Bold War 2020

by Redemption

  Leonard: "It was, and we were all doing it, labouring mightily and unnecessarily. We know that now in retrospect, but we had nothing to compare it with at the time. If anybody wanted to talk about 'water-skiing on the surface' and how much better and easier it would be, we thought they were 'nuts'. (Andrew thought of the taxi-driver in his dream.)

  John B: "The worst thing about Smiles was its absence for so long. Pre-Smiles we were all disadvantaged, if only we knew it. We all had this congenital weakness of wreaking havoc on ourselves. Smiles is, if you like, the 'gene therapy' that excised our self-destructive behaviour."

  Harrison: "And while we are talking about genes, furthering the reference to that field, Smiles has taken over from DNA as the prime mover influencing the primary dynamic real-time shaping of humanity. DNA has done an amazing job on PP1, now Smiles is working on PP2, hopefully with a good chance of success, now that we know the possibilities and requirements. It's up to us."

  Eleanor: "The worst thing for me was my brother's suicide. If Smiles had come earlier I know he wouldn't have spiralled into depression and death."

  =

  "The Browns are making some good points," says Andrew. "And Governments. Did they become involved?"

  "Not initially. They hovered on the sidelines. Kent was itching to mount an attack on government services and outlays - to lessen the need for them and to improve their effectiveness. 'We could undermine the whole dependency syndrome built up in Western societies,' he said. 'We could wreak havoc on those massive expenditures for health, welfare, unemployment and crime prevention by building people's abilities, their self-belief and their sense of responsibility. A small percentage of the savings would finance our expansion to other departments and theatres of war around the world. "Selling" our weapons parallels arms dealing in the deadly wars, except in our case everybody wins and nobody dies.''

  Christiana continues: "To start, Kent had his homework done and picked a small country where unemployment had been stuck over ten percent for years and starting to rise. He made an offer that was very difficult to refuse. He offered the government to take over management of their unemployment portfolio and for them to pay him only 90% of current outgoings for the first year, reducing progressively to 50% over a period of five years. He provided appropriate guarantees so they had nothing to lose. They saved millions of dollars and were overjoyed at getting the monkey off their back. Kent gained even greater returns at the same time, as you might guess."

  V

  D: Government - Unemployment:

  Rick: "Of course Kent poured large resources into that country, where his studies showed he should readily beat the targets. Financial surpluses were channelled into Sofah Inc.- Smiles On Faces (of) All Humanity - a not-for-profit vehicle whose aim was couched in its title. They were able to reduce unemployment rapidly, creating winners all round - people got jobs, employers obtained motivated and competent staff, the government reduced its unemployment budget and increased its income tax take, and Sofah netted a fortune to plough into its on-going work.

  "As soon as other countries understood what was happening they implemented similar programs, either advised by Sofah or contracting to it. Some contracts were written on a variation of the F(r)ee principle - payment to Sofah only if and when there were savings, at the rate of 10% of the savings. Governments saved heaps and Sofah made heaps. There were five winners in the process: the person, the employer, the government, Sofah and society - through reduced unemployment and lower taxes."

  =

  Christiana: "Even bigger sums were saved and made in the area of health and social welfare."

  V

  D: Government: Health and Welfare:

  Yvonne: "Authorities in these departments, staffed by cautious bureaucrats and advised by medical and social experts, were sceptical. 'For years costs have risen inexorably. They are not about to be mitigated by this thing laughingly called Smiles,' they said. 'It's a joke. But if,… if, cost inclines could be converted to declines - well (condescendingly) why not give it a small try. Besides, the public, who don't know any better, are starting to agitate for it. They are somehow getting the idea there is a possibility, only a possibility mind you, that somehow they might get to be healthier and pay less taxes'.

  "Through diet, exercise and either meditation or yoga as part of Smiles, participants became progressively healthier in body and mind, stronger in motivation and attitude. They required less medical and hospital treatment. They used less sick leave and had fewer accidents, both real and (especially) fake. Substance abuse nose-dived. Health and welfare department outlays declined, slowly at first and then accelerating. Taxes fell while Sofah's income at 10% of government savings rose dramatically."

  =

  Yvonne: "Savings in crime and the legal system similarly were spectacular. Costs for courts, gaols and detention systems nose-dived. Remember it used to cost an average $US 2,000,000 for each juvenile incarcerated for the rest of his life.

  "Not everybody was happy of course. Advisers complained bitterly of the millions of public money going to Sofah - the same advisers who said it wouldn't work. But by then it was difficult to oppose because positive results and huge savings were so obvious. It became abundantly clear to the public that it wasn't a plot against the common good, but an agenda of opportunities in their own interests. Whenever a country put to a vote whether Smiles ought to be supported with public money, it won in a landslide!

  "Although fewer employees were needed to handle the administrative load of government, staff levels were not reduced in direct proportion to savings because the level of service was increased. Pharmaceutical companies lost, insurance companies won."

  Rick: "Fewer drugs and more jobs also helped lower the crime rate, as did improved psychological, emotional and ethical standards arising from Smiles input. Staff levels in the police force didn't fall; all staff were trained in Smiles and the 'surplus' re-directed into positive community work. Court waiting times plummeted, as did gaol populations.

  "As Sofah activities expanded its earnings grew, even though it reduced its percentage share of government savings over the years. Progressively it used its funds to widen its sphere of activities across the world and into programs for undeveloped countries. That in itself is a fascinating story for later, as is the rapid drop in all national defence expenditures as it became clear that enemies were dematerialising. The Bold War eventually killed off armament manufacturers, warmongering and warfare."

  Guy: "By the way, the motley and dangerous collection of enemies so colourfully described by Xena were lumped under the heading of 'Frown' as opposed to Smiles. 'Futile, Reactive, Obdurate, Whingeing Naysayers'. Whereas after a Smiles course people improved their abilities and were able to be more productive, solve problems, and make a better society with reduced taxes and higher quality of life. The system was a closed loop feeding on itself, a virtuous cycle according to Pip, meta-benefits according to 'guess-who'. In due course, and surprisingly quickly, transformed societies consisted of a majority of capable, interested, responsible and energetic people, with real lifelong learning through Pisces and Woww. Not everybody ended up equal, but there was, and is, greater social equity and social justice through helping people to help themselves…

  "Thus the Provolution proved to be the most significant of all revolutions. There were few casualties and disruptions. Everybody who wanted to was involved, everybody 'won'."

  ~

  "Have you finished?" Andrew hastens to ask as the film reaches a pause. "I have to admit it's been fascinating - and highly creditable. And incredible. I concede, finally, they did a great job, but there are still holes in my understanding - not the least of which is more detail on Kent and Sylvia."

  "Understandably," she replies. "You've seen all the good news so far, and the six Rungs of the Frip Ladder. However there is some not-so-good news - which we'll look at tomorrow - together with a few more of the 'hows' you have been so keen to know. I'll give you a quick run-down
on some 'battles', 'weapons' and 'campaigns' of the Bold War."

  Andrew is worried he will dream again of Negcom and its looming conclusion. But tonight he is to be spared that, trial enough in the tribulations of tomorrow.

  CHAPTER 26 Battlefields

  Andrew wakes feeling refreshed. No dreams (neglmares?) for a change. Looking forward to the day. The tangled web that has been full of surprises is almost unravelled. The steep climb to the exalted heights and magnificent vistas has had many twists and turns, shocks and surprises. Like a mountain climber he has sweated and strained, gulped for breath in the rarefied air. More than once he has lost his mental footing and his bearings in time. His body is weak but his mind is getting stronger. Light-headed, if lead-bodied. More able to cope with mental load, rapid change and (for heaven's sake) working backwards to 2020. What's a name for denouement in reverse?

  "The final steps - let's take another look at 'the enemy', the opposition, the hurdles that were revealed and had to be overcome," Christiana begins after her usual warm, and becoming all the time more familiar, greeting. "Over to Xena," whose face appears on screen - smooth, composed, more than a hint of arrogance. As he listens Andrew feels she actually relished her subject. Her performance behind the devil's mask came back to him - maybe the subject was one of her specialities. Her fluency was hardly that of a stranger.

  ~

  Xena: "The enemies of society were unrecognised. They were not thought about in any coherent way, and therefore were largely out of sight as well as out of mind. I am reminded of the translation machine that converted 'out of sight, out of mind' from English to Chinese and back again. The answer was 'blind idiot'.

  "In the first year Kent unmercifully pressed on us that we and the rest of society had been blind idiots (the Emperor and his subjects were stupid), and it was high time to address the situation. He stressed a prime motto, common but rarely put into practice: 'Know thine enemy'. He asked me to develop and elaborate on my earlier performance. I divided our opposition into two broad camps: passive and active."

  V

  D: The Enemy:

  Xena, addressing the AAA Team: "Passive enemies are by far the largest, but not in themselves overly dangerous. Their resistance is in their inertia. Some are just slow moving - the casual, lazy, (listless), apathetic, malingering - leading to sloth, torpor, paralysis. Some don't care - disinterested, complacent, careless, negligent. Others don't know - they are unaware, naive, ignorant, short-sighted, sometimes stupid - even a few flat-earthers and troglodytes. Still others don't believe it worth trying to make a change for the better. They see effort as futile and themselves as impotent - which they are most of the time.

  "All these people, and together they constitute a large proportion of society, are hard to get moving in a positive direction, even though it might be in their best interests. They are not only difficult to change and absorb a lot of time and effort, but in their sheer numbers get in the way and are liable to side with more vociferous enemies because it is easier, and perceived as being less risky, than supporting moves for positive but uncertain (to them) change. Collectively they feed and are part of Social Entropy.

  "But be careful to make a distinction. The enemy is not the people, it is their characteristics and behaviour - or lack of it. They are hardly a resistance movement, more a stationary resistance disposed to subterfuge rather than subversion.

  "The other camp is what I call the active enemies. Not only hard to get moving, but actively resisting change. Luddites that react, oppose, obstruct. Some are fear-based - insecure, frightened of change, wary of making mistakes, unsure of doing anything new or different, protective of their egos.

  "Then there are the negative actives - misguided, narrow-minded, bloody-minded, closed minds, disaffected, intolerant. Often pessimistic, sceptical or cynical. Naysayers and lemmings. From them sarcasm, belittling, ridicule, sabotage.

  "Worst of all are the greed-based enemies - vested interests, criminals and organised crime. Generating threats, intimidation, plots, conspiracies and, in the ultimate, capable of destruction and death.

  "So, quite an army of opposition. Entropists in one form or another. And in the following battles for the hearts and minds of people the enemies are in commanding positions. Through their stealth and people's unawareness they are entrenched or occupy the high ground. They have already taken prisoner or compromised the minds of most people. They have to be dislodged and overcome - but how? No manual exists for this type of war."

  =

  Xena: "The enemy was everywhere, even within us. Insidiously, lack of confidence and ignorance of our latent abilities led to enfeeblement and further reduction of our ability to reach our potential. It was a self-reinforcing vicious cycle. Around us negative aspects of the social environment inhibited our growth and fed our dysfunction. Our media fertilised the angst, furthering instability. 'In our midst the fourth estate is a fifth column,' Rose maintained."

  Pip piped up. "I enlarged on Xena's reference to Social Entropy. Its disease (Sed) was all around us and getting worse. Apathy, indifference, laziness, carelessness, purposelessness. It feeds off itself and is catching, like other diseases. It lurks in the darkness of ignorance, incubates in dependants, festers in bored closed minds, and breaks out in the culture of complaint, the politics of envy, the loser syndrome and the victim mentality. It's an anaesthetic to activity, curare for the community, the handbrake on society (if not reverse gear). It's the spanner in the works of life, sand in the gearbox of development, water in the petrol of progress. (No amount of analogies can be too many in throwing light on this mean and demeaning handicap.) Its opposite condition is Des - Dynamic Enlivening Syntropy - addressed later under 'weapons'."

  Kent: "Xena and Pip had enlarged on the enemy between us and our goal - Deeemocracy. Deeemocracy: Enlightenment to make people aware of the facts, the opposition - what is or is not happening, and why, and what can be done about it. Emancipation to free them of their restrictions, mostly unnecessary, many self-imposed. Outwit enemies, remove barriers to growth, open up possibilities, choices. Empowerment - show how to bring out hidden resources / Buried Treasure / unused weapons and utilise them to their full so we can participate fully and fairly in the community while we advance ourselves and society.

  "And what did we have at our disposal to mount this Olympian challenge in a one-sided contest? To counter these numerous, widespread and implacable foes of society? We assembled a battery of weapons, some were new, but others old, even ancient - brought out, dusted off, re-vitalised and integrated within an overall context that included and utilised new technology to generate maximum fire power.

  "Our front-line weapon was, of course, Smiles. It originated from our five 'ideas' people and was developed through the concepts and practices of Inspiracy, Mentology and the Provolution - important innovations in warfare. Many past wars were won through innovations, this was no exception."

  V

  D: Smiles:

  Kent (rhetorically): "Why, or how, was Smiles so effective?"

  Ed: "It attacked, in a nice but effective way, the rigid, torpid mindsets that were plaguing, holding back society. It cleared away the debris of cluttered and rheumatic minds."

  Rick: "Smiles is the 'hidden addition' to people that changes them radically. Like varying the carbon content of cast iron to produce steel, a far superior product. Like adding tiny amounts of certain elements to steel to achieve stainless steel and other alloys with special properties. Like using reinforcing steel in concrete, a small increase in weight giving proportionally far greater strength. Like seeding tiny amounts of trace elements to greatly increase the productivity of poor land. Smiles (it doesn't weigh anything) enormously magnifies the abilities of people."

  Pip: "Smiles unlocks personal and collective treasure chests. It strengthens the inner mental immune system that seeks out Sed and then destabilises and destroys it. Sed, the cancer holding back the world."

  Rose: "It opens a window into our
selves. The way we think (and don't think). The way we act (and don't act), and what we can do about it. It shines a brilliant, clarifying light on the role and power of Mentology. Smiles doesn't increase anybody's potential, it liberates and realises it."

  Ed: "Smiles educes our God-given (and Satan-deprived?) abilities and liberates enthusiasm and energy. It is the engine-room and power-house of the Bold War. It raises our speed limit, and that of society - safely and rewardingly."

  Raj: "Importantly, Smiles reminds us of our Buried Treasure and our PPartnership responsibilities and opportunities… "

  Kent: "… which enables the 10 Q and leads to Deeemocracy."

  =

  Kent: "In our armoury Smiles was backed up by supplementary weapons. Were they offensive weapons? Yes, in both senses of the word, but only to opposing forces. In Rose's sometimes-wacky terminology we had the figurative rocket launcher and its assorted missiles. Previously-mentioned Carrots such as F(r)ee to entice, and Sticks like Negcom to persuade.

  "Then we had 'Brooms' and 'Levers'. Strange-sounding 'weapons' but important and effective. Brooms sweep away false or misleading notions, limiting perceptions, handicapping 'junk' and clutter. They clear people's minds and replace rubbish with useful tools and valuable insights and concepts. Buried Treasure and PPartnerships and Pow are Brooms, clarifying assets available to everybody. Levers enable people to develop, to help others and to magnify their efforts. To gear up, leverage, catalyse, enlarge results.

  ~

  Christiana continues. "A big Lever, an aggregated one, is 'Effective Impact'. One of Kent's favourites. 'Enough jaw, now war,' he said, and this was one of the prime weapons in getting things done. In fact it's a cluster-weapon. Multi-faceted. Have a guess how many facets it contains?"