We are hereby dictionary defined to be simply focused on ourselves. Alert, alert –predicament here……how are we supposed to determine who we are, what we are, where we are, unless we have some reference to be able to view ourselves, measure ourselves, have a context in which to see who and what we really are and how we’re really doing? We’re given neither reference for finding feedback nor any direction to the mirror mirror on the wall. So, how we happen to presently interface with the rest of the world going on in the background is up to us, with our brains in a vacuum? Give us a break.

We need reference, we need feedback, we need to know how we’re doing, acting, talking, loving, speaking, interacting—otherwise, we’re just a bunch of robots, completely unable to focus on the self, because there isn’t anything sincere inside metal hinges and likewise, with nothing genuinely tangible to compare to the outside, since we’re a walking bucket of bolts.

With reference, with fabric, with each other, we can locate ourselves quickly and lastingly. We know what’s right, what’s wrong, what shouldn’t have been said and what should have been done, because we have a framework; we have a sense of being, not obliviousness, that beckons for better dealings with each other, better feelings for each other, better outcomes from each other, so that we can teach those not grounded in such attributes, the opportunities in the world for doing right, and bringing about a full sense of integrity for every man and woman.

John Gordon Smith Ethics Speaker