Now I am going out on a bit of a limb here but I have some evidence to support it – and it has relevance in our selection of modalities!
From all the evidence that I have gathered over the years, I conclude that the Pillars in general find it hard to accept that supporting very hurt people is complex and varied. This, I believe, is due to the effects of the dominance of left-brain thinking on the world in general and in particular how it impacts on the work of helping people.
Left-brain thinking is the typically male way of looking at the world and implies logic, certainty, reason, and focusing on measurable outcomes.
Right-brain thinking, on the other hand, is usually associated with the typically female way of viewing the world, implying intuition, creativity and focusing on relationships.
To discuss the left-brain and the right brain functions in detail would be way beyond the scope of this website. For those who are interested, articles/books etc. are freely available from many sources. Prof. Billy O’Connor from University of Limerick has a very informative website www.inside-the-brain.com which contains much useful information on such matters.
The world has always (or certainly over the last 300 years – but probably always) apportioned lesser status to what is considered to be women’s work, i.e. work where activities, outcomes etc. are based on intuition, relationships, creativity, warmth and similar traits.
This is seen all over the working environment. And, in respect of lesser-status, despite all the progress made on women’s rights over many decades there is still no payment by the State (in Ireland anyway) to the parent – usually the woman – who decides to do, full time, the most important and complex job of all, raising children. [1].
I believe that this is partly due to the esteem of left-brain thinking in society in general, as evidenced by the expression – if something is deemed to be not that difficult – ‘it’s not rocket science, you know’! You never hear ‘it’s not childcare, you know’! This elevates rocket science to a status that in my experience anyway, is hardly deserved – and strongly influences the attitude (and thus the decision-making) of the Pillars in their consideration of how to solve what appear to be intractable social problems.
I will digress briefly to explain why I think that way.
I believe that lay people are generally in awe of science and scientific endeavour and this sense of awe has infiltrated into the Pillars. It has been growing steadily since the days of the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, but has skyrocketed (pardon the pun) in the last 100 years or so.
However, while requiring skills in logical deduction and (usually) a high degree of competence in scientific disciplines [2], technology (including to some extent medicine and pharmacology) while being highly complicated, is a relatively straightforward activity – if one has such skills and competences and/or has the money to recruit such people and pay them.
I believe that the reason why technology is held in such high esteem rests in the sheer power of inventions that changed our lives for the better, as well as replacing uncertainty, superstition, mystery and blind faith with common sense, reason and objective knowledge. It has, over the past 100-150 years, in most of Europe, (and over the past 60-70 years in Ireland) elbowed religion off the most powerful perch as the primary influence in our day-to-day lives.
Now I am not at all criticising science, technology or the wonders of our modern world. In fact I am a bit of a techie myself and I usually embrace new technological advances with enthusiasm. And it must not be forgotten that over the past few centuries the average citizen generally experienced technology (in debunking superstition and blind faith) as having both an equalising and a liberating effect.
I merely mention its topmost perch because I believe that community workers and in particular community leaders need to acknowledge that doing our work effectively requires skills that, complexity wise, are a lot different in kind to technologists.
But, as I stated above, mostly those skills are not deemed by the Pillars (or indeed, society in general) to be as credible, valid or, indeed, high-status as deductive, mathematical, rational and logical type skills that science and technology requires.
The use of the expression (i.e. it’s not rocket science) reveals our attitude and ultimately our prejudice……. And my intuition (that’s the right part of my brain by the way) tells me that the expression was probably coined by a man – not a woman.
I believe that it will be a good day for humanity when people consider the status of a person who works in a crèche to be equal to that of an astronaut!
[1]. The State, by its economic choices – in particular successive Governments’ housing policies – have made it increasingly financially difficult for one parent to choose to remain in the family home to raise children over the past number of decades. Two questions jump out at me about this! 1): Have any individuals or organisations that campaign on behalf of women lobbied Government over the years to secure some sort of payment for parents – but, as I said above, overwhelmingly women – who choose to stay at home, and, 2): Have any individuals or organisations that campaign on behalf of children lobbied Government to achieve the same end?
[2]. Physics, chemistry, biology, microbiology, biochemistry, electronics, computer science, geology etc. etc.