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instance, teach and model a concern for others, cooperation, and
having a "Hopi good heart" from early childhood. Likewise, the Israeli
kibbutz (Shapira & Madsen, 1969) and the schools in Russia
(Bronfenbrenner, 1975) try to teach non-competitive cooperation and
communal responsibilities for others, while we in the United States
praise individual freedom and achievement, and encourage win-lose
competition. By the way, what has happened to the values of caring
for others since the collapse of the Soviet Union?
The "cold war" was believed by some to be a great economic
experiment between communism and free enterprise. With the 1990
failure of the communist economy, some American's declared total
victory for our side (even though we were having serious economic
problems too). I fear what other conclusions are being drawn as well,
not by logic but by emotional needs. For instance, let's not conclude
that American values were and are superior to Soviet values. I still
value their proclaimed cooperative group-orientation, rather then our
competitive consider-only-yourself orientation. Thinking people can
hardly interpret the "the Cold War" as a great moral victory. That 45-
year "war" involved two self-centered military giants who for 45 years
wasted trillions on weapons and hundreds of thousands of lives in
small wars and rebellions around the world, while a billion people
remained hungry, sick, and uneducated. Furthermore, if the United
States or any other country now jumps to the conclusion that military
might (instead of world-wide democracy) is the best way to peace and
justice, the country's leaders need more training as thinkers and as
moralists.
Humans, acting alone, are certainly capable of selfish,
inconsiderate, hostile acts--witness our overflowing prisons. Many
people would cheat others and corporations if they had a chance. A
few would torture and kill others, even wipe out an entire country or
race or ethnic group (witness Germany, Ireland, Israel, and Bosnia).
Many children primarily think of themselves. Colin Turnbull (1972) has
described a tribe in Uganda, called the Ik, who are extremely self-
centered and downright cruel. Ik parents abandon their children at an
early age to fend for themselves or die. Thus, it isn't surprising that all
Ik steal whatever they can, even from close relatives, in an effort to
survive in a harsh environment. In our culture, we believe in giving
our children love, warmth, affection, and meeting their every need;
however, as we saw in the introduction, this protected childhood does
not guarantee that each child will not steal and cheat, and be kind,
just, and generous. We are experimenting, but we haven't discovered
yet how to produce good people.
We know there are many good people, like the Hopi Indians.
Consider too: Mother Teresa helping the poor in Calcutta or the spouse
devoted to a brain-damaged partner or a parent caring for a seriously
handicapped child or a passerby who pulls a stranger out of a burning
car or a soldier who jumps on a grenade to save his buddies or a
donor who gives an organ to prolong life. The list goes on and on,
perhaps almost every family has someone who can be turned to in
