Stand up and knowingly take some risks

SOCIAL STUDIES - Published Monday January 26th, 2009

Last week I talked about risky behaviour. I intended to write more but limitations forced me to focus on the shadow side of risk. My point was that we engage in risky behaviours as a form of escapism.

Sigmund Freud who was the person who practically invented psychology said that the only way we can heal ourselves is to become conscious of why we do things. I think that most of us use our cars, subconsciously, as a way to vent anger, frustration and stress. We drive too fast, too aggressively, and basically do not enjoy the time in the car the way we should.

All of that being said, today I want to focus on the other side of risk. Conscious risk taking activities are in fact what are sorely needed in our society if we are going to survive the present woes.

Consider these bits of traditional wisdom: "If you are going to make an omelette, you have to break some eggs" or "you gotta spend a buck to make buck," and ask yourself if you live according to these sort of aphorisms or if you are more likely to play it safe?

I think that we have become a risk adverse society. There are those who somehow manage to escape from this aversion, and we all know their names: Conrad Black, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and Barack Obama; but for the majority of us, we wallow in mediocrity.

Have you heard how Karl Marx once called religion the "opiate of the people?" What he meant by that was that the dominant culture uses religion to keep us in our place. So we hear about heaven and therefore are content with our lot on Earth knowing we will be rewarded in the afterlife. Everyone uses this to chastize organized religion; but I wonder if we are missing his point.

When Marx wrote, the religious establishment was part of the governing structure of society. He was criticizing the way the ruling class oppressed the average person. Today, religion is on the periphery of society and it would be a far better comparison to say that it is politics and economics that rule the day, not the church and state.

So to paraphrase Marx in a modern context, marketing is the opiate of the people.
How does this opiate work? It convinces us that to succeed in life we have to keep up with the Jones's next door. We need a free standing bungalow, a white picket fence, two cars, two and a half kids and a dog.

We will get this if we keep our head down, our hands to the grinding stone, and mind our place. We will be entertained by buying big screen televisions and going to movies, watching sports games and drinking in the pub. All the while, we will forget that there is any need to do anything different and we will become good little citizens who don't take risks, because you know what happens to a nail that stands up . . . it gets hammered down.

But this is precisely where I am advocating a large scale revolution in thought. And I believe now is the time.

I believe this to be true for two reasons; the first is the very obvious and very visible breakdown of the current system of things. There has never been a better time to take a step away from the ludicrous free market system of borrowed hope.

Secondly, there is Barack Obama.

Now I know we are not American, and conceivably his presidency will have little impact on our day to day lives; but I am not so sure. I think he is becoming a role model of someone who is willing to take positive risks.

Here is someone who confronts reality head on, who says that life is not always easy, and that there will be struggles, and that it will only get worse . . . but . . . then he goes on to say if we are willing to stand up, if we are willing to work together, if we are willing to take a risk; anything is possible.

Buying a new television will not make our lives better and it will not make us happier. But being willing to take a risk and step outside of the day to day can change everything. I chose to begin a writing career at 40 because it was something I dreamt of doing; and it has made me happier.

I also choose to give my time and energy to causes that will make the world a better place, from disaster relief right through to local food banks, I do it with a sense of being willing to risk my own financial security to make someone else a little more equal.

I am no more successful than the next person at any of this; I simply have found that if I live my life by the maxim of trying to do one thing that scares me every day I end up growing into a better more content person. Don't get me wrong; I get sucked back in every five minutes, and right now I am sure my life would be more complete if I had a Blackberry. But being aware that you are being sucked in to something that someone else is doing to try and keep you content while nothing ever changes is part of the solution.

I think it is time for us to take the risk, stand up, and be part of the solution.