine “who we are”. Where some of my most recent human ancestors lived has absolutely no basis on who I am. Royalty or thieving, lying cowards; it makes no difference. One can of course have pride in one’s ancestors but that is a personal issue – for good or for bad it is meaningless in defining who you are.

My human relatives include every person on the planet. My ancestors (and yours too) include every living thing on the planet. In fact my ancestors include every living thing that has EVER lived on the planet. Each and every one of us is part of an unbroken string of life that goes back to the very first spark of life on the planet.

If we treat the ideas of race and ethnicity like any other scientific concepts; old, invalid thinking must be discarded when new discoveries are made. Often this demands a profound shift in thinking. Copernicus’s discovery that the earth is not the center of the universe is an example of a similar realization that demanded this type of profound shift.

In the 18th century Goethe captured this reality when discussing the profound impact of Copernicus’s discoveries:

"Of all discoveries and opinions, none may have exerted a greater effect on the human spirit than the doctrine of Copernicus. The world had scarcely become known as round and complete in itself when it was asked to waive the tremendous privilege of being the center of the universe. Never, perhaps, was a greater demand made on mankind - for by this admission so many things vanished in mist and smoke! What became of our Eden, our world of innocence, piety and poetry; the testimony of the senses; the conviction of a poetic - religious faith? No wonder his contemporaries did not wish to let all this go and offered every possible resistance to a doctrine which in its converts authorized and demanded a freedom of view and greatness of thought so far unknown, indeed not even dreamed of."

The false concepts of race and ethnicity are treated much the same. Ridding ourselves of this cruel fantasy is fought by those on all sides. Ridding ourselves of these failed theories strikes at the heart of many deeply held beliefs. Ridding ourselves of these obscenities opens us all to knowledge “which in its converts authorized and demanded a freedom of view and greatness of thought so far unknown, indeed not even dreamed of.” Free your mind to the truth. There are only individuals and they are not defined by their skin color or where some of their ancestors once lived.

I don’t minimize the incredible and deep re-framing I am asking from all individuals, but especially those who have been classified by this fiction since their birth. I am asking for a profound change that many will not be able or willing to do. For many this racist thinking is in their minds as a defining part of who they are. It is completely understandable. How could you not think in racist terms if since your birth you’ve been classified by this falsehood? How could these thoughts not be seared into your being by rampant racism? An oppressed group of individuals will of course band together and form their own special ways of being, it must be done. But instead of freeing oneself this only chains the individual to this falsehood. Worse yet, this has the perverse result of only spreading racism. This is a door that swings both ways.

The past is the past. It cannot be changed. Often the only way to address the future is to cut the past loose. Let us all forever put the obscenity called race behind us. It can start today and it can start with each and every one of us.

For those who refuse I ask how is focusing on the fiction of race supposed to fix the problem of racism? It is insane. Under this crazed form of thinking, the absolute best that can be hoped for is that at some point in the future we can all say that “they” are not so different from “us”. This is at best only benignly racist. This is the goal? The finish line? This is what our schools hope for?

Copyright © 2008 John Conlin. All rights reserved