Split People in a Split World 343distinctions. Unless the black office worker goes through a real crisis with
his white coworkers, he may be treated fairly at work, but never shake the
underlying suspicion that we are „us‟ and he is „one of them.‟
Putting the Right Foot Forward
We have seen some of the problems which result from a pursuit of
objective knowledge. Suppose that instead of allowing the me of the
physical body to race far ahead of the me of Mercy identification, society
followed the path of mental transformation, and focused Perceiver logic
first of all on the me of Mercy identification. I suggest that, among other
things, this would naturally create an environment free of race, gender and
class conflicts. First, the sphere of thought would be different. Instead of
concentrating on peoples‟ bodies and possessions, we would look beyond
physical appearance in order to discover their internal, emotional me.
Second, the way of thinking would change. In place of
suppressing facts which make us feel uncomfortable,
we would grapple with issues of identity and use
Perceiver logic to build bridges which could span our
emotional differences. Eventually, external
distinctions such as race, gender, or class would
become non-issues, as Perceiver thought gained the
confidence to move from one situation to another
without feeling threatened.A
Another result of putting the „right foot forward‟ is
that we would look at external poverty or handicap and
see not failure, but rather opportunity. If the me of
someone‟s physical body is caught in some form of
poverty, then he can always make personal progress by
moving forward with the me of Mercy identification. His unchanging
circumstances anchor the me of his physical body and give his emotional
me the freedom to change dramatically. Moreover, if the poverty-stricken
individual looks on from a distance at wealth which is denied to his
physical body—something good which is not me—then he has an ideal
opportunity to develop patience. It is precisely this type of situation which
can „teleport‟ him through mental transformation into the new me.
Business lore is full of entrepreneurs who grew up in poverty, faced their
world realistically and ended up becoming fabulously wealthy—by
A This does not mean that we would ignore these differences. That is the
path of objective thinking which suppresses feelings in order to preserve
logic. Rather, we would acknowledge these distinctions and strive to
surmount them.