Have I learned anything yet?

Why? Let me begin by asking a question. Can you be yourself if you feel that someone is looking over your shoulder all the time? When you are certain over many years, that the one looking over your shoulder, doesn't like the way you think.

At age 72 I look back over many many decades. One criticism that comes to the surface, given to me by a retired teacher over the past months, "You know what your problem is? Your memory is too good!" He is 10 or 12 years my senior. Wow! Many times we have had interesting conversations. A very quiet and thoughtful individual.

What was the drastic change that I mentioned? The drastic change has been that in the last two days I decided to leave behind those from my early years. Why? Because as we pass through time, we observe, arrive at conclusions, we change. Reflecting over 60 years I realize that these people as part of my past have changed very little. Perhaps not at all. Captured and retained within their social bubbles they have maintained continuity throughout their lifetime. The existence of social peer pressure within each of those bubbles is the greatest inhibitor to change.

Yes but that's a serious move to make! Yes, it is. I have concluded that the most powerful force of our human behaviour is that of rejection. The most common behaviour of our species is that of jealousy and envy. Let's step back for a moment to that previous quote."Do you know what your problem is? Your memory is too good!" How is it that we change throughout our lifetimes? We change because we have life experiences. We change the way we think because we have accumulated a base of knowledge on which to make decisions. Aha, there it is. The better the memory, the more the decisions you will make. The broader the database of life experiences the more choices you will have. Therein lies the root of social friction. The basis for the jealousy and envy is the subconscious observation of unfairness. The unfairness that biology and genetics have dealt the cards in such a way that my memory is not as good as their memory. "I don't like the way you think." Simply an emotional response by someone without a greater broad understanding of a particular topic.

Are we there yet? Where is there? We currently live in a new informational age. With the Internet, all peoples of all cultures can connect if they so choose. The pursuit of knowledge is no longer available to a few. There has always been, and always will be "change". Our species has been acquiring new understanding and knowledge since the beginning of its existence. Therefore, "there", is a moving target that you will never arrive at. Perhaps the greatest asset that you have, is your memory.

Look back over social circles, cultures, and civilizations. The construct of all of these social bubbles is "conformity". How do we achieve conformity? It begins at an early age. The Greeks and the Romans took the male adolescent children out of the home environment, prepuberty, and placed them in living accommodations males. In many Western world areas, many families send their children to private Christian schools. From the earliest age, the intent is conformity. These practices also divide people into separate camps. One group looks at another group, "we don't like the way you think". This is hereditary, handed down generation after generation.

Behaviour modification. Social conformity. One of the largest contributors, "team sports". Examine the early adolescent beginnings of this path. We understand that early development in childhood begins long before the acquirement of speech. The young mind is soaking up information in its surroundings like a sponge. If one example would be a home environment, an inebriated father screaming at the hockey game. The pattern is already beginning to be established in the young mind. The head of the household, the one that makes the major decisions becomes the role model for the young developing mind. Acceptable in our today's society. Why is it acceptable? Follow the money. The so-called "sin taxes" have been most heavily applied to cigarettes and alcohol. Even from the earliest time of silent black-and-white films, cigarettes and alcohol have been glamorized. Sports celebrities engage in speaking arrangements, live a life of luxury, usually in a world of cigarettes and alcohol. The young developing mind observes an inebriated father, wants to be just like daddy. Daddy sits back in his armchair screaming at the television, having a few more beers, cheering for his favourite player. Because Once upon a time in his childhood he wanted that life of luxury, he might have been chosen and made the team. Step back for a moment regarding team sports. The early development of the young mind begins very early and is well established in the years of puberty. It is no coincidence that during these formative years that many adult responsibilities are bestowed on the teenager. We now understand that biologically the human mind continues to grow and develop until approximately the age of 30. Therefore, the young mind given adult responsibilities in their teens becomes firmly entrenched in a way of thinking by the time they are age 30. The imprinting and mimicking of role models in their social environment have assured hereditary behaviour. "This is the way we do things around here." This is a common thread in many agricultural communities, where the individual never left the community to pursue dreams. The mind continues to develop to age 30. Then when the individual is immersed in team sports at the earliest possible age, the motor patterns established are a result of "competition". Social cohesion, a team player, how to win. To be a winner, strive to be the "captain of the team". Rising to this level perhaps is not always about skill or maturity. Perhaps it is more about charisma to glorify the path of endeavour. Elevate the charismatic individual that will encourage others along this life path. Climbing the social ladder continues to elevate an individual's power and authority. Follow the money. Sports celebrities receive very lucrative sponsorship contracts. From the covers of magazines, speaking engagements, luxurious mentions, and exotic automobiles, "I want that", is everybody's dream.

Why is this a problem? It works, doesn't it? Yes, it works. It works in many social circles. It loosens up the purse strings of the majority of society. All the stops are pulled out, the credit card is pulled out of the wallet because we are going to the game on Saturday and we are going to have a good time. Follow the money. Stroke the social bubble of "team loyalty". Every dollar spent on a bottle of beer will be ripple through the economy hundreds of times. The economic spinoffs are immense due to team sports. It's the same model that many larger cities have when they bring a tradeshow to their community. The new dollars coming into their community cycles many times through their local economy.

Perhaps the most obvious reason that this is a problem, is because throughout the entire early years of childhood development, onward and beyond age 30, "critical thinking skills" are left out of the equation. Problems are solved through observation, evaluation, and then a decision. The widespread hereditary social acceptance of cigarettes and alcohol deter mental development. Yes in many biologically a good memory would never have been possible. Team sports I suggest is responsible for the destruction of "good memory" by the associated addictive behaviours. Socially acceptable behaviours and part of the social bubbles. The party after the game with drugs and alcohol. Team sports glorify conflict in a controlled environment. Social behaviours are developed, and I would suggest toxic behaviour in both men and women, precipitate from being a good "team sport" supporter. It is simply a hereditary intergenerational social bubble that continues to move through our society. Yes, the penalties for drinking and driving have become very harsh. But not as harsh as in some other countries around the world. Drugs and alcohol are a major component of many societies. These social disorders exist, supported by both the legal, and illegal components of their industry. The slow and long term degradation and an impediment to the natural development of intelligence within our species are continually bombarded because it's profitable. Profitable for government, and profitable for organized crime. By the time many in our society reach middle age, physical health has already been affected by long-term use. The curtailment of the natural development of the mind has already happened many decades ago. We have many individuals that are simply skeletons of what they might have been, "I'm too old to change". As they move from middle-aged to old age many will simply stare out the window and wonder what happened. Many will not have the cognitive ability to connect the dots to even understand their current circumstance.

So much for a preamble. Yes, too much detail. Detail required, because without some of this detail as described, "drastic measures" could not be understood by the reader. In many societies, probably all societies, young children are told: "the world is your oyster". Then at an early age, they are set on a path of self-destruction. Even the parents do not realize this, because it is hereditary. I was never put on this path, therefore I step back with many decades of memories and from this vantage point, the patterns become visible. Due to these patterns jealousy and envy rise to the surface. The only way to move forward and continue a path of learning and being inquisitive is to remove all those "looking over your shoulder" that have always felt offended. Yes, many pay no mind and are not watching or looking over my shoulder, they are simply too busy dealing with their own issues. Then perhaps the best explanation for walking away from the past, is that I need to be free of "them" because I know how they think, and I know how offended many of them feel. "Not my zoo, not my monkeys." Life is a path of continual change and never-ending learning. The "zoo", is comprised of those that will not and cannot change. Therefore for my future, I must leave them behind. There have been too many decades of impediment by "I don't like the way you think" people. And so began yesterday at 4:30 AM, scrolling through my Facebook friends list, deleting everyone that was from my early decades. These were by definition “abusive relationships”, they simply don’t allow you to “be yourself”.

I hope I have retained your attention through here to the end. Time to make my 2nd cup of coffee. Thank you for reading.

And now, to try and step away from perfectionism, run it through Grammarly editor and "publish it".