Thanks for the piece on Gene Sharp and non-violence! How often has violence hardened the hearts of both sides of a struggle?

I think that Avatar is about all those subjects you mentioned in the program, but no less it is a movie about visual technology itself. After all, what makes the film so memorable, I think, is not the story or the characters, but rather its striking visual impact: when I saw it I felt I was given a glimpse into the future of cinematic technology.

Regarding whales/dolphins and sonar and tanks….one thing about sound–as a musician. In a contained area such as water and cement or some hard surface like that, I wonder too that sound causes problems if a sonar orientation is the survival mechanism, and grouping mechanism. The sound may bounce off or not travel, or bounce back incorrectly. I know in some settings we design a chamber to dampen sound and to help sound sustain — concert halls v. recording studio booths. I would imagine in a cement area filled with water the sound is dead, or may ping back strangely causing disorientation and confusion, even if in a tank with other peer members. Just something to consider beyond the idea of hunting food, mating and surroundings via sound. This would be akin to putting humans in a dark room for the rest of their life.

One more thought….for example, in marching band in, say, high school, one practices on a field. There can be problems the further back one is from the front where the conductor is because kids hear the sound bouncing off of a fence and play along with what they ‘hear’ bouncing off the fence line. This is a VERY common issue in marching band, the further back one is in the field. Sound is a very interesting thing and most people have no clue how it works. Humans are pretty noisy people as a whole. It’s not just that whales/dolphins shoot out sonar; it’s also where it reaches and what sound comes back — it’s the coming back that’s the info. Change the environment, change the feedback and lots of confusion can occur. If there’s no sound coming back because it’s absorbed by the wall, for example, this means the animal has NO INFO on where it is. I get it. It’s like being in solitary prison, I would think.

I’ve had a few conversations and overheard a few others on Avatar and there’s definitely some resistance. Mostly, it comes in the form of a weak plot or seeing Jakesully’s saving the day as the protagonist still winning.

But his story can also represent how many of us either deny or have yet to discover something deeper, stronger inside of us, something that connects us much like the Na’vi people have with each other and their environment. Though it takes the insight and training of the Na’vi for Jakesully to understand, he does go through a transformation. He learns to look inside and know a completely different self. And yes, this is looking at it through an Eastern philosophical lens.

We can see the antiwar sentiment, we can see it as a Republican vs. Democratic ideology and/or the various other interpretations. But there is a reason why it resonates with so many people around the world, good or bad. A deeper qualitative sense of humanity sheds the surface events and suggests to look internally. It is important to know the things outside in the world, but it must be balanced with comprehending and knowing the inside as well. Between these two lies the truth.

Is it possible to get Gene Sharp’s “From Dictatorship to Democracy” without paying $80 on Amazon?

The discussion of domesticated dolphins after hearing about Avatar and nonviolent coups made me wonder how domesticated we have become.

Just saw this quote in a Youtube lecture:
“We shape our tools, and thereafter, our tools shape us” – Marchall McLuhan

I think it’s a very true statement, and that the same concept applies to our built environment, the language and tools we use to communicated with each other, and even to the customs we create on how we participate with the natural environment. A noticeable number of people have been convinced that the tanks that are built for them are better than what they can create with their own hands and minds. Of course, with the division of labor, we each domesticate each other by splitting up the responsibilities so that we become interdependent. I think that it is critical that every person have the opportunity to contribute the efforts of their labor to the mix, and that each person feels that they are appreciated and that their work is important to those around them who they are also dependent on.

I also think it’s critical that manufactured entities are not considered as persons, but that’s a different story.

Hi Anne,
Yes; if you go to the Albert Einstein Institution website (http://www.aeinstein.org/), you’ll see it can be downloaded for free!
L. Menegon, producer