CULTURAL RECONSTRUCTION

 

It is one thing to memetically engineer a culture, it is another to try to implement it, but the robust paradigms in place today will be languid soon, and they will be replaced by the first global culture. It is inevitable. The Humans of Terra is a universal, life-enhancing alternative culture for a mature human species, but it is useless if it cannot be implemented. Like Confucianism, the Humans of Terra uses education as its vector of change, but changing the global culture will start with individuals first before it can spread to communities and regions. The implementation will have to be by both the top-down and the bottom-up methods due to the magnitude of the goal, which is the Confederation of Terra.

 

Terran Communities

The bottom-up aspect of the Humans of Terra is based on the node, which is a semi-autonomous fellowship of like-minded individuals (and their families), gathered together for mutual support. The problem with transition periods is that there are no places for those aware of the next age to congregate. There are no schools, no churches and no organizations for those who are aware of constructivism, scientism and globalism. The environmental organizations, green political parties and New Age churches of the postmodern era provide only partial comfort. The awareness is growing, but it is not organized (not yet anyway).

Most political and religious organizations begin as grassroots movements, and the nodes will, at first, be a loose congregation of Terrans. These initial communities will have to meet in old warehouses, old schools or in the members’ homes. Starting a node is as easy as getting together with friends or putting an ad in the paper. In places of danger, the nodes must be cautious, but developing a community is recommended. Jobs can be shared until the node grows in size. Eventually, there can be a full time magician and, even, full time instructors and guides.

Where-ever there are people who wish to live in a mature world, they should organize. Where-ever they can meet, they should. They will gain confidence as they gain numbers, and take over office buildings and derelict schools, until nodes and nexuses can be independently constructed. The nodes will be completely autonomous, which should encourage diversity and survival. If a node is not what you expected it would be, look around until you find one which is or start your own. Expect that some of the nodes will thrive while others will fail, as it is all a part of the evolutionary process. Do not get discouraged, the maturation of the species is inevitable.

The Celebrations of Life and the New Calendar Festivals are meant to bring the community together. They should be led by the magicians and held at the node’s nexus, which may also have to be a member’s home or out in the wild until something more formal is possible. The rites can range from a simple party to an extravagant, theatrical ceremony. The ceremonies should encourage the node’s camaraderie, but most of all, they should be spectacular. Be creative and be careful, the dominant memes may not appreciate your revelry or your boldness.

Apart from the ceremonial nexus, the nodes need a place where people can come to learn. The Humans of Terra uses the Confucian model, which implements change through education. By organizing the school around an affect-knowledge education system, which imparts a broad introductory education at first and then allows free access to the wealth of human knowledge with the educators as guides and not narrators, the node members and, especially, Terran children should become strong and influential leaders.

There are many paths to knowledge, such as elders, books, schools, the media and the internet.  The mystics will be the instructors, as gnosis, philosophy, technology and science are explored in groups and as individuals. Education should also include sociality, history, linguistics (reading, writing, poetry, oration and literature), art, musicianship, morality, religion, politics, economics, mathematics, sports, games and horticulture, as well as the common language and martial arts.

The teaching of Common will be a wonderful way to unite the Terran community. At first, there will be only small night classes with uninstructed teachers, who themselves are co-learning. Eventually, there will arise enough proficient instructors and materials to make the job easier, but a rough start should be expected.

The teaching of the martial arts is important for many reasons. First, these exercises are valuable for health and physical conditioning. Second, it teaches discipline of the mind and control of the body. Third, it is always useful as self-defense, but the Terran-style needs to be much more than simply martial. There needs to be a commissioned Terran-style physical arts which combines the arts of kung-fu, hatha yoga, and tai chi, with a healthy diet, cleanliness, exercise and herb lore. In other words, it will be the teaching of proper body maintenance.

The industrial school system, which is still in place in the postmodern era, maintains the modern idea of the enlightened teacher and the ignorant masses. The affect-knowledge system allows the scholars to design their own education. After they are given the basics, the young scholars are let loose to learn whatever they want at their own pace. They will then be able to take their knowledge and affect their world. The transition from the industrial education system to an affect-knowledge system will have to take place outside the current institutions, as they are unlikely to change from within. The nodes should be able to accomplish this transition in five steps.

The first step is to develop the node as a learning center which will be supplemental to the standard schools. After school, evenings and weekends would be open for the children as well as the whole family. The learning centers should have whatever equipment the nodes can provide. The internet should be utilized to stay in touch with other nodes, and to share experiences around the world community. The instructors will be experimenting with techniques as well as learning themselves. All of the node members and their families will be welcome. Visitors will also be welcome. Eventually, advanced classes will have to be offered to the longtime members, and beginner and intermediate classes will have to be available for newer members. As the nodes experiment and grow, the world community also grows.

The second step would be the creation of a primary school for children. The third step is to create high schools for the adolescents. The fourth step is the founding of linked colleges and universities. They have been split up like this because that is how they are split up by the dominant industrial system, and because the founding of a primary school is easier than that of a college. The schools will be an extension of the learning center, as they will encourage the young scholars to be responsible for their education. The family may also have to double up as instructors since material, equipment and professional instructors may be few and far between as the Humans of Terra begins, but with fortitude, a new complex education system can emerge.

The Terran schools will be unrecognizable from the industrial schools of the postmodern era, with no grades, no tests and no authoritarian teachers. The instructors will welcome the young scholars to the wealth of human knowledge and then guide them through it. Via arrangement, the students and their family will negotiate an education with the instructors. The emphasis will be placed in the hands of the parents at first, but students will gradually become responsible for educating themselves. The evolution of the affect-knowledge system will eventually culminate in the Confederation of Terra’s universal school system, which will also be comprised of three blocks: primary, secondary and tertiary.

The primary block is for the students just entering the system. The child may begin when the parents deem them ready (usually between the ages of 3˝ and 5). Unisex uniforms and teaching both sexes together are recommended, but not mandatory. They should have fun leaning how to lean, learning how to socialize, as well as learning the basics. The primary block should use the Japanese and English primary school models, as this block most resembles the industrial school with a controlled curriculum, contests and memorization. When the students have demonstrated a proficiency in the basics (sometime around age twelve), they should progress to the secondary level. This determination should be mutual between the instructors, family and student.

The secondary block would be an intermediary stage based on further exploration, advanced studies, social activities and healthy competition. The secondary block has no equivalent in the industrial system, because the teachers become guides, aiding the young scholars in their search. The sexes should be separated as young scholars should begin exploring the entire gamut of human knowledge, balancing individual and group studies. The advent of virtual reality will greatly improve this system, especially after the founding of the University of Terra (the fifth step).  Also, sports and competition should be taught with the ideas of chivalry and bushido. The same determination as before will send the young scholar to the tertiary block sometime around age seventeen.

The tertiary block is to be based on the flexible American post-secondary system, which will focus on complex studies and vocational training. While in the tertiary block, the initiates will train under masters of their chosen craft as ministers, mystics, magicians and even monks.  They become adepts as soon as they demonstrate proficiency and graduate from the universal school around age 21, when they will be welcomed as a full member of the society, allowed to vote in the democracy, become eligible for the government post lottery (as age dictates), as well as becoming full members in the World Bank. After a demonstration of mastery in their chosen vocation, the adept will become a master and allowed to teach others. The very rare arch-master would be a living treasure, who can teach masters.

On the individual level, each member will be responsible for learning the Common language, learning the Terran-style physical arts, becoming an affective and knowledgeable scholar, and full participation in the community. It will be extremely difficult in the beginning. In some places, it may even be dangerous. Those who benefit from the economic pyramid will not want to see it end, and they will stop at nothing to maintain the status quo. The Humans of Terra is the hope that those who have the ability to change the world, will see beyond their petty perks and privileges to unite with the poor, who are kept too busy in economic slavery to have a voice, and bring harmony to a troubled world. Terrans must constantly struggle to stay mature in an adolescent world.

The nodes should become financially self-sufficient. A credit union should be established so the members are able to pool their resources for the purpose of opening small businesses which would be supported by the community, such as cafés, gyms, vegetarian restaurants, food markets, community laundry mats, condominiums, pubs, day care, bakeries, theaters, book stores and craft stores, as well as the node and nexus. The vocation choices for a mature way of life are slightly limited, but much more fulfilling. The merchants and inventors will not be repressed, but they become ministers and enterprise is still their realm. The only change is that we will all serve each other, instead of serving ourselves.

If any node gets too large (circa 1000 or more members), it should split off into two new nodes. Communities throughout human history have proven robust in small populations and languid in large populations. Where nodes are numerous enough, they should organize themselves geographically into cantons (or counties). At the canton level, the nodes can pool their resources to help build nodes, nexuses and other community works. Charter schools and high schools will also be possible, as well as the founding of colleges. The credit unions will eventually be united to form the World Bank. In the cities, there will be multi-media access for the Common language such as a local paper, television shows and radio stations.

On the regional level, there will be industry such as clothing lines, multi-media creations, publishing, arts and entertainment, Terran sponsored co-ed dorms, as well as building universities. Eventually, a worldwide web of nodes, cantons and regions will emerge into the Confederation of Terra. On the world level, there is the goal of building the University of Terra, with its virtual reality counterpart and supporting Terran community.

 

The University of Terra

After commissioning the Common language and the Terran-style physical arts, the main thrust of the world community is to build the University of Terra, which is the top-down aspect of the Humans of Terra. The University of Terra is to be built of stone and in cyber-space, as well as have a self-sufficient, supporting Terran community. Its mission is to store human knowledge, educate future generations, and continue the expansion of knowledge.

The Terran community built around the University of Terra will be the prototype of the typical community after Unification. The model for the community will be the megamalls of North America. Instead of department stores, the four anchor sites will be (1) the University, (2) a community center/hospital, (3) government/command center for the Humans of Terra, and (4) a high technology plant/research center. Shops and services will occupy the entire ground level, while apartments and condominiums fill the floors above. In the center, a beautiful park with ponds and fountains will serve as the community’s nexus.

This prototype community must also be the epitome of human ingenuity. Only alternative energies are to be used. There will also be no cars. The buildings, roads and paths must be within the natural surroundings not on top of then. The land and all life should be considered members of the community. The humans will be supported by a system of cooperative eco-farms. Since agriculture is an important part of human knowledge, the University will be able to re-invent farming such as organic, multi-crop, local plants preferred, medicinal and all without poisons, as the water should be as clean leaving our community as it is coming from the mountain springs. Over-looking the whole community, there will be a monastery for the monks.

The University of Terra community should be located in some mountain valley in a safe location. There may even be a need for several separate communities, both lambent and concealed. Common will be the official language of the community and the school. It will be governed under the stipulations of democratic anarchy, with egalitarian socialism in place as well. The entire community will also be a node of secular gnosticism, with an Alto-Confucianism sociality.

The University of Terra will be a fully functional learning center, which will be at the hub of a global, interconnected university system with campuses all around the world. Young scholars from all over the world will be invited for an intense Alto-Confucian, affect-knowledge education, as well as vocational training to take back home with them. The standard education will help each individual scholar strive to be an ideal human, while the vocational training will help ministers change the world with technology, medicine, international law, science and agriculture, as well as offering magician, mystic and monk training. There should also be a scholarship fund for poorer scholars, plus node, canton and regional scholarships will make getting to any of the universities easier.

The University itself will be based on the universal school system. Students from other systems will be able to enter the tertiary block or earlier if they feel the need.  The masters will be the most experienced and avant-garde of the world community. Their presence will allow the scholars direct access to some of the best minds in the world.

Along with developing skills to help change the world, the scholars will be collecting data to be converted into Common. Science, philosophy, gnosis, history, literature, music, film, art and other human endeavors need to be translated into Common for storage and for use by others in the future. A scanner will have to be produced which can translate writings into Common. This storage will greatly enhance the value of Common as well as keep the knowledge safe. The information gathered will be accessible from any computer tied into the university’s library.

The library will be a virtual Library of Alexandria. All of the data gathered by the world community will be stored there. The Library itself will be a virtual building with an almost infinite amount of doors, which will be able to transport the visitor to any time in history desired, from the Big Bang to the formation of the solar system, from the age of the dinosaurs to the Ice Age, from the Trojan War to the Moon landing. Visitors will be able to live through legends, myths and history. There will also be a vast collection of books and periodicals, as well as statistical information. Guides and virtual guides will aid the visitors. Discussion groups and clubs will be able to gather in virtual rooms, so that the entire world will be able to commune.

Most importantly, the library will also be the storage facility for the myriads of classes created by masters in their fields for use in universal schools. First through computers and then through virtual reality, the University of Terra will be the spring from which all our scholars (young and old) shall drink. The classes will take the scholars through whatever is desired to learn from astrophysics to parenting, from calculus to Ancient Egypt, from raja yoga to mechanical engineering. Different subjects would be available from a wide variety of different instruction styles, as well as available at different levels of difficulty. The node learning centers and universal schools would have server access to all of this wealth of knowledge continuously.  The world will be available to anyone anywhere any time.

The technical plant and research center will help put the virtual university together, as well as maintain and up-grade it. They will also have to protect it. There will have to be great caution exercised to safe guard this knowledge. The technological know-how stored and any advances produced in this branch of the University may prove valuable later on. It may even turn a profit for the world community, as well as keeping the technical knowledge safe.

 

The Confederation of Terra

Humanity has two possible futures: maturation or extinction. The way we are now, the planet would be better off with our extinction. It is up to those who wish for maturation to help bring it about. A mature culture will be needed soon for the inevitable global civilization, which has been assembling since the beginning of civilization. The Humans of Terra, is offered here as that global culture. Even if it is too late to stop the upcoming debacle, then it will protect the Terrans from the reality collapse, help them maintain their composure, and give them the ability to pick up the shards of a broken world.

Unification Day will be the culmination of the Humans of Terra, but there is no ultimate goal. Every accomplishment will be valuable, from the commissioning of the Common language and the Terran-style physical arts to the founding of the first nodes, nexuses and schools, from the founding of Common newspapers and magazines to the founding of the University of Terra, from the first cultures which accept it to the unification of the entire species, and beyond as humans begin to learn how to live in harmony with each other and the living planet.

The Confederation of Terra should also be a time of high culture, personal growth and a species-wide maturation. With egalitarian socialism, everyone shares in the bounty, as humans will finally be able to work at whatever vocation desired without being over or under paid (and the social stigma attached to it). With democratic anarchy, everyone will have a say in how their world is managed. With Alto-Confucianism, humanity will start to strive for the ideal. With secular gnosticism, humans will finally be able to celebrate life instead of regretting being born.  Also, the environment will be given the respect it deserves, and begin to bloom again. The Confederation of Terra will not be perfect (nothing ever is), but it can be a world of cooperation, dignity and pride.

The Humans of Terra will not be the last culture, because it will someday become as obsolete as the ones it replaces. Humans will never reach their full potential, life never does. The meaning of life is to strive. Death is advantageous to that striving, as organisms with death written into their DNA have taken over the world. Immortality is stagnation. The Confederation of Terra has its own inevitable death written into it, but until that distant time, it can provide a healthy foundation for an ennobling and life-enhancing world.

 

Are we ready for the masses to govern themselves and for the whole world to take care of everyone and the environment? No. Humans have come a long way extremely quickly, but we are not yet ready to be a fully mature species. The era of adolescent bickering and waste is far from over, and the near future does not look hopeful: pollution will continue unabated, the environment will continue to be devastated, disparity will increase and human society will continue to unravel until the world has sunk into the chaos of despair, disease, famine and war. It is unfortunate that humans seem to learn only from catastrophes, and it is a shame that peace, cooperation and harmony must be imposed over war, greed and perfidiousness.

There may come the day when the Confederation of Terra may be imposed on the world. The dilemma is how to impose it without being totalitarian. You cannot, all cultural realities are totalitarian for that is their nature. No euphemism will cover it up, even freedom must be imposed. Rather than using war, forced conversion or economic pressure, Confucius used the Art of Peace to impose his alternative reality (or change through a high culture). In other words, it becomes something others want to join. The Terran Art of Peace utilizes the Confucian well-rounded education, the five virtues, the ideal human and good leadership, as well as adding democracy and socialism, because a totalitarianism of equality and camaraderie is an honorable and pleasant totalitarianism for everyone involved.

 

Eventually, we will become a mature species with an ennobling and life-enhancing global culture. The Humans of Terra is one vision of what that future could be like. Many details have been purposely omitted to encourage diversity and initiative, so the outcome may differ from this one. For those who want to see the Humans of Terra become the global cultural reality, there is much to do. Since culture is a product of human minds, we can start changing the world, simply, by changing our perspective.

 

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