132 A Programmer’s Guide to the Mind
I suggest that our current focus on eliminating sexual harassment and
exalting political correctness again illustrates an attempt to preserve facts
by avoiding emotional pressure. Suppose that we respond to sexual
innuendo or cultural harassment by forbidding every word or gesture
which feels threatening or insulting. I suggest that this strategy is again
self-defeating: Avoiding emotional situations leads to lowered Perceiver
confidence. As our confidence drops, we are less able to deal with
harassing situations and we end up feeling more threatened. The cure
becomes worse than the disease.A Ultimately, the point is reached at which
it is impossible to do or say anything.
Notice how we have analyzed both of these issues in terms of solid
Perceiver connections. „Conflict-of-interest‟ legislation is „wrong‟ because
it is a contradiction: By avoiding personal emotions, our laws become
slaves of personal emotions. Likewise, responding to sexual and cultural
harassment with suppression leads to greater feelings of harassment and
less freedom. Therefore, in the same way that stealing is „wrong,‟ we
conclude that this method of dealing with harassment is also „wrong.‟
What is „right‟ in these issues? A strategy which can be maintained
over the long term, a Perceiver connection which does not lead to a
contradiction. How does one learn to distinguish „right‟ from „wrong‟? By
taking the time and effort to construct Perceiver systems of belief and then
raising the associated levels of confidence by applying these beliefs
successfully in emotional situations. As we said, knowledge must be
acquired and not just learned.
Building Confidence
We shelter confidence by creating an external separation between
Perceiver facts and Mercy feelings. We arrange a person‟s environment in
such a way that he never has to face both strong emotions and think
logically at the same time. In other words, the Perceiver observer in him
knows that it will only be asked to observe the Mercy room next door
under conditions of „low light.‟ If the emotional glare is too strong, then
the Perceiver observer will be excused from thinking. The benefit to this
approach is that the Perceiver observer does not have to spend any time
opening and closing the „curtain‟ between his room and the Mercy room.
The downside is that Perceiver confidence gradually weakens.
We build confidence by following a different path. We shine enough
Mercy light on the Perceiver observer to make it uncomfortable, but not
enough to confuse it. We then ask Perceiver thought to function under
A I am not saying that harassment is good. Rather, I am suggesting that a
focus upon suppressing the public expression of harassment will result in
people feeling more harassed and more persecuted. The atmosphere which
is created will feel more oppressive than the original situation.