Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from Star Trek

 The renaissance of the Star Trek universe happened when I was young. The original series had its own cult following of course, but that was far before my time. In 1987, the franchise was revived and reinvented with the premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation, or “TNG” as it ultimately became known. It gained a fiercely loyal following, and I was one of those fans from the very beginning. Already a science fiction fan by the time I was nine, I was enthralled by this new weekly glimpse into one possible future for our species. It was hopeful, imaginative, and inspiring, and I sat absolutely rapt for one hour every week, just drinking it in. For me and for many others like me, it demonstrated the best aspects of human nature – our bravery, our curiosity, our discipline, our selflessness – and gave us all a standard to aspire to. While some may scoff at the franchise, shrugging it off as “cowboys and Indians with lasers”, Gene Roddenberry had an undeniably unique vision, and this is part of the reason why it has endured so long, spawning 6 television series, 12 feature films, and a library of related literature. Roddenberry didn't want to just tell a story - he wanted to create a morality play and a far-reaching drama, in which the characters learned and grew as individuals while they set about exploring the universe. The more you watch, the more you notice that there is a distinct moral philosophy woven into this universe, and that it actually gets a lot of things right. The following are a few of the moral themes that are emphasized on a regular basis.

1. Force is always a last resort. Much like in the martial arts, it's always considered smart to be prepared for a fight, but relying on strength to win every battle makes you a bully. Self-defense, and the defense of those who cannot defend themselves, are the only real reasons to use force, and then only after negotiation has failed. In almost any conflict, there is some mutually beneficial option available if both parties are willing to work toward it, and finding this option should always be the first priority. However, if you do get into a fight, make sure that you win...and brains can often trump brawn.
2. The ends never justify the means. Too often a seemingly noble goal is used to excuse bad behavior, and this eternal dilemma became a recurring theme within the franchise. Ultimately, hard choices have to sometimes be made, but the lesson often illustrated was that we must live by our chosen morality, even when it is difficult, or when the immediate repercussions are not in our favor. We are, ultimately, judged by what we do, particularly in difficult situations, and setting a positive example is often much more powerful and beneficial in the long term than opting for a quick or convenient short-term solution. It's far too easy, once one starts down a shady path, to justify increasingly abhorrent acts in the name of some ideal, until finally, one becomes the very monster one set out to slay.
3. Knowledge is power. Not surprisingly, science plays a key role in Star Trek, as it does in any form of science fiction. What Star Trek does particularly well is illustrate how science is more than just a body of knowledge; it is, as Carl Sagan put it, a way of thinking, of rationally interrogating the world. Over and over, it is highlighted that the more knowledge one can obtain about a problem, the more easy it is to come up with a workable solution, and that the universe is understandable for those who are willing to ask the right questions. Star Trek envisioned a future in which superstition and ignorance have largely been banished, but where wonder and spirituality have plenty of room to exist. What kind of world might we create for ourselves if we could turn this vision into reality?
4. Money is less rewarding than experience, and achieving personal goals. Very little is said about money on Star Trek, and if you ask anyone who watches, I'm sure they'd tell you the franchise is that much better off without it. One of the most important aspects of the Star Trek universe, I believe, is that it offers a view of a future society that isn't primarily driven by money and greed. Instead of the cynical, capitalist view that profit is the only thing capable of motivating people, it recognizes that we do have nobler ambitions, and can find deeper satisfaction in life by organizing our social systems accordingly. When money is mentioned, it is often in order to illustrate how easily it can come between friends, families and societies. Is Star Trek socialist? It would appear so, but it also appears to offer a more positive vision than anything capitalism has delivered to date. Something to think about.
5. Unity comes through shared goals. “To seek out new life and new civilizations...” That was always the goal in the Star Trek universe, and it's one that has undoubtedly captured the hearts and minds of a generation. On the show, it helped to bind not just humanity but a divergent collection of species together, this common quest for the stars, and it turns out that reality isn't much different. We've seen it in our history, and we can see it in many places today – nothing unites people like the challenges of exploration, whether it be the exploration of new territory, or new ideas. Across the world, scientists from many countries, some former enemies, are increasingly united in the pursuit of science. We are starting to recognize that we can achieve much more together than we can apart, and space, the final frontier, is calling. Perhaps, as Roddenberry's vision suggests, this ultimate goal can be the one that finally unites our planet. After all, space is big enough for all of us.
6. The unknown shouldn't be feared. Yes, occasionally exploring the unknown would land our heroes in a difficult situation, but they never let that slow them down. In the end, exploration was always a challenge (it's supposed to be), but that's what made for such fun, exciting plot-lines, just as it often makes for unique and invaluable experiences in real life. Both on the show and in the real world, new knowledge and technologies are often discovered as a result of pushing our boundaries and comfort zones. The benefits of exploring the unknown far outweigh the costs, and this is one of the most important messages that was passed on to a generation of viewers. After all, two primal impulses constantly play tug-of-war for dominance in our psyche – our curiosity, and our fear – and of the two, I know which I would prefer to guide the future of our species.
7. It doesn't matter who you are, what you look like, or who you love. While many of the aliens on Star Trek looked suspiciously humanoid – most likely to cut the make-up artists a bit of slack – it always made a point of promoting the ideals of both equality and strength in diversity. The original series featured the first televised inter-racial kiss, and every incarnation thereafter has addressed issues of equality head-on. A common theme is that of the 'odd man out' saving the day, highlighting just how valuable it can be to have a diversity of backgrounds, abilities and viewpoints in virtually any situation. Unwaveringly, the shows held to the ideal that anyone can make a contribution, and that co-operation is possible between even the most unlikely of partners. After all, if even the Klingons and the Federation could make peace, then it must be possible for all of us here on Earth to come to some mutual understanding.
8. Sometimes rules have to be broken. While the Star Trek series focus on the command crews of military ships and bases, and while there is consequently a command structure to be followed, it is frequently acknowledged that no rule should be absolute. Often, it is highlighted just how important individual judgement can be in difficult situations, and that while rules can provide a good guideline for behavior, there are many grey areas that they cannot fully anticipate. In these situations, sometimes morality requires us to bend or even break the rules, and although making this sort of a determination can be difficult, it can be simplified somewhat by making a habit of considering such complicated moral questions. The 'right' answers, in both fiction and real life, are rarely black and white, and so the best leaders are portrayed as part-time philosophers, able to discern and weigh the finer moral dilemmas and shades of grey in every situation.
9. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. The common good is a key consideration in Star Trek. While individuality is important, it does not take priority over the needs of one's friends and co-workers, or the rest of society for that matter. When a choice is presented wherein an individual can benefit at the expense of others it is universally shunned, and when a sacrifice is needed for the greater good it is generally understood to be simply par for the course. Often, sacrifices are made for total strangers in need, and this is the sort of nobility that we could always stand to see more of. Valuing individuality should not come at a cost to the community that supports that individual, and yet today it often does. Recognizing that true strength lies in unity is a milestone that some individuals and societies have trouble reaching, but it never hurts to have a positive example broadcast on a weekly basis.

 As far as philosophies go, one would be hard pressed to do better. Star Trek is firmly grounded in simple common sense, and yet it in defining its moral framework it somehow matches or surpasses the many religious philosophies, in terms of pure humanity, humility and utilitarianism. With the specter of superstition removed, it becomes easy to craft a philosophy, using reason, that can be of the most benefit to the most people, and not one group to the exclusion of others. Awe and wonder at the awesome machinery of nature serve to fill the gap that superstition leaves in the human psyche, and we already know that nature holds enough wondrous complexity to challenge us indefinitely. Maybe, someday, as we move out and start to explore nearby stars, this outlook will start to make more sense to more people. In the meantime, some of us are already inspired to look up at night, and imagine a more hopeful future.  

Interview: The Game Plan for Public Policy in the Next Century

 I recently had the opportunity to ask some questions of an employee of the Canadian Federal Government, with the aim of better understanding how public policy is formed, how the politics of the day can influence it, and what issues an insider might consider critical. In the coming decades, we will desperately need not just sound but innovative policies to address our social woes and to manage a rapidly changing world. I hope to push the discourse on this forward in any way I can. While the questions and answers here relate to Canadian politics and policy, the underlying issues are relevant anywhere in the world.

Q: What areas of public policy have you worked with most directly?

 As a Canadian civil servant, I have worked mostly on international public policy. In particular, I have worked on security sector reform in Haiti, and Canada-U.S. environmental policy, especially related to trans-boundary water issues. Moreover, I worked on policy research and policy coordination within the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development. Prior to that, I worked for an MP, gaining exposure to a wide variety of public policy issues.

Q: How long have you worked with public policy? What trends have you seen in that time?

 If all the experiences above are counted, this amounts to 10 years. These experiences are rather disparate and may not be representative of the whole of “public policy”. Nonetheless, I can make a few observations:

1. The importance of effectively communicating on policy issues.
2. The increasing set of actors involved in areas of the spectrum of public policy.
3. The increasingly multidisciplinary nature of public policy.
4. The importance of reviewing public policies to keep them current.

Q: Are there particular policy decisions that stand out as either great failures or great successes?

 Among others, I'd say:

 Failure: The inability of the international community to devise an effective mechanism to address and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.

 Failure: The ongoing efforts to pursue policies of economic and financial austerity in contexts of depressed economics, like in the European Union.

 Success: The Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement, at least it is a potential success for now. This is an agreement between logging companies and environmental NGOs, that helps to prevent the logging of boreal forests. Essentially, the logging companies agree to avoid them, and the NGOs don't lead boycotts against these companies' products, and may even promote them.

 Success: The Montreal Protocol. The treaty designed to protect the ozone layer, which entered into force in 1989, the first universally ratified treaty in United Nations history.

Q: What do you believe are key factors in crafting sound public policy?

 An openness to evidence-based public policy. A cooperative disposition or nature.

Q: How important do you feel that science is to the creation of public policy?

 Science, which includes both the natural sciences and the social sciences, is fundamental to the creation and maintenance of sound public policies.

Q: In general, which party or parties do you feel typically draft policies that show positive real-world results when applied, and why?

 In this context, I take parties to mean Canadian political parties at the federal level. In that perspective, the only true contenders are the Conservatives and Liberals, as both have been in office. My personal feelings are that the Conservatives are too willing to take positions that are not based on actual evidence, but that may be politically popular instead. The Liberals seem to be more open to work with evidence and stake out positions more in keeping with this evidence.

Q: Which party or parties tend to be more open to non-partisan collaboration? To science? Which tend to be open to change if the facts dictate it necessary?

 To me, the Canadian federal experience of the past 5-10 demonstrates that the Liberals, NDP, Green Parties are more collaborative-minded. The Conservative Party has been much less open to collaboration. Up to a certain degree, however, this may represent the fact that they are in office. There may be fewer incentives to cooperate with others.

 As for science, it is difficult to say. One can support science in a variety of ways, so there can be a number of “right” answers. Education financing, especially through the provincial context, may be important. R&D financing can be another way of looking at this question, but this is also supported by the private sector. Different parties can have different positions on all these issues, and they can all affect their commitment to “science.”

 I think all parties (often as represented by the party leader) have changed their views in accordance with the evolution of facts. Sometimes, party leaders change their minds even if the facts don't change. So the question to ask is not so much a look back at which parties changed. The questions to ask may be: what made them change their minds? How did this evolution happen?

Q: Where do you see trends in public policy heading in the next ten to twenty years?

 I think that trends I mentioned earlier will continue to amplify.

Q: Can you provide a few suggestions of your own in terms of what policies you feel would have the most positive impact on Canadian society in the next ten years or so? What about for developing nations?

 Canada: An effective climate change policy by the federal government, specifically a carbon tax. A full review of Canadian citizenship. Free trade with Europe must now be applied. Keeping to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. A national childcare service.

 Developing nations: Demanding that donors keep to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. Keeping military budgets low. Promoting regionalism through free trade and other small international organizations.

Q: How do you feel developed nations can best bring developing nations up to higher standard of living and to a level of self-sufficiency, without sacrificing the environment?

 Self-sufficiency is not necessarily good. I think it may be a bit bad. The free market is still the best way to develop economically. However, the government must curb its excesses. The government should also develop innovative policy solutions to promote economic and social development. The Bolsa Familia, a social welfare program in Brazil, is one example that is showing widespread success. Free trade with neighbours and all those who are open to it.

Q: Is Capitalism, and its focus on GDP as an indicator of success, viable for the long term? Do you see any better alternatives or better indicators of success?

 I think capitalism can be viable for the long term, provided that governments curb its excesses. I agree that GDP is a limiting indicator of success. That said, people and governments can make choices to use other indicators. Life expectancy; Average level of educational achievement; National Happiness levels (Bhutan); Proportion of Millenium Development Goals. New indicators can be developed if there is a need.

Q: If you could make one recommendation to countries around the world, or change one set of policies tomorrow, what would it be?

 A global carbon tax, applicable evenly everywhere. I would do it today, not tomorrow.

Q: Finally, where do you see global society heading in the more distant future? What predictions might you make about the late 21^st century? How can we help to guarantee such long-term sustainability?

 In the absence of a deus ex machina, I think global warming will fundamentally change the biosphere for the worse (from humanity's point of view). So this century will, I expect, turn out to be a century of adaptation to the worst effects of climate change. In that sense, that “long-term sustainability” to which you refer is very far off.

 And to close, I'd like to add a few comments of my own:

 I completely agree that solidly evidence-based policy should be the obvious choice, as does every single person I have spoken to on the subject, but shockingly this is not always the case...in some places, it's not even often the case. Too often, ideology and financial interests weigh heavily in policy, and the result, we see legislation that ignores or cherry-picks evidence. This is a trend that we absolutely have to reverse, or any hope of a fair and just society vastly diminishes. Parties that shun evidence and science should be made to pay a penalty for this, and it is up to the voters to make sure that this happens.

 Similarly, the ability to collaborate should be a criteria that everyone evaluates at the voting booth, as it tends to produce governments that are much more flexible and able to craft well-rounded policies. This ability also correlates highly with the ability to empathize with others, and it is easy to note that the parties that are most uncooperative also tend to promote policies that benefit some while marginalizing others. It's been noted by any number of social scientists that inequality is one of the greatest threats to social stability in this century, and partisan politics only further exacerbates this problem.

 This may be my liberal (or some might say libertarian) bias speaking, but the fact that conservative political parties tend to be far less evidence-based is an elephant in the room that needs addressing. There is a long list of policies, some mentioned here, in which conservative positions have been consistently disproven, and yet continue to be dogmatically defended. Obviously, there is some disconnect here; a reluctance to admit error, misplaced party loyalty, or perhaps a little of both. Loyalty, however, should have nothing to do with politics. Policies are what matter. Only this realization, and the subsequent willingness to abandon a party when its policies start disconnecting from the facts, can save democracy. Informed voters, who turn away from politicians that promote such failed notions as austerity or the subsidization of fossil fuel companies, can and do make all the difference in democratic societies. If we wish to continue enjoying the many benefits of a representative government, then staying informed and involved is the price we have to pay. I actually consider it less a price than a privilege.

 Finally, it should be noted that GDP as a global measure of success, as I may have mentioned in previous blogs, is not a great measure at all. I don't even agree that it is sustainable in the long-term, because it excludes so much, especially pollution, which even a Carbon Tax would not entirely factor in. It also encourages the rampant consumption that sits at the core of our current environmental dilemma, pushing other developing countries to consume as the U.S. does (read: not sustainably) in order to let them compete economically. Societies are much more than just the marketplace, and I believe that we should have a set of indicators that more accurately reflects this. Many countries have broadened how they measure success, and the results are encouraging. Success in the realm of public policy, as I see it, lies in taking a hard look at the realities we face, and then in using unflinching honesty to answer those questions that confront us. 

Japan - It's the Little Things

 Well, having written a lot of articles about science and sociology lately, I felt it was time to break for some lighter fare and touch on Japan again, since there is always so much more to say. This is aimed a bit more at those who haven't been here, as a way of trying to explain the nuts and bolts of what it's really like to live in the Land of the Rising Sun. Not just what you might see in travel magazines, mind you, but the weird, quirky stuff that often gets left out – both the good and the bad.

 Beauty and the Olfactory Beast: Japan is a land of contrasts, and one that I frequently can't help but notice is that you will often see beautiful, carefully refined, lovingly maintained gardens...right next to foul-smelling, shabbily maintained, open sewers. Japan in general opts for trench sewers with removable concrete slabs on top, but these slabs aren't air-tight, and so the result is that the smell of raw sewage often permeates the air, especially on hot summer days (which, here in Okinawa, translates to about half of the year). Given that the downside of this is so glaringly obvious, I can't imagine how this is still the general practice, but there it is. If anyone from the public works commission reads this, you should know that we bury our sewers in Canada, and I promise you it works just fine – I beg you to give it a whirl.

 The Culture of Cute: Everything, and I mean everything here has a mascot. A cutesy, cartoony mascot that stares back at you, waving from bank signs, food packages, utility bills, you name it. The Japanese, for some reason, are obsessed with cuteness. Think Hello Kitty. Think Pokemon. Then take that and multiply it a hundred thousand times, and you have some idea. For a few people (some women, and perhaps wildly flamboyant homosexuals) this is a vision of paradise, but for your average male this is like being forced to live out of your 5-year-old sister's room...for as long as you are here. And it's not just limited to the visual...almost every advertisement is delivered in a high-pitched, feminine, cartoonishly cute voice. It's enough to give you cavities. It may also have something to do with why Japanese men tend to drink heavily.

 The Hospitality Duality: I will come right out and verify that it's true what people think about Japan in terms of politeness – the people are almost always impeccably polite, even the students, which is immensely helpful when teaching junior high school, let me tell you. They will go out of their way to make you feel welcome and accommodate your needs, and I mean bend over backwards-type stuff, like “Oh, you need a new scooter to get around? Here, just take this one I have lying around”. THAT BEING SAID, I feel I should also note that as a foreigner, you will never, ever, be accepted completely into Japanese society - that's just how it is. While most Japanese have little exposure to foreigners, and as such develop a sort of fascination with chatting foreigners up when they have the chance, you'll always be an outsider unless you grew up here, especially if you're non-fluent and non-Asian. This just is what it is, and expats learn to deal with it.

 The Land of Peace, Harmony, and Loudspeaker Trucks: While yes, living in Japan may present a few challenges, I find it overall a positive experience. I feel like my job is great, my stress levels are low, and I couldn't be happier...that is, until the loudspeaker trucks drive by. For some reason, it's perfectly legal in this country to bolt speakers onto the top of a van or truck, and just drive around all day, blaring whatever you feel like blaring. We have these people on street corners in Canada sometimes too, but the police typically shoo them away, or lock them up before they can bother too many people. Here, especially during election season, these people go mobile, so that they can annoy almost everybody, excluding perhaps the deaf. In fact, after having to listen to my fiftieth election message of the day despite closed windows, bolted shutters, and the fingers buried knuckle-deep in my ears, there are times that I envy the deaf.

 Reduce, Confuse, Recycle: While Japan does make a reasonably good effort to recycle, how it goes about it is unnecessarily complicated and often baffling, especially for foreigners. While I could pick on any number of public services and institutions that are similarly wrapped in layers of paralyzing bureaucracy, how to sort one's garbage sticks out as one of the most onerous, since one has to deal with it every week. There are, depending on where you are, up to twelve different categories of garbage and recycling, each of which must be sorted, bagged, labelled, washed, and deposited in the right place on the right day. The days, incidentally, can change from week to week, just to keep you on your toes. If one's goal were to create a user-friendly recycling system that would encourage the maximum level of participation, a good first step would be to adopt any approach but this.

 The Ups and Downs of Japanese Cuisine: I love certain Japanese foods, probably the same ones you know from your own home countries, like sushi and tempura, that have made the leap across cultures. There are also some great dishes here that most people outside of Japan don't get to try, like okonomiyaki (a sort of omelette/pancake thing with fish, veggies and a yummy sauce). However, there are some downright weird things on the menu here too. For one, mayonnaise goes on everything. I don't know how it got so popular, but it goes in salads, on pizza, and there are walls of it in every supermarket. There is also a tendency to pickle all manner of foods that I just don't understand - not once have I eaten any of these dishes and subsequently felt happy about the decision. I find that a westerner can eat here by hunting down a modest selection of western staples and supplementing it creatively, but there are entire aisles that I have to bypass in the supermarket because I have absolutely no clue what to do with half of it, and the other half just makes me want to scream “WHY?!”.

 Japan is a unique place, full of culture and history, and I chose to live here not once but twice because I do love it, despite its many foibles. A lot of expats that choose to live here, as “Japanophiles”, tend to paint a rosy picture, but after all, this is a blog and not a travel brochure, so I prefer to offer a slightly more...nuanced view. Should you visit Japan? Yes, definitely, there's no other country like it. Is it perfect? No. As in any country, there is always room for improvement, but hey, at least the sushi is fresh.

Predicting the Future, Part II

 In an earlier article, I talked about technological advances I see on the horizon. This time, I want to go into the social trends that I foresee changing the world in the next few decades, as this has always been another area of keen interest for me. In part, I went into Psychology and Sociology so that I might do just this – use as much data as possible in order to create a predictive framework, and anticipate where we might be headed. This, in my mind, is the best way to design policies which can creatively address emerging problems, and even circumvent a great many as well. I hope someday to find a job in a charity or government organization that will let me do this for a living.

 Human history is a great predictor of future trends, and a familiarity with it is immensely helpful in making sense of complex social trends. The trick is to recognize which trends progress steadily, which progress exponentially, and which tend to fluctuate wildly. With the first two, accurate prediction is always a possibility with enough data, while in the latter, making accurate predictions are impossible, but sensible policy can help to mitigate the effects of uncertainty. In the twentieth century, we have seen a number of important advances which have changed the course of human societies. It is possible, with varying degrees of accuracy, to extrapolate how many of these will continue to affect our societies, and while I'm certainly not the first to do it, I may have a different vision to offer.

 We are, in the West at least, progressing toward a more equitable society, as we have had some time now to tinker with our democracies, figuring out through trial and error both what works and what doesn't. The civil rights battles that were fought over the last century, for example, have paved the way for those being fought today, particularly by gays and lesbians, and as this is a hot topic in the news lately, it is as good as any issue to address first. We now know, through our early struggles with segregation and apartheid, that these sort of policies have harshly negative impacts on a society. The negative impacts on the economy and moreover on the soul of a society should be apparent to anyone who conducts even a cursory review of history. Legally enshrining discrimination creates an atmosphere of uncertainty, institutionalizes cruelty, and can lead to the type of blatant scapegoating that the survivors of the Holocaust must be all too familiar with. It turns neighbour against neighbour, families against one another, and this atmosphere is corrosive to overall social well-being and cooperation.

 Social conservatives, who typically the ones to advocate such discrimination, tend to trumpet loudly how they are only seeking to “preserve family values”, but what they really mean is that they wish to preserve families like their own. This mentality - “there must be something wrong with anyone who's not like me” - belongs to the infancy of our species, and while many of us grow out of it as adults, learning to take a broader view and think in shades of grey rather than in black and white, not everyone has access to the sort of education and experience that would allow them to do so. Such attitudes are based on simple ignorance, for the most part, and it is easy to track how with greater knowledge of how real gays and lesbians actually live, the Western world has come to terms with the fact that they are normal, everyday people who simply want to live out their lives in peace, and who not only have families, but strong values as well.

 As we move forward, there is certainly resistance to this in more conservative countries, but as culture becomes more globalized through the power of the internet, the social and economic pressure will only increase against countries that choose to discriminate against their own LGBT citizens. We see this now with Uganda, which, after passing what could only be described as draconian anti-gay laws, has seen millions of dollars in aid from foreign countries evaporate within weeks. As with the civil rights movements of the past, momentum will likely continue to build, until the last holdouts are widely regarded as barbaric, and internationally ostracized. It will take time, but this will likely be as much of a non-issue in thirty years as it is in places like Canada and the Netherlands today.

 Another social issue that is ready to fall is similarly related to what we do with our own bodies – the use of narcotics. In the past, most nations have taken the position that the government has the right to dictate what substances its citizens may choose to ingest, but, as more and more around the world are coming to realize, this position has been a spectacular and expensive failure. Not only has it proven impossible to enforce, but in the course of trying to enforce such laws, they are often used as a tool to oppress minorities, which has become the clear pattern in many countries, most notably the United States. Initially, marijuana laws were used a means of controlling the Mexicans who primarily smoked it, but now, although both whites and blacks have similar patterns of use, blacks are incarcerated far, far more for the crime of simple possession. To be blunt, this is a shameful waste of human life and potential, an affront to justice, and probably one of the worst ways to effectively handle the real problem of drug addiction. As history has shown, particularly during Prohibition, the threat of punishment is an ineffective deterrent in fighting substance abuse, and driving the production and sale of controlled substances underground simply fuels criminal organizations, while depriving governments of taxable income. We now know that there are much more effective means of coping with these issues. 

 In Portugal, for example, all substance abuse laws were struck down, not just those relating to marijuana, and instead substance abuse is now treated as a public health issue. This policy has proven stunningly effective, and in addition, has saved huge amounts of money that can be then utilized more effectively elsewhere. In Colorado, which has recently legalized the sale and purchase of marijuana, the tax revenues have exceeded expectations, and they can now spend more money on programs designed to prevent children from using drugs in the first place, which are, incidentally, far more effective a deterrent than the threat of jail. Across the world, the tide of opinion is shifting on this issue, and as more success stories like those above emerge, the further it will shift. Uruguay, the first country to entirely legalize the sale of marijuana, is most likely to be the first of many, as nations realize that they are missing out on a massive, untapped source of revenue, from a product that has been demonstrated to be far less harmful than alcohol, non-addictive, and that may even have health benefits. In thirty years, the worldwide use of marijuana, through state-regulated sources, will likely rival the use of alcohol, and the archaic way we handle addiction to more dangerous substances will likely see a great deal of reform.

 Inevitably, we must circle back to the economy in any discussion about the future of society, as it too will likely change radically over the next thirty years or so. In the past century, what we have seen is the running-out of the capitalist model, as it consistently demonstrates its rather glaring weaknesses. While it may have been well-adapted to the conditions of the previous century, as conditions change it seems increasingly ready to give way to better models. The foremost weakness of capitalism is its inability to incorporate factors which, although essential to consider in the long term, lie outside the purview of the traditional Neo-Classical economic model. “Externalities”, as they have come to be called, encompass such factors as the value of the services provided by the environment, the effects of pollution, the human costs of unfair labour practices, the social impact of corner-cutting when essential services are privatized, and so on. Capitalism is, at its heart, about the bottom line, and while this may be important when talking strictly about the economy, it cannot be all we talk about in a real-world discussion of the economy, because in reality its impact can be felt far beyond the financial sector. Economic decisions have social and environmental blow-back, a fact we are beginning to truly come to terms with, and in time this may steer us to elect leaders with experience beyond simply the business world. While economic understanding may be a necessary prerequisite for leadership, it should no longer be a sufficient one.

 Beyond this however, we must also consider that the very basis for our current economy may be outdated in very short order. As it stands, energy and production are cornerstones of our global economy, but technology is on the brink of forever changing how we look at both. Today, we are passing the point at which clean energy can compete with fossil fuels, and where science is finding ways to derive energy from an increasing number of sources, with ever-increasing efficiency. In under thirty years, fossil fuels will fall by the wayside, partially out of environmental necessity, but largely driven by market competition, and energy will be cheaply, widely available, a virtually inexhaustible resource. If you doubt this, simply consider that enough energy falls to the Earth every day as sunlight to power civilization for hundreds of years – and this is to say nothing of wind and tidal energy, which we are also becoming adept at tapping into. We are, and will continue to be, driven by environmental and economic necessity to push these technologies forward, and when the “free energy” tipping point is reached, it will unlock the potential for technology to boost our quality of life in ways previously undreamed of.

 Another technology, which is already beginning to change the fundamental nature of production, is 3-D printing. As we become increasingly adept at creating what goods we need on demand, the mass-production paradigm will simply collapse. Already, individuals can purchase 3-D printers for home use, and as such can make many of the goods that they used to have to buy in stores, tailoring them more specifically to their desires, and in many cases producing them more cheaply. Removing a supply chain and all the costs associated with it is vastly more efficient, and for this reason alone the market will inevitably have to adapt. Product design will become paramount, as goods designed to last longer rather than be thrown away after a few uses will be what people will want to print at home, and thus the sale of such designs rather than the sale of the items themselves will become a focal point of the economy. The ease and low cost of home printing, in tandem with lowering energy costs and the boom in robotics, will fundamentally change the way we live our lives, making them more comfortable, and adding to our leisure time. Creativity, rather than manual production, will be the cornerstone of the economy for the first time in history, as machines will do virtually everything that we would rather not. National economies that prepare for this best will naturally reap the greatest rewards, and education will be paramount in maintaining this type of infrastructure. Nations that ignore this in the near-term will find themselves becoming increasingly irrelevant in the long-term global economic climate.

 On a happy note, I would like to close by noting a positive social trend, one that I only hope will continue – the popularization of science and scientific literacy among the general population. Again thanks to the internet, scientific information is spread around the world at unprecedented rates, and as such, rates of scientific literacy are higher now than they have ever been. As access to the internet extends further and further into remote areas, allowing for cheaper and more balanced education, as well as more free access to the press and world events, people will continue to better understand the world and the universe at large. The recent fundamentalist surge in reaction to this is understandable in a sense, as scientific literacy is a fairly reliable inoculation against fundamentalism, but this is a battle that the fundamentalists cannot win. Knowledge, once it is spread, can't be stuffed back where it came from. We are (slowly but surely) getting smarter as a species, and I can only hope that this means we will be able to safely navigate all the changes that are, at this very moment, rushing our way.  

A Day in the Life

  While waxing autobiographical was never really my thing (always seemed a bit self-indulgent), I realize that my job is fairly atypical, and that there are probably some of you out there who may wonder what life is like, teaching English in Japan. This is for you, and even for the other teachers here who may want to compare notes, since as they say, no two experiences on this program are the same. I am unique in that I am one of the few people on the program who have done the job, returned home, and then decided to come again, so perhaps I can offer a different perspective in that regard.

  There were a few reasons that I decided to come back to Japan, after originally having taught in Oita prefecture for 3 years, from 2005 to 2008. Firstly, I would say that although I had my ups and downs the first time around, I did enjoy the experience immensely overall. I made many new friends from around the world, gained invaluable experience, travelled throughout Japan and Asia, and made a better living than I was able to do back in Canada. Moreover, my job was interesting, and I really enjoyed working with children. In Canada, I had been stuck in a small town, doing jobs that hadn't challenged me much, and I had longed for a change, as well as for some of the “international experience” that most of the jobs I was interested in inevitably asked for. I had known that the JET Programme was for me the minute I had heard about it in university, and it proved to be a better match than any other job I have ever had. After I decided to return the first time, I wanted to gain experience working in the government, which I did in Toronto and later Ottawa, but in the midst of a recession and with little French, I found it a daunting process, especially in Ottawa. Many of the jobs were low-paying, entry-level, and limited to short-term contracts. While I enjoy variety, and valued the opportunity to work in a diverse collection of government, non-profit and private agencies over the course of a few years, in the end I found myself missing my time in Japan.

  So, I reapplied - I had nothing to lose. This time, I had requested the 3 “O”s – Osaka, Oita (again), or Okinawa. Osaka and Oita I chose because I have friends in both, knew both places, and knew there would be a lot to do. Okinawa I chose because it had been the one place that I had wanted to see the most first time but had never quite gotten around to. That, and it's a tropical island...no-brainer. As it happened, I got assigned to Okinawa, specifically to a little island called Miyakojima, and so...here I am. Miyakojima, to those of you who aren't familiar, is a small island to the south-west of the main island of Okinawa, about halfway between it and Taiwan. Fun fact: Miyako is so far south that it's actually closer to China than it is to mainland Japan, and is one of the last outposts at the edge of Japanese territory. We occasionally get Chinese planes doing fly-bys of the island, which, not gonna lie, is a little disconcerting.

  As soon as I got here, I discovered that it is true what they say – every experience on JET is different, and my situation this time bears little resemblance at all to Oita. Last time, I was based in an academic senior high school, while once a week heading out to local junior high schools, and once a month to the local special needs school. This time, I have no base school to speak of, but rather am based at the local Board of Education, and travel between eight different junior high schools on the island every month, spending one week at the largest, and two or three days at all the others. Surprisingly though, because they have since introduced more English into elementary schools, the JHS kids come in with at least some basic English, and some can speak at almost the same level as the SHS kids used to. Also different is the fact that while I used to get along just fine on a scooter in urban Oita, I now have no choice but to drive, as Miyako is fairly rural and has virtually no public transport. I managed to get a deal on a classic convertible, one of the only ones on the island, and so am easily recognizable to my students as I pull up to whatever school I am teaching at in the morning. Finally, Miyako is much warmer than Oita was, and never gets colder than 10 degrees in the winter. In Oita, I would frequently curse the fact that the Japanese do not typically insulate their houses, while I shivered away the winter months sitting as close as possible to my portable heater. Here, there were days in January when I was able to put the top down on the car. As my friends in Canada and the US endured the polar vortex this winter, I was particularly thankful for this last difference.

  My job here is also more laid back. JHS seems much more relaxed than I remember SHS being, and I often have more control of the classes I teach. Whereas I used to often be used as a human tape recorder to read out examples of “natural English”, I now come loaded with an arsenal of educational games to every school I visit, and typically decide what we will be doing in class that day. The Japanese teachers all know that I've done this before, and so perhaps are willing to give me a bit more creative freedom, which has worked out well so far, if I do say so myself. I typically try to use the material from the books the create activities where the students can practice their existing skills and pick up a few new ones. I've found that far from being a waste of time, as some teachers perceive them, games are a great way to get students engaged, which means they will remember more of the material...and plus they fall asleep way less. Unconscious students, I've found, are less than optimal in a learning environment, and this is a frequent occurrence when strictly teaching from the textbook.

  I also help out with speech contests, and sometimes stay after school to coach kids on their pronunciation. We just had a city-wide contest last week, and I'm proud to say one of my students won...it was a 50/50 shot, since I teach at half the JH schools on the island, but I'm still thrilled at how well he did. In Oita, I used to be more involved with the extra-curricular activities at my main school, but with my time so divided here, I find it hard to get very deeply involved with any one school in particular. I have my favourites of course, schools where I get along better with the staff, or where the students seem to care more about English, but I have to remain impartial. I do go to all the major events where every school participates, like track and field meets, but can't really cheer for anybody in particular. Not out loud anyway.

  The social life here is....well, a little on the quiet side compared to Oita, I'll say that. In Oita, we had a huge collection of JETs, private English teachers, and an assortment of Japanese friends, whereas here on Miyako we have 7 JETs and a handful of private teachers, all told. This means that although we sometimes go out (our Friday night pizza and beer tradition has been a highlight) we do so with far less frequency than I was used to in Oita, and at times it does make me a little stir crazy.  On the upside, there are many, many beautiful beaches here, and when it ticks above 20 degrees or so, it's easy to slip away for a relaxing afternoon on the sand. To keep busy I have been taking karate, and plan to try some beach volleyball when it gets a bit warmer. I also like to bike around the island, but during the summer months it is so punishingly hot during the day that it can be prohibitive to prolonged outdoor activity. Once in a while I do head off to the main island, which is only a 50-minute plane ride away. There, I have more friends and there is more to do, so I can have a bit more of a life, if only for the odd weekend. I'm hoping to eventually get transferred there if I can make it happen. I do get homesick from time to time, and of course I miss all my friends and family, but I'll go back for a long stay next winter, and people are always welcome here. I'm hoping that the cold will tempt more of my friends to escape and visit me...just so you know guys, I went out in shorts last week. 

  How long I'll stay, what I'll do after...I'm still not sure. I've always wanted to either own a business, work as a writer, or work for a charity. While I now have more experience under my belt, these jobs are hard to come by, so I'd like to use this time to examine my options and plan my next move. Potentially, I could stay here for four more years, but whether this is in the cards depends heavily on whether any of these options open up. I had considered teaching in Canada, but given the market right now for teachers there this seems like a non-starter. For now, I'm simply taking it day by day, enjoying my time in this tropical paradise, and trying to learn and network where I can. At least I enjoy what I do, and not everyone can say the same.   

How You (Yes, You) Can Change the World

  It's easily arguable that the greatest roadblock to human progress across the board, both in personal and societal contexts, is apathy. There is a tendency for us to refrain from taking action because we have convinced ourselves that our actions will ultimately be without any real consequence. In a large and complex world filled with billions upon billions of people, it's easy to feel overwhelmed when we try to take it all in, or to become so concerned with matters at hand that one loses focus on or concern for the greater picture. There are, however, a great many ways in which we all can and do affect social change, and a great many reasons why we should make the effort.

  For starters, I'm sure you've heard of the Domino Effect, right? Well, this works in social systems too – like the first domino in a chain, one person can impact a few people through action or conversation, and then those people carry an idea on to others, who in turn carry it on to others, until the idea has spread across countries and through language barriers around the world like a chain reaction. What we do and say have repercussions that are often further reaching than we think. This is part of the reason that I write, because if even in some small way I can hasten the spread of some of the ideas that have inspired me, then I believe I've helped to facilitate a better world for all of us. For the world to change for the better, those who value true progress and freedom have to be as vocal as those who would hold us back and keep us in servitude, be it political, economic, or theocratic. If we value our rights and freedoms, then we must be ready at all times to vocally defend them.

  My second point would be that we not only change the world with our words and actions - we change ourselves. Our actions define us, and in pushing for a cause that we believe in (whatever that may be) we are adding layers of purpose to our existence that weren't there to begin with. Over time, we can eventually look back on our accumulated efforts and know that we have to some degree made the world a better place. The exact degree to which we have done this is irrelevant; it is rather the satisfaction derived from a life lived in the service of other human beings that is ours to hold onto, a contentment that cannot ever be taken away from us, and that can comfort us even in our moments of despair.

  Another point to remember is that in societies as with the environment, everything in a closed system is cyclical. People often get discouraged from taking on a cause because they cannot see the direct results of their actions, but even if it is in a roundabout way, those results will be felt both by others and by you to some degree - it's pretty much inevitable. It may not be immediate or even felt for years, and this makes it difficult for us to draw connections, as this is simply not the way we are evolved to think. However, we are not isolated in time nor from each other, nor from the natural world – everything is connected, and just as every choice made by our predecessors, for better or worse, led us to this moment, so will every one of our choices lead us and our children to a brighter or darker future. If we keep this in mind from moment to moment, it can genuinely help us to feel less apathy and more engagement with the world around us.

  Furthermore our actions are, as I mentioned, cumulative. Over time, consistent effort is rewarded with generally positive results, and even if we fail or succumb to weakness from time to time, this doesn't erase the good we've accomplished. In the fight to save the environment, for example, while there is much for governments to do, in order to have a true impact citizens must all act on a personal level to reduce consumption. The cumulative effect of large numbers of people taking this commitment to heart would be immense, keeping tonnes of waste out of landfills every year, even if an individual only saves a few kilos. One person may also “fall off the wagon” from time to time and become discouraged as a result, but the only time we really lose is when we allow our discouragement to paralyse us. If we get back on the wagon quickly, our lapse need only be a small downward blip on a larger upward trend. Perfection s not required of us to affect change, merely a generally consistent effort. When we expect perfection from ourselves we only set ourselves up for disappointment.

  What you do – yes, you – actually matters, that is the point here. So if you want to save the world, you can have an impact, but the size of that impact depends of how much effort you are willing to expend, where you expend it, and how consistently you are willing to do so. Here are just a few off the cuff suggestions that work for me:

• Utilize social media to increase awareness of important issues, and interest in science. Democracies work better when people are informed, and dictatorships rely on people being kept in the dark. The internet is a powerful tool, and it will change things for the better if we make sure it's used for the people, and not against us. Sharing cute cat pictures is all well and good, (I'm guilty of this too occasionally), but if this is all we do on the internet then that's a lot of wasted potential. Don't be afraid to be political – if people un-friend you because of your opinions, then they were never your friend to begin with.
• Sign petitions. Write your political representatives. Make your voice heard. There are numerous organizations that create online petitions and that are very effective in shifting policy. I subscribe to Avaaz.org, Amnesty International, newsletters from political watchdogs, and a few others. Breezing through a few petitions and clicking a few “sign here” buttons takes moments of your time, but public pressure works wonders in combating oppressive or wasteful laws and practices, both at home and abroad. These organizations keep the pressure on our politicians, and help to ensure that they know we are watching them and will hold them accountable for what they do.
• Keep it simple. There's a great line from the movie Fight Club: “The things you own end up owning you.” Getting caught up in the desire for things is ultimately not a very successful method to finding happiness, and I'm not the first to make this observation. I use things for as long as they hold together, I try to repair things before I replace them, and I always ask myself “Do I really need this?” before buying anything. Rampant consumerism is what's destroying our planet, and if we all just scale it back a little, it does add up. Experiences are ultimately what make us happy anyway, not more stuff. Go travelling instead of going shopping.
• Check facts and challenge assumptions. Be more cynical. Don't be afraid to bruise an ego or two to correct people when their facts are wrong, or to risk an awkward conversation in order to call someone out on a silly belief. We live in a world where the facts are often clouded by spin, or by what we want to believe, and this doesn't do anyone any good. The universe doesn't care what makes us feel good, and if we want to survive and thrive in it as a species, we have to stop behaving as if it does. Being a little cynical is a good thing – it means you don't get fooled nearly as often.

  Simple, right? No drastic changes, no chaining yourself to trees or buildings required. Pushing for change need not be a monumental undertaking, nor consume vast amounts of time and effort. It can be as simple as making a few simple “lifestyle adjustments” here and there. Most of the people who will read this live comfortable lives in stable, prosperous countries – we live today as kings 1000 years ago couldn't have dreamed. We often take this for granted, but complacency is our greatest vulnerability. The Roman Empire fell in large part because of its own decadence, and the developed world would do well to keep this lesson in mind. We have built much and come far since then, but progress offers no insurance against disaster if we fall into decadence again. Democracy has helped to build a better world, but our gains only come when we, the people, are informed and work collectively. This is the price tag attached to a building a better society, and what happens next depends largely on how willing we are to pay it.      

The Importance of Empowering Women

  As a rule, I generally try to avoid political labels, because labels imply a sort of rigidity in one's thinking. Once a label is applied, it generally tends to stick, especially when it is applied to oneself. Labels are generalizations, ways in which we simplify the world in order to make it easier for us to understand, and sometimes this is necessary, but when overused they lead to lazy or rigid thinking, stereotyping, prejudice, and in some severe cases, even outright Conservatism. But I digress. I only mention this before I go ahead and embrace the “Feminist” label, so that you might understand that this isn't some off-the-cuff position that I adopted because it seemed politically fashionable, but rather because there are very good reasons to be a Feminist, in the sense of the term that implies a deep support for the equal rights of all women.

  The fact that in many parts of the world roughly half the population lives in servitude and virtual slavery to the other should profoundly disturb us. And yet, this is the situation faced by women in countries everywhere, where “cultural norms” are used as justification for their humiliating, often brutal, and occasionally fatal subjugation to men. Cultural norms, I would strongly suspect, that have been dictated by generations of very highly privileged men, raised by their fathers to thoroughly believe in their own sex's superiority. As a Western male, I should mention that although I'm quite happy with the gender I was born with, I find the idea that men are somehow innately superior be frankly laughable, given how very keenly flawed we often prove ourselves to be, and how many exemplary and brilliant women I have had the privilege to know or read about. One thing the West has learned very well since elevating our women to the legal status of equals is that they really are equally capable, and while in general their aptitudes may differ slightly due to differences in the wiring of male and female brains, there are certain areas in which they consistently outperform men (anything requiring working in a team, for example). Treating women like property, hindering their education and affording them little more status than one would give to livestock is a contemptible practice, that demeans them and squanders their innate capacity to contribute to society.

  While tolerance certainly is a necessary ingredient in creating a healthy global civilization, it is also necessary to know when to draw the line, and to call a spade a spade. There is nothing politically incorrect in shaming countries that perpetuate atrocities against women – in fact I would argue quite the opposite. If your culture advocates or even condones throwing acid in the faces of girls who want to go to school, then it should be obvious to anyone with any moral sense at all that something is deeply wrong with your culture. When a culture reaches such a point, it deserves – nay, begs - for criticism, from within and without, and we are morally obligated to provide it, lest we commit a terrible sin of omission. One could only hope that such criticism might motivate a degree of self-reflection, so that a culture may, in the long term, choose to purge itself of such a sickness. Citing culture does not provide blanket immunity to moral questions, and if we wish to think of ourselves as moral creatures at all, then we must not be afraid to ask such questions. It is only through the power of conversation and public debate that cultures develop over time, and if there is any hope of moving such frankly primitive attitudes toward women out of the stone age, then the conversation cannot be indefinitely deferred in the name of political correctness.

  One might hear the argument made that cultural norms are all relative, but even a cursory look at actual sociological data would reveal this to be apologist nonsense. I believe cultural relativism to be a dangerous concept, used to justify too many human rights abuses in the past, particularly women's rights abuses. The fact is we all have certain emotional and social inclinations from birth, perhaps aside from sociopaths and psychopaths. These inclinations are cross-cultural, hardwired into our brains by evolution, and are then modified by our environment and upbringing, and so it is quite possible to argue that we do have a certain “universal morality”, that can be extrapolated from our natural, intuitive social impulses.  Organizations like the UN and Amnesty International already appear to recognize this to a certain extent, but it is important for us all to recognize this on an individual level as well. Those traits most common to societies around the world, a global average of social norms, if you will, could (and often do) guide us toward a standard for universal morality. If we want to refine this further, and find universal norms most likely to lead to positive social outcomes, then we need only look at those societies that score highest on indicators of social well-being, and weight their social norms proportionally when determining an overall average. I would be willing to bet very heavily that countries with equal rights for women would score very highly in such an assessment. They do, as a matter of fact, tend to do much better economically – having a population in which anyone can potentially become a member of the workforce tends to have this effect. This was a very large contributing factor the success of the U.S. Post World War II.

  This last point is one of the main reasons that I advocate women's rights – it is simply the most practical way to elevate entire societies out of poverty. Christopher Hitchens put it very well – we have a cure for poverty, one that works every time that it is tried, and that is the elevation of women. In many countries today, there are initiatives to provide micro-loans to women in rural communities, and this is happening because it is proving stunningly effective. These women, when given even the smallest bit of opportunity, have consistently demonstrated an ability to create successful small businesses. They overwhelmingly tend to become contributing members of the business community, repaying their loans at a higher rate than is typically seen in developed countries. Furthermore, as they do this, they help to pull their entire communities out of poverty by generating cash flow, hiring employees, and sharing their experience. This is the true face of the “job creator”, not the ultra-rich (and generally male) business executive. I'm pragmatic, and simply believe in providing support to those who have proven their worth to the rest of society, and in this case, it is the former, not the latter.

  Men have certainly had their time as leaders, and we see the results quite clearly when we look back at history – a propensity for war, materialism, and a general lack of flexibility in negotiation. We were the hunters, historically, and as such are inclined to territoriality and aggression – this is simply built into the wiring of our brains. Although we can (and often do) overcome it, it is only through great effort, typically, and many men simply do not care to expend this effort. If you doubt this, simply glance at violent crime statistics virtually anywhere in the world, and you will see which sex is more inclined to use violence when solving problems. Women, conversely, were the gatherers in early human societies, and as such are more inclined to working cooperatively, working together to find mutually beneficial solutions for problems facing the social group. In today's world, this is rapidly becoming the only viable means of problem-solving left to us. As we develop more and more catastrophic weapons, we will eventually have no choice but to give up war, lest the slightest conflict spiral out of control and lead to the extinction of our very species. In our history, armed conflict, distasteful as it is, may have served a purpose, but we simply do not have the luxury anymore, and as such, perhaps we should elect leaders who are less inclined to use it. In almost any situation, there are typically ways of resolving disputes that can allow both parties at least some benefit, and women, I believe, are simply better at finding these options.

Ensuring women are educated, given equal status, and a voice in social policy can change societies dramatically, and overwhelmingly, it is for the better. This was a difficult transition for Western society many years ago, no doubt, but it is one we can now look back on with pride and satisfaction, and I sincerely hope that in this century, we can help other areas to see the benefits of making this same transition. Too long have we shamed ourselves through the exploitation of women, too long have we wasted so much human potential, and too long have we allowed patriarchy and machismo to dictate how we live. A change in the status quo is long overdue – this is why I am a proud Feminist, and you should be too.