It is said
that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. According
to Scholars Norm and Skye Hirst, good people with good intentions
simply living their lives may, indeed, create a Hell for themselves
and others. Norm and Skye are cofounders of the Autognomics
Institute, an independent non-profit research center whose purpose
is to study the workings of values in the way life develops.
Altogether the Institute's scholars have devoted 150 years to
this project.
The Hirst's
research studies have led them to conclude that values are not
mere Sunday School virtues that one can choose to embrace or
ignore. Values are a real force in shaping our lives. We all
have, and create, our own values though we may not be aware
of them as such. In a world where variety is a blessing, we
all have the right to our own values. However, just as there
is a law of gravity, there are laws governing how our values
should be used. Failure to understand these laws lead to an
abuse of our values. For example, Osama bin Laden may very well
have good values in what he wants to achieve, but his use of
violence is an abuse of values that lead to the opposite, evil.
They say violence is a plague on all of us. We need to understand
its origin. Every human is compelled to express the values held
in his or her unique identity. This is a personal process. Borrowing
a legal phrase, we call it "due process". Everyone
is entitled to his or her own due process. When the process
is thwarted violence will result; violence toward one's self
or others.
According
to the Hirsts, if the world is to work we must allow for an
infinity of possibilities. Deciding that one way is right and
all others are wrong cuts off the due processes. It dismisses
all those trying to express some other way. Evil is simple and
easily organized in contrast to good which is a multitude of
ways and difficult to organize. Self -organization is usually
required as permitted in freedom and democracy.
The Hirsts
say we have a unique opportunity. People seem to be more reflective
since the attack of September 11. We should realize that while
efforts to bring terrorists to justice may be called for, they
will not solve the problem if there are conditions in the world
that lead to terrorism. These conditions exist when people are
dismissed or de-sanctified. As an example there are billions
of people living in abject poverty and these people can turn
to terrorism or other forms of malice as a way to gain attention
and alleviate the pain of their plight.
Skye and
Norm Hirst are available for immediate interview. Their 40 plus
years of scientific inquiry into Life Process have given them
a unique and timely voice in discussing the recent terrorist
attacks against our country, and in the process introduce hopeful
solutions and a powerful fresh perspective during this time
of global introspection.
