Value systems for centuries have been tied to dominant
hierarchical systems.
Such systems, whether people realize it or not, are visualized in our minds.
The language used to describe traditional pattersn of order creates a belief
system
with a supreme Being called God or Yaweh, Lord, Master or some such
anthropomorphic euphemism perceived to be at the top of a vertical vision
of society.
This vision further creates in the minds of most civilized people a belief
in a class
system where some people have more human rights than others.
In particular, the right to hold power over those deemed to be lesser beings;
hence this system perpetuates concepts of fascism, fundamentalism, racism
and
sexism. Concepts used to justify hatreds, war and violence of all sorts.
Women and children are especially disadvantaged in systems
which value power,
strength and military force of any kind. In addition to this belief in
anthropomorphism
is a similar belief in androcentrism which makes man superior to all other
life forms
on the planet. In fact the human species is totally dependent on all the
natural
eco-systems. Modern civilization in particular has failed to recognize
the five
sacred things in life - earth, air, fire water and spirit. Value systems
which ignore
the reality of the human species interconnection and interaction with all
other species
are ultimately doomed to failure.
Occasionally in the history of the human race alternative
religions, social and political
systems have arisen which condemn the values of power and control. A perennial
philosophy, which emphasizes the need to love and respect all forms of
life, runs
through most major religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, Islamic or Christian
thought.
In Western Christianity, which dominated Europe during the Middle ages,
indulgence
in values, which led to self-aggrandizement, was castigated as the Seven
Deadly Sins.
These were commonly listed as:
- Envy
- Avarice
- Lechery
- Sloth
- Gluttony
- Greed
- Pride
(considered the worst sin because it led to power, the greatest aphrodisiac
of them all.)
As Western Civilization developed and it began to colonize
and industrialize all
tribal cultures and global peoples, these sins of old were gradually negatively
transformed into human virtues, to human attributes. The heroic tradition
valued
those who exercised authority over others, or who exploited others in order
to satisfy
their own selfish ends. Greed, Envy and Avarice became transformed into
materialistic aggressiveness, intellectual superiority, scientific and
business acumen.
Lechery became sexual rights leading to the sexual abuses institutionalized
in the
modern escalating sex trade. Money makers are seen as go-getters. Profiteering
has become an acceptable attribute for success. This hierarchical system
of values
has dominated and hopefully peaked in most societies throught the 20th
Century
- a calamitous century of war and destructiveness of peoples and nature
See Model No. 1
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