Right internal discipline is freely chosen.
This suggests a cool review of the options and a rational/emotional choice
about which one to run with. BUT what are the causes and conditions for your
choosing one option over another? (see next example)
Wrong internal discipline is culturally absorbed.
We are social animals. We absorb the culture in which we are raised. This
remains hidden till we are exposed to people from different cultures. This
can lead to fanatical behaviour. In these post-modern times we must learn to
live with cultural relativism and its attendant uncertainties.
Wrong external discipline is imposed. "Do it
this way." "Why?" "Because I tell you." The power relationship can be within
the family, community, tribe, nation, and so on. It tends to lead to
unthinking obedience which is rarely ideal in the long term.
Right external discipline is negotiated. IF we
are to be social animals living in a pluralist democracy where the rights of
the individual are to be respected THEN coercion must be at least
'reasonable' and at best negotiated. The watchwords would be consultation,
participation and ownership.
"Cultural influences have set up the
assumptions about the mind, the body, and the universe with which we
begin; pose the questions we ask; influence the facts we seek; determine
the interpretations we give these facts; and direct our reaction to
these interpretations and conclusions."
[Gunnar Myrdal] |
"Many forms of Government have been tried,
and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that
democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that
democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms
that have been tried from time to time."
[Sir Winston Churchill] |
"If those in charge of our society -
politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television -
can dominate our ideas, they will be secure in their power. They will
not need soldiers patrolling the streets. We will control ourselves."
[Howard Zinn] |
"Mastering others is strength.
Mastering yourself is true power."
[Lao Tzu] |