The Psychology of FAIRNESS

The Psychology of Fairness
Human organisms, 
like members of other social species
appear to arrive equipped to be fair.
Evolution equips us to be fair
Then society and culture step in and we
learn to become less fair.
I want to study that process

Religion v Childhood

Religion v Childhood
Religion is an early form
of ***psychological violence***
against children....
beginning approximately
around age 5,
when children, because of
innate *curiosity*,
[an attribute of all
mammalian species]
begin to ask questions
about their bodies
and their environment
copyrighted
for use only with attribution
Chithra KarunaKaran

Reason v Religion

Reason v Religion..

There is no society
 in the history of humanity
that does not make
"collective representations"
of its beliefs.

We EACH,
as individuals,
as mammals,
make representations beginning in early childhood.

To make representations
is to demonstrate social-cognitive ability.

The problem arises
when dominant Power is used
by certain members of society (mainly male patriarchs)
to define who can represent,
and who/what will be represented.

Certain religionists (again mainly male)
go to destructive lengths
to define, 
control 
dominate these representations.

Q. Need I name the relatively recent religion
that most displays this destructive power
to control representations, 
especially of women?

Look into your conscience, religionists.

Submission wont help
Reasoning will!

Complying wont help
Reasoning will!
 
Praying wont help,
Reasoning will!
Reason v Religion..
[copyrighted]
Chithra KarunaKaran

Truth Hurts but Lies Harm

Truth Hurts

but

Lies Harm

c h i t h r  karunakaran
copyrighted

 Power Parity
Election 2012 is over.
If the WOMEN we vote into power on OUR behalf, are really white males in female clothing, that will not help. 
If we elect women, who have bought into patriarchal rules of dominant and unequal power and they win, that will not help women obtain parity of power.

We need to develop a critical mass of women of will lead and vote smart policy that benefits the Greater Common Good, 
The GCG is gender-neutral.

http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/08/more-women-but-not-nearly-enough/?smid=fb-share

Q. Is the World Getting Flatter? 
Q. Are we becoming more and more like each other?
Q. Implying possibly that we are gradually losing individuality?
Q. Thomas ("The World is Flat") Friedman has a point but is it the whole point?

Both the short term and long answer is: no, no.no and again, no!

Arguably, people across the entire world are becoming ever more unique and special and one-of-a-kind, however, at the very same time as they are sharing information about daily events in real time.

While there may be homogenity of material culture example, laptops, cellphones, air travel, we are developing varied and numerous subcultures -- vegans, animal activists, transgenders, political hacktivists, artisanal tomato growers, etc etc.

I think there is a danger to individuals when for example, the corporate global culture of fast food produces higher and higher rates of OBESITY in even the poorer counties. 

What can each of us do? 
Choose our lifestyles carefully, think Globally, Act Locally and work nonviolently for PEACE with FAIRNESS towards ALL. 

Fairness towards the poor and the disadvantaged helps lessen inequality of access and increases equality of opportunity

No one should be left behind in the new Global Village that is Planet Earth. 
[If you use my copyrighted statement in any way, please use freely but attribute fully to avoid plagiarism, this blog is protected by Creative Commons Licence http://EthicalDemocracy.blogspot.com]

ROMNESIA!!! 

 This candidate cannot and and should not be allowed to change his positions every other minute, and get away with it. Mittens will do ANYTHING to get a CHEAP win (it will cost US plenty!), including selling out women and further ideologizing the Supreme Court.

The American people are famous the world over, for voting against their own interests as well as against the Greater Collective Good of the 99% of the world. 

 

They may once again mistakenly give Romney/Ryan the edge.

The American People gave Nixon ( not me, I voted, I didn't!) a landslide victory against the truly presidential George McGovern in 1972. 

McGovern was conferred the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Bill Clinton

George McGovern, 90, is currently resting and "unresponsive" in a hospice, surrounded by his family and well-wishers  The McGovern defeat by the American people, should give the American People  -- pause.

Should the American People vote against themselves and the world  -- again?

See, I don't have Romnesia -- I Remember

 

 http://news.yahoo.com/other-polls-show-tight-race-gallup-stands-apart-020811767.html

 

 

 

Romney slams Obama’s ‘incredible shrinking campaign’

DAYTONA BEACH—Mitt Romney accused President Barack Obama of running a campaign based on "petty attacks" and "silly word games" and accused his rival of having "...See More

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Yeah, tell 'em Karzai, Stand Up, Speak Out
Hey Good work Karzai, stand up and speak out against U.S. invasion and Occupation of Afghanistan.

The U.S. Govt has sent its own young men and women, mainly poor persons of color and not college educated, to die in Afghanistan, and to kill as many innocent Afghans and Pakistanis as possible.

Why?
Because the U,S. Govt is Greedy and Violent.
The U.S. Govt is the 1%
We the People are the 99% -- whether we live in Afghanistan, Pakistan or the USA!

Take note -- Afghanistan is a gr8 place for the U.S. Govt to attack Iran and steal her oil, defend Israel, attack Palestine and exploit Pakistan's weak state.
And also steal Afghanistan's enormous extractable resources which have been detailed by the USGS -- United States Geological Survey.

 Remember the U.S. govt is not US!
Never confuse the American govt with the American PEOPLE.

Occupy the USA!

Chithra KarunaKaran
Ethical Democracy As Lived Practice Blog

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta lashed back at Afghan President Hamid Karzai Friday, saying the Afghan leader should say thank you now and then to the allied forces who are fighting and dying there, rather than criticizing them.

Panetta was responding to Karzai's complaints Thursday that the U.S. is failing to go after militants based in Pakistan, and instead is concentrating on the insurgents in Afghanistan.

"We have made progress in Afghanistan because there are men and women in uniform who have been willing to fight and die for Afghanistan's sovereignty," Panetta snapped, as he spoke with reporters traveling with him to South America. "Those lives were lost fighting the right enemy not the wrong enemy and I think it would be helpful if the president, every once in a while, expressed his thanks for the sacrifices that have been made by those who have fought and died for Afghanistan, rather than criticizing them."

The uncharacteristic shot from Panetta comes as tensions between the two countries have escalated over the increase in insider attacks, where Afghan security forces or insurgents dressed in their uniforms have turned their guns on coalition troops. And it raises the temperature on the heels of the announcement that, as of last weekend, 2,000 U.S. troops had lost their lives in the war.

At the same time, however, there is persistent frustration with the insurgents, including members of the Haqqani network, who wage attacks against coalition forces in Afghanistan and can then retreat to their safe havens in Pakistan. U.S. officials have repeatedly pressed Islamabad to more forcefully go after the insurgents, including Haqqani factions in and around North Waziristan.

But, the U.S. also routinely uses drone strikes across the border into Pakistan to target and kill militants.

Karzai spoke at a press conference, complaining that if NATO troops want to go after terrorists they need to go where their safe havens are. And he also expressed frustration that Afghan forces aren't getting the weapons they need from NATO allies, suggesting Afghanistan might have to go to other countries such as China and Russia to get them.
Panetta's sharp retort also comes just days before he and other NATO defense ministers meet in Brussels to discuss the war and the road ahead, as allied forces begin to withdraw and transfer security to the Afghans. And the exchanges could fuel concerns among NATO allies that the insider attacks may be eroding trust between coalition and Afghan troops, making security transition all the more difficult.
Panetta last met with Karzai in May when he traveled to Afghanistan to meet with commanders and visit troops before the holidays. Both Panetta and Marine Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, will attend the NATO meeting.
Asked whether the insider attacks could prompt some allies to seek a faster withdrawal from Afghanistan, Panetta reaffirmed support for the current timeline that has combat troops leaving the warzone by the end of 2014 and turning security over to the Afghan forces. Officials have said that as many as 20,000 U.S. troops could remain over time, to continue training and counterterrorism efforts.
"My goal is to make clear to NATO and to our allies that we are taking all steps necessary to confront this issue and that it should not be allowed to deter us from the plan that General Allen put in place," Panetta said.

To date there have been 53 NATO troops killed in insider attacks, prompting military leaders to briefly curtail some partnered operations and set up a new approval process for those that involve smaller units.

 http://news.yahoo.com/panetta-says-karzai-thank-allied-forces-004507241.html?fb_action_ids=370749779671880&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582&code=AQAR9-AiRZS77F3iz_zPBnGgstZQEUoHfxE4Rs147DIHShE0GdyzSstDTgcCD7vbvr41fjWWslwBysuj1XEV4lnWHrp6u93LeDHB-17NSewZLnygrCq55h3OtM0SMEts102DhINwYMY1UCuSeP_QL_H6_TSSs1gSnxdUTXkfoZMnb7PEOApoxk_MlowhDXVrOLaQyidpwz_vbrvn0M9UoNyR#_=_

When Governments Speak instead of PEOPLE

India, the world's largest democracy is kissing U.S. ass

What is our problem?

If the PEOPLE of a postcolonial democracy, familiar with occupation and oppression, cannot stand up for ourselves and speak in our own diverse collective voices and push back against our kissup government, then what is our democracy worth?

When the greedy violent U.S. Govt asks us in India to jump (take the case of U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil), all the Indian govt. seems to be able to ask is:

How high?

Got to find our voice, the PEOPLE's voice at home and abroad. No govt can be allowed or expected to speak on behalf of its PEOPLE.

Same problem for my fellow Americans.

Occupy was a good start but not really grassroots or deeply, rigorously democratic. The core value of American individualism currently impedes collective endeavor.

In the Occupy movement this hyperindividualism is apparent among the majority of participants. 

Too many people saying in effect, "Watch me do me." 

Instead of Watch me do WE."

Q. Where's  OUR PEOPLE's pushback in India and the U.S. the world's largest democracies, when our allegedly elected govt. becomes oppressive or subservient to military/corporate vested interests?

The fault lies not in our stars, but with US, the PEOPLE.

Ethical Energy* Gandhi used to begin his workday by cleaning latrines in a community. Every elected and nominated official and everyone of US 99ers might want to come up with *their own variation of Gandhi's example*. As for me, I clean my neighborhood Park EVERY DAY while I am walking my dog BabyBax. Y' know, pick up litter, broken beer bottles, cigarette butts in a plastic bag that I bring from home. The NYC Parks&Recreation people love me because I work right along with them and I don't accept money for my COMMUNITY SERVICE which is my dutiful obligation in a LIVING DEMOCRACY. Yaaay, i'm just sayin' note: (my coined phrase Ethical Energy is copyrighted in Creative Commons which covers this blog)

The One is the Other The Other is the One

Advaita is one source of universal humanism.
Q. What is the philosophical source of the Sanskrit phrase vasudhaiva kutumbakam? [ the Earth is One Family]?
The main point of philosophies of the universal condition, is not necessarily even the phrase vasudhaiva kutumbakam which is an existential fact (Hitopdesa 12 century CE ) but the philosophy of advaita itself ( 7th century CE) — nondual consciousness points to this universality — if we practice nondual consciousness which is our true self, atmam, then the One is the Other, the Other is the One, therefore vasudhaiva kutumbakam The Earth is One Family
Think about the connectedness of these ideas with African (ubuntu), Native American (Great Spirit) and other ancient philosophies of a possible human trajectory that develops us rather than limits or even destroys us, through our own thoughts and actions. We face a choice -- universality vs implosive nihilism.

In fact the ideal of vasudhaiva kutumbakam is preceded and predated by Advaita and is both evolutionary and revolutionary, like advaita itself.

Chithra KarunaKaran
Ethical Democracy As Lived Practice
http://EthicalDemocracy.blogspot.com

A Separation -- A Film for US the 99%

A Separation is a film for US. the 99%

A Separation -- Film by Asghar Farhadi, Country: Iran,
A Separation is an extraordinary Film that illustrates the human condition.
It is simultaneously personal, psychological, political, religious, economic and universal.
The film deservedly won the Golden Bear and the Golden Globe.
I saw it yesterday in Manhattan.

The official response from the Govt of Iran to the awards, is to be expected. No surprise there.
It is a government of a country, a government that has been made reactionary, because it has long under siege, first by colonial interests, then by neo-imperial manipulation by the U.S. Govt, -- not by US, but by the U.S.

Such governments become distorted, even to themselves and their peoples, in their actions and responses. Ditto U.S., Ditto Iran. However, whatever, no matter that that government (and especially its oppressor, the U.S. Govt.) , no matter what they say or do, cannot lessen the power of the film.

A Separation manages to vividly tell a human story about perceptions of truth, affection, power, class, loyalty, tradition and loss, a film hat has the capacity to touch US -- that is, if we are not fooled [by propaganda from the govt. of U.S. which is the principal perpetrator OR by the govt of Iran, which is in turn reactionary to neo-imperial assault], and if WE are receptive to the conditions and challenges that WE the People face, no matter where we live, in the process of becoming FAIR members of the Global Social, Economic & Political Order.

A Separation is a film for US. the 99%

CORPORATE google vs. Creative Google

CORPORATE google vs. CREATIVE google
Shame on Corporate Google for BLOCKING access to my gmail mailbox.
Millions of mailboxes have been similarly blocked. Millions of users have complied as if they were sheep.
My gmail inbox continues to be BLOCKED for the 4th day.
That's corporate dictatorship!

Hey Corporate Google, Learn a lesson from Yahoo! Yahoo! has never coerced its users into viewing Yahoo! product promos as a pre-condition for using their email.
I know. I have had a Yahoo! mailbox for over 10 years.
i say Shame on ugly CORPORATE Google, while admiring the innovative CREATIVE side of Google operations example your search and research engines.
you have blocked access to my inbox until i watch your stupid video claiming your "new look' . Guess you have to try to impress your shareholders.

As someone who thinks deeply and ACTS proactively about democracy I maintain there is a significant difference between shareholders and STAKEHOLDERS in a democracy.

For those in your corporate operations who might argue that I have a choice -- either comply with corporate google or lose access to my mailbox -- my Q is: Is that a legitimate choice?

I am a STAKEHOLDER in civil society in democracy, NOT a shareholder in your corporate operations.

1. CORPORATE google, You have no legal or moral right to block access to my gmail inbox

2. CORPORATE google, You have no legal or moral right to coerce me into watching some corporate video about how new and improved your product is, as a prerequisite to having access to my gmail inbox.

I REFUSE to WATCH YOUR VIDEO about your self-proclaimed 'new look'

A Corporation is NOT a person! Therefore -- what 'new look'?!

Are you less totalitarian than China? They've been kicking your butt. You deserve each other! That's what totalitarianism looks like, boardroom mirror anyone?

If my mailbox continues to be BLOCKED by Corporate Google, I will take recourse.

Professor Chithra KarunaKaran
City University of New York [CUNY]
Ethical Democracy As Lived Practice
http://EthicalDemocracy.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/Chithra.KarunaKaran
================================================
Google's alleged "new look"
Here's my point:
Even the most forward looking corporates attempt to control individual action. In other words, they think they can tell you what you want and what you need.
Example:
Today I found Google blocking access to my gmail inbox
Why?
Google wanted me to view the 'new look' they supposedly have imparted to their email services.
Google does not provide a simple "No thanks, I'm happy with my service just the way it is",
Instead, Google BLOCKED access to my Inbox.
You are required to watch their dumb video telling you about their "new look"
For now. I am refusing to comply with Google's dictatorial approach.
Hey Google, I don't watch to watch your enforced video about how great your 'new look' is.

Corporate Google,Allow me to say "No thanks" to your new look and stop BLOCKING my inbox.

What Corporate google policy is this? Sanctions? Embargo?
================================================================================

Walmart Invades India

See how the CORRUPT Govt. of India Collaborates with Corporate LOOTERS to destroy the PEOPLE's ECONOMY?

Walmart Invades India

See how CORRUPT Govts. collaborate with Corporate LOOTERS to destroy what has the potential to become a PEOPLE's Economy in the world's largest democracy?

The Indian Government has never helped its farmers or its small retailers, the two largest sectors of the Indian economy.

Now India's govt. bends over backwards to give favorable terms to the world's largest corporation.

Walmart withdrew its operations from Germany because, the German govt.'s antitrust lawyers would not allow Walmart to undercut prices charged by local retailers. Or to remain open long hours, because of Germany's worker protection laws.

While Walmart operates in 27 countries besides the U.S. it does not have stores in ANY of the following countries that have a high UN Human Development Index (HDI) -- Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, France

In contrast Walmart has made headway in Africa.

In the U.S. Walmart has not (yet) succeeded in bringing its operations into New York City! A recent study showed that New York city would lose jobs and hurt small retailers.

If Walmart cannot enter the NYC business arena why does it receive landing rights in India?

The India of Gandhi's highly pragmatic ideal of local self-reliant sustainability deserves a more ethical government and more ethical business practices.

Neither India's govt nor Walmart meets the Gandhian standard

Predatory Capitalism -- the 21st century U.S. type

Predatory Capitalism -- the 21st century U.S. type

Predatory Capitalism -- the 21st century US type -- is represented by the US Corporate-Military-Govt complex (CMG).

US Govt. manipulation of the market to protect the 1% vs. the 99% , had led to this problem. Now, we have become Occupiers like our govt at home and overseas!

Let us be careful, 99%.

I blame the US govt. rather than Goldman Sachs, for creating and expanding this monstrous problem.

By Govt. I mean BOTH houses of Congress and the White House.
My Govt. is acting in cohesion with their fellow corporate 1%ers, to benefit themselves and each other -- the 1% --, while pretending to have opposite views, while pretending to represent the Greater Collective Good (GCG) of We the 99%.

So it's the GCG of the 99% vs. the CMG of the 1%.

You and I did NOT elect Goldman Sachs.

You and I elected the US Govt.

In democracy we elect govts. not corporates.

So what does the US GOVT. do? The US govt. uses and abuses my ballot to act against me, a member of the 99%.

Demonizing GS, while temporarily useful, even just to vent our collective rage, will not help us to fully understand and completely overhaul, step by step, the US Corporate-Military-Govt. complex (CMG).

EVERY, yes EVERY, institution or formation, including the academy, army, business, under the US model of PREDATORY CAPITALISM, is controlled and managed by a 1% that acts against the 99%.

The academy has its 1% that produces a 2-tier system of inequality in education.

The army has its 1% that sends poor young people to war to kill other poor people else

You and I are reduced to commodities.

You and I are sows' ears futures to be traded in a commodities market for predatory gain by the 1%!

We the 99% are fighting back as hard as we can to reclaim our human capacity and dignity and our claim to a Fair Share.

Let us not become the 1%.

Throughout history, Rebels became Tyrants.

Let us be careful, steadfast, truthful, caring, 99%.

Opportunistic Obama

Opportunistic Obama

The U.S. President is both politically pragmatic and politically opportunistic.

He knows he can't win in 2012 on the Economy because of his abysmal, dismal performance on JOBS. That is a campaign promise he made but did not keep. Instead he prioritized Healthcare. If you don't have a job can you pay for healthcare?

So today, Obama's trying to capture the anti-war, anti-GREED, peace and unity vote that has coalesced at OWS -- Occupy Wall Street.

Whatever.

I feel relieved the USCIA is supposedly planning to get out of Iraq.

USCIA -- Get out of South Asia too.

Enough already.

Get out already.
---------------------------
NYTimes copyright
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/22/world/middleeast/president-obama-announces-end-of-war-in-iraq.html
by Mark Lander
=================================================================================

If a CORPORATION is a PERSON, Hey Texas EXECUTE ONE!

My sign at OWS!
Be there.

The Occupation

Personal Accountability+Collective Responsibility = Ethical Democracy

see YOU at OWS!

Be there, YOU ARE the Movement against Corporate, Military & Govt. GREED.

YOU are the Movement for Equality of Strength & Power.

Be there.

Chithra KarunaKaran
Ethical Democracy As Lived Practice
http://EthicalDemocracy.blogspot.com

Does Occupy Wall Street Endorse Religion?

Ethical Values that benefit Humanity and promote the GREATER COLLECTIVE GOOD ***neither need nor require religion to bolster such universal human values***.
Organized Religion frequently undermines Ethical HUMAN Values that promote Redistributive JUSTICE and advance the GREATER COLLECTIVE GOOD (GCG).
Occupy Wall Street -- One Breath at a Time.

Breath is a pre-religious activity of all species and living beings -- Breath!
Chithra KarunaKaran
Ethical Democracy As Lived Practice
http://EthicalDemocracy.blogspot.com/

The Rockets' Red Glare -- from Pak Against the US!

The Rockets' Red Glare -- from Pak Against the US!
The USCIA manipulated Pakistan's military and govt for 60+ years, since the early 50's, the US got Pakistan to fight its US-invented Cold War, trained terrorists on Pakistan and Afghan sovereign soil.
Both Pakistan and Afghanistan's internally weak post-colonial governments took the US bait but also engaged in war profiteering and terror against their own people.

These US-initiated marriages were headed, from the word go, for Divorce Court, way way before the PAKISI and its proxy, the Haqqani,started firing the rockets on US posts (read occupation), mentioned in your article.

You sow what you reap, US.
Ditto Pak and Afghanistan.

In India, we did not allow one US soldier to set foot on Indian soil. We stayed out of your fabricated Cold War. We maintained cordial relations with both the US and the Soviets, and signed a strategic "treaty of friendship and cooperation" with the Soviets while building a vibrant democracy based on our own Gandhi-led liberation struggle.

See the resulting difference?
Learn from this, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The USCIA will not.
------------------------------------
New York Times copyright
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/17/world/asia/cross-border-fire-frustrates-american-troops-in-afghanistan.html