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COMMUNICATION CONTROL John Hathaway-Bates President & Executive Director |
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It is my contention that if one can communicate true and honest reason, then one can control almost any human situation, be it commercial, social or political. Doing this however, has been the beyond the reach of almost every man, woman and child since the first human uttered the first grunt to or at another human being. Therefore, it would seem that other than life itself, the most important need we have is to be able to communicate. Communicate is defined by Webster's New World Dictionary as: 1. To impart; transmit. -- 2. To give (information, etc.) Therefore, the ability to be able to communicate is to be able to pass on information, ideas, moral codes, to be able to share abstracts, philosophies, to be able to learn, to investigate and then to reason and to understand, by debate, all other human and civilized things which differentiate us from the Apes. The ability to communicate is without any doubt at all Mankind's greatest asset. It is a tool with which one can build happiness. It is a weapon for defense with greater power than any other. It is the gift of being able to perform miracles. It is the oracle from which all knowledge flows. Without the ability to communicate Humanity as we know it would cease to exist. Mankind has developed the art of communication to the point where it is the single most important factor affecting the development, perhaps even the existence, of all of us; and the lack of such ability is possibly the most devastating negative to happiness, success and individuality. No one however, has the right to decide what is, or is not, successful communication for the purpose of imposing that opinion on others; yet everyone has a duty to try to improve the art of communication for its own sake. Therefore in writing my own opinion on the art of communication, I feel that it is necessary to justify myself and my reasons for doing so. This is only my opinion! I have no doubt that everything which follows those words is open to criticism and debate; in fact I would feel justified if it is important enough to debate. The truth is that I have come to the conclusion that very few of the world's problems, between individuals and nations would be able to exist if more people began to communicate about them. I am a firm believer that all people, with the possible exception of the insane, wish to be good. I do not believe that any of us ever wishes to be not good, when given the choice. I believe that people who do bad things, do so out of fear or frustration, and often they are frightened only because they cannot understand, or frustrated because they never learned to communicate. How often have you felt that you were trapped in an uncomfortable or embarrassing situation, because you were misunderstood? How often have you failed someone, because you could not make them understand? How often have you seen someone lose out, because they could not explain what they really meant? How often have you known someone to give up, because they were unable to make someone else see what they perceived to be the truth? Obviously communication was lost, or proved inadequate, in every one of those situations; and because of it someone was hurt or lost what they needed the most in life or perhaps only wanted. A potential positive was changed into a definite negative through a failure in communication. How many careers, businesses, marriages, friendships, partnerships and of course lives, have been ruined because communication failed? Also, if you need proof that it was all due to communication, most relationships of any kind that come to an end are actually called off by the person in the right. You can always identify the person who was in the right; it is the person who is telling you how the relationship ended! What is amusing, if it were not sad, is that they will always use the words "he/she/they just did not understand". The ability to communicate can, if we develop it properly, allow us to describe our innermost feelings, defend or promote our convictions, teach or learn abstract facts of both our Universe and the Society of Mankind we live in. This of course presupposes that the other person involved is not too greedy or selfish to hear what is being communicated. With the ability to communicate philosophies can be developed, knowledge can be shared and gained, happiness can be obtained easier, negotiations to gain a better life can be entered into, and left, with little or no fear of animosity. The future can be changed and improved, even if it cannot be guaranteed. Like no other living animal on this planet, or any other we know of, you and I as thinking human beings can take the gift of communication and bring about great things for ourselves, our loved ones, and every other living person in our Universe. The greatest tragedy, however, is that only a very few people will ever take this gift, and use it to the full benefit This ultimate tool for good will be reduced by the majority of human beings to a chore, something to use only to get by, and by this most dangerous neglect, the ills of the world we live in will continue. It is a futile belief of many of the intelligentsia that all people would learn to communicate better if given the opportunity to do so. The fact of the matter is, however, that the majority of humankind would rather be cared for and entertained by civilization, than take part in its improvement. Others will avoid the truth, and the opportunity to bring something to a successful conclusion, rather than face the reality of a situation that it is easier to ignore, or just run away from. It is another assertion of the establishment that the ability to communicate is dependent upon intelligence, whereas with every year I come closer to the complete belief that the opposite is true, and believe that intelligence is ultimately dependent upon the ability to communicate. I have recently seen reports that intelligence does increase with education and experience, whereas when I was young it was a commonly held opinion that one was either born with intelligence, or one was not. If it is finally proven that education by communication, which is the only way it can happen incidentally, does improve intelligence and the ability to function as a human being, then perhaps our schools will be geared to teach communication rather than self-expression. We are, all of us, dependent upon the Society we live in to be able to take full advantage of our lives. Yet these days we are told, in fact implored, to be ourselves, to be an individual. What few of these advocates of individuality remember, however, is that it should be within the framework of society, and to the overall benefit not only to oneself, but also that of others. It should also be remembered that one can only be an individual within a Society; an individual outside of society is merely someone who is alone. To look at one's life from the purely selfish viewpoint of "I want what I want", usually proves to be far less successful than a life statement of "I am who I am, but I strive to be a better member of my family, my business and of Society as a whole". As many have learned, actively striving to be unselfish will more often than not give you more of what you want out of life. It is a matter of drawing a line at the edge of your moral -, pleasure -, ambition -, social -, and self-limits and learning to live to that extreme, and never more. It gives a peace of mind few human beings ever even dream of gaining, let alone achieve on an ongoing basis. The ability to wish for better is the most important driving force behind working to improve your ability to communicate. The greatest failing of the human race in my opinion, is that most of its members do not take the time to learn anything about communication above the absolute minimum they need to get by. The ultimate gift our ancestors have bestowed upon us is the richness of the art of communication. The ability to communicate is by far the most important ability anyone can possess, yet there are so many people who by preference choose not to use the beauty of language to increase their own, and others, understanding and enjoyment of our brief lifetimes. Instead, they hold within their heads the barest minimum of words, and give emphasis by shouting or inserting profanity to gain effect, or merely to take the place of adverbs or adjectives they never bothered to learn. Peter Drucker once stated that "the ability to communicate is perhaps the most important skill a man can possess." He understated the fact. There is no perhaps about it, the ability to communicate is the paramount ability of all mankind. The ability to communicate being only greater than the ability to express oneself, abilities which themselves are so far apart that when teachers urge self-expression I never fail to wince. Human beings communicate - Apes express themselves. Communication is what makes Humans Human. In their book The Monkey Puzzle, John Gribbin and Jeremy Cherfas pointed out the fact that the DNA difference between Apes and Man is a mere 1 percent. DNA, which controls genetic reproduction, differs between a Man and a Gorilla by only about one percent! The Ape is perfectly capable of self-expression; but man alone is able to “communicate”. For communication is not merely the expression of an "I want" situation, it is also capable of defining and describing abstracts, something that self-expression can never do. Rene Descartes decided, after long consideration, that it is the use of language which makes Mankind unique, and for that statement he is remembered by History. Knowing that 99% of what makes a Man a man, is exactly the same as what makes a Gorilla a gorilla, would seem to add value to what Descartes said so many years ago. Take all of these facts a little further and you can see that it is possible to come up with a rough level of evolution by the need of an individual to wish to be able to communicate. Communication of Ideas = Communicating Human Being Communication of Needs = Semi-communicating Humans Expressing Oneself = Non-communicating Humans and Apes Now if you want a really controversial idea to mull over, would it not be possible to decide that the other graduation which could be applied to the three categories given would be size of vocabulary. In other words, the Gorilla without doubt has the smallest vocabulary, and the Communicating Human Being has the largest, therefore it could be said that the Level of Evolution achieved for all bipeds can be roughly judged by discovering the size of vocabulary a subject is able to learn and use. Continuing that hypothesis, if you wish, it should therefore also be possible to evaluate the evolution stage of anyone, as an individual, or as the product of a particular social or educational system. By the subjects' own choice, it can be established where they are in the Ape/Human Scale simply by discovering the size of their working vocabulary. Obviously this is oversimplified, but imagine how many more people would learn to communicate better, if they believed it was a social fact that once you knew the size of any person's (or ape's) vocabulary, you would be able to determine how 'human' they were. That should stir up a few hornets' nests in the corridors of power, and the "all men are created equal" segment of society don't you think? The most often quoted social problem these days is the lack of real leaders, and the assertion is often made that the leaders of the past were more courageous, more in touch with reality and more recognized by the people as leaders. In business, politics, social concern, and just about every other sphere of human endeavor it would appear that leaders of the past were more in control than those we have today. The fact is that today with so much media coverage and interpretation; our leaders have learned an even greater communication need, that of not communicating anything that could be misinterpreted or might give ammunition to their political rivals. It is easy for a Dictator to put forth his views, but it is very hard for someone elected by a majority to speak at all without offending someone whose vote he or she may need either now or the next time around. Much of this problem rests on the shoulders of the reporters, who need to present something exciting to compete with their fellow reporters. Much of what is used for information these days is not the truth, but in fact is one person's opinion of what another person really meant when he said something.. A million people may suffer a speech impediment – and not be reported, yet if a politician slurs a word or two – it may well become front page news! We are fast becoming a civilization where every important communication from our leaders is read rather than communicated, and the script will have been edited to offend as few people as possible. Therefore we have invented soft words to make the truth sound nicer. Murder = Slaying, Automobile crash maiming or killing innocent victims = Injury Accident, Bankruptcy = Financial Reorganization, Reality = Middle ground. In time communication under such rules becomes mere word-play, and being forced into playing this ridiculous game of non-communication becomes a social or political need. However, like all false philosophies it can either be exposed, or it can be used ‒ your choice! This introductory preamble may appear rather disorganized, yet what the previous few pages have stated is in fact very simple, it boils down to a few phrases to base a philosophy on. To be human is to be able to communicate your ideas, knowledge and understanding to others. To be able to communicate well is a basic survival need and a tool for success. To be able to talk may in fact be a negative in the ability to communicate, unless one understands that communication in its true meaning is also providing understanding to another, and not just speaking words. Whichever way you look at it, and you may disagree with everything I have said so far, it is probable that possessing the ability to communicate is the only true way to control your future success and happiness. John Hathaway-Bates President & Executive Director
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