Think Tanks and Political Reform

Think Tanks and Political Reform

There are a number of organizations that include "think tanks," that devote themselves to solving a wide variety of problems.

Sometimes I receive a package of materials from a political foundation. The cover letter essentially describes the organization as a non-profit organization that includes a "think tank" that evaluates governmental operations.

Their central theme is usually that government is too big, inefficient, and intrusive into personal affairs, and that many of the functions of government could be better performed by the private sector. Then they ask for a donation - as usual.

They give a huge number of examples of how our government is dysfunctional. That confirms what most of us already know.

The theme is that we have tried many, many governmental ideologies, and they have all failed. We agree with that. But we have also tried many, many intellectual approaches to certain problems, and they have failed also.

Given the number of these think tanks, and given the amount of our intellectual resources, why do we have large dysfunctional systems?

There is a difference between intellectuality and mindfulness. Intellectuality alone is not sufficient to solve our problems. Once we grasp that, and incorporate that into our mental development, we can make quantum leaps forward.

I have known Ph.D.'s in psychology, who thought they had it all together, and then encountered a personal crisis, and hit bottom. After a recovery process, their mental functioning was truly wonderful. The great majority of our people have no conception of what this is about.

I know organizations that address mindfulness. They don't ask for outside donations. They just pass the hat for a buck from each person to pay for the rent. Money is irrelevant to their work, and the soliciting of funds is considered inappropriate. We have very intellectual people in education, government, medicine, and law, who are mindless. Their intellect is deceptive.
No matter what the size of our government, we have to have one. The question is: "What are the fatal flaws in our system of government that make it so dysfunctional?" This is the issue that everyone seems to miss. Why do they miss them? The human mind has many components. Far more than I could ever explain to you. There are some things that are difficult to put into words. You have to experience them. It's like listening to Bach, or Gershwin. It fits together so beautifully. But how do you convey it in words alone? It must be experienced. The missing ingredient is mindfulness. Our educational system addresses a narrow segment of the brain. We can analyze a subject with exquisite detail, and yet miss what would be obvious if we were trained to use our whole mind.

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