Yesterday evening during a glorious sunset (at a Zeitgeist meeting in Laguna Beach) I saw around 20 skimboarders enjoying the generous waves and physics of hydroplaning. It was quite a show. Their facility with landing on the skim boards after gaining momentum from a quick sprint, and sharp u-turns to surf the waves back to shore made me realize that this was an art for these people. They had likely spent much time in developing their skills. They cheered each other on and took turns in challenging the ocean. There was a real feeling of community among them.
They did not appear to have any official organization or laws to define their behavior: no signs, no contracts, no "terms of use." Their conduct was orderly and this order arose simply because of their mutual interest in the sport and respect for each other. Organization flowed naturally; it was self-evident. Taking turns in this way may be difficult for a two-year old, but for adolescents and adults, it was obvious. No one paid them to participate. See? There is hope for humans! We don't need laws to regulate every aspect of our behavior. If we can move beyond (via proper brain development) a terrible-twos mentality, then we can more effectively cooperate, and the situation/circumstances will dictate the means of that cooperation. One-size-fits-all laws developed in abstraction will be largely unnecessary.
Another point I want to make about this activity relates to understanding its social and individual significance. Commerce-oriented minds will narrowly assume that this sport has no productive output. What they really mean is that this activity does not produce a commodity, stock option, or some other money sequence value. If we look at "productive output" defined more broadly as "useful" we can recognize value in this activity.
1. The sense of community not only fosters social responsibility, but individual well-being since humans are naturally social creatures and need social stimulation to maintain their cognitive brain systems and emotional health.
2. Skimboarding is demanding physically, and as such it provides these people's bodies a wonderful exercise opportunity.
3. Since this activity takes place in a natural setting, it allows people to connect with nature that reminds them of the beauty and bounty that only Earth provides us. Ecological awareness and responsibility become part of the skimboarders consciousness.
4. Expressing themselves in this way helps to reduce stress and feel personal freedom to enjoy life.
A person deprived of these opportunities because of money or other barriers, for example, will be more socially isolated, less respectful, less creative, more careless about the environment, unhappy at work (and a misanthrope with coworkers), less physically healthy, and if this person has children, a less in-tune parent. Of course, all those problems are something that can be exploited to profit from, but that's a value orientation from an outdated, irresponsible, and inhumane economic system.
They did not appear to have any official organization or laws to define their behavior: no signs, no contracts, no "terms of use." Their conduct was orderly and this order arose simply because of their mutual interest in the sport and respect for each other. Organization flowed naturally; it was self-evident. Taking turns in this way may be difficult for a two-year old, but for adolescents and adults, it was obvious. No one paid them to participate. See? There is hope for humans! We don't need laws to regulate every aspect of our behavior. If we can move beyond (via proper brain development) a terrible-twos mentality, then we can more effectively cooperate, and the situation/circumstances will dictate the means of that cooperation. One-size-fits-all laws developed in abstraction will be largely unnecessary.
Another point I want to make about this activity relates to understanding its social and individual significance. Commerce-oriented minds will narrowly assume that this sport has no productive output. What they really mean is that this activity does not produce a commodity, stock option, or some other money sequence value. If we look at "productive output" defined more broadly as "useful" we can recognize value in this activity.
1. The sense of community not only fosters social responsibility, but individual well-being since humans are naturally social creatures and need social stimulation to maintain their cognitive brain systems and emotional health.
2. Skimboarding is demanding physically, and as such it provides these people's bodies a wonderful exercise opportunity.
3. Since this activity takes place in a natural setting, it allows people to connect with nature that reminds them of the beauty and bounty that only Earth provides us. Ecological awareness and responsibility become part of the skimboarders consciousness.
4. Expressing themselves in this way helps to reduce stress and feel personal freedom to enjoy life.
A person deprived of these opportunities because of money or other barriers, for example, will be more socially isolated, less respectful, less creative, more careless about the environment, unhappy at work (and a misanthrope with coworkers), less physically healthy, and if this person has children, a less in-tune parent. Of course, all those problems are something that can be exploited to profit from, but that's a value orientation from an outdated, irresponsible, and inhumane economic system.
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