Embodying "malware" transformatively: No Security Anywhere (NSA)?

"Big Brother" Crying "Wolf"? (Part #12)

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The nature of more radically fundamental change could well be usefully explored through the challenge of "otherness" and how best to engage with it. The self-reflexive dimension can be recognized in the extensive literature on the encounter with the "shadow" (Jeremiah Abrams, The Shadow in America, 1995; Robert A. Johnson, Owning Your Own Shadow: understanding the dark side of the psyche, 1993). Less evident is the nature of the challenge of the collective shadow.

The question is how the engagement with "terrorism", framed as a global challenge, can be compared with engagement with a collective shadow -- the collective shadow of humanity, possibly the collective unconscious. This could be understood to encompass the crisis of crises with which civilization is currently faced (Mapping the Global Underground, 2010).

Mutation of the "wolf": Any engagement with "the shadow" implies a reframing of the "wolf" metaphor highlighted above. The "wolf" can be understood to correspond to Rumsfeld's "known knowns" or "known unknowns" -- or even to "unknown knowns". As such the wolf, in evoking fear, is relatively "safely" well-framed. A "counter-terrorism" security mindset could well suffice in order to avoid any need to change according to the conservative paradigm.

The question raised here is whether avoidance of any change, through fear, has enabled the wolf to "metastasize" or "mutate". It is no longer a conventional wolf able to be managed with conventional mindsets. The "wolf" now embodies the worst collective fears of humanity -- those most deeply repressed. It can be usefully understood as a "werewolf", as widely anticipated in fantasy movies and fiction -- presumably for good psychological reasons. More personally, it is the entity perceived in a magic mirror -- the kind which offers an image of who one really is -- as with that described by Oscar Wilde in The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890).

Acting unconsciously, to the extent widely recognized, people are effectively werewolves, whether individually or collectively (John Ralston Saul, The Unconscious Civilization, 1995). Aside from recognizing the characteristic in oneself -- as being in some respects "two-faced" -- it can be recognized in others deprecated as "sociopaths", as with the classic movie portrayal of Dr Strangelove. (Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, 1964). Their existence is readily imagined in the case of NSA/PRISM, with some known personalities (explicitly associated with the "secret government" of conspiracy theorists) corresponding readily to that profile.

Threat of otherness: To repeat, this approach is not about focusing on the "evil" projected by the primarily Judeo-Christian West onto Islam, nor about the "evil" projected by Islam onto the Judeo-Christian West. It is a case for coming to terms with the projection of "evil" onto "otherness", and recognizing the manner in which the "other" is effectively a mirror in which unresolved issues with which one identifies can be perceived as inhibiting change ("Human Intercourse": "Intercourse with Nature" and "Intercourse with the Other", 2007; Mirroring of self and other: enjoyment "through" the world, 2011).

Understood in these terms, the fear of otherness can be understood as the fear of change -- especially to the extent that it may imply a form of "shapeshifting", otherwise considered as essentially "terrifying" (En-minding the Extended Body: enactive engagement in conceptual shapeshifting and deep ecology, 2003; Secret sharing, Shapeshifting and Embodiment: reintegration of a remaindered world, 2011).

The recognition of former CIA operative Robert Baer (cited above) that "They're coming after us" then merits understanding in those terms. Change is indeed a-comin' -- whether understood as emerging from the future or from the netherworld of the collective unconscious. And it is indeed coming "after us" and our identification with an outmoded worldview -- so demonstrably "unfit for purpose". Engagement with the dynamic of that change calls for skills as indicated above. Failure to do so transforms the emerging forms into terrifyingly destructive experiences -- now echoed in many videos.

Aiding the enemy -- but "them is us": A major declared concern is that Bradley Manning, Julian Assange and Edward Snowden have been "aiding the enemy", specifically the enemies of US. Manning has recently been acquitted on that count (Andrew Aylward and Julian E. Barnese, Manning Acquitted of Aiding the Enemy, The Wall Street Journal, 30 July 2013; Ed Pilkington, Bradley Manning verdict: cleared of 'aiding the enemy', The Guardian, 30 July 2013). Many have protested that their revelations were in fact aiding the people of the US to obtain understanding of their democracy and its challenges.

The question is how it might be possible to highlight a pattern of intermediary conditions between the unquestionably absolute good of "us" and the unquestionably absolute evil of "them", as .discussed separately In considering the challenge (Us and Them: Relating to Challenging Others: patterns in the shadow dance between "good" and "evil", 2009). One inspiration for such a pursuit, cited there, might be Pogo's classic: we have met the enemy and he is us. However the challenge is to render explicit what might otherwise be encompassed and conflated within the experiential mystery of otherness as explored by Martin Buber (I and Thou, 1923) and others ("Human Intercourse": "Intercourse with Nature" and "Intercourse with the Other", 2007). Clearly such laudable insights have not yet been adequate to the challenge -- notably in the Middle East.

Reconciling distinct worldviews: Curiously the emergent forms and their dynamics, as vehicles for the highest values, will necessarily be perceived differently through the lenses offered by the different extant worldviews:

• for those of religious inclination, it will imply values associated with the "heaven" of their respective tradition
• for those of secular beliefs, it will correspond to assumptions implied by "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness", for example
• for those of scientific orientation, it will reflect the wonders and optimism of technological imagination

What is terrifying about these respective worldviews is not so much their obvious inadequacy in dealing with each other and their internal dissensions -- given the violence and other problems this negligence engenders -- most notably on the part of the Abrahamic religions. Far more terrifying is their total incapacity to address that incapacity with any humility and creativity. Like "Al-Qaida" and "NSA/PRISM", it could be said that they do not "exist" with any coherence and therefore have no ability to respond to the conditions of the times with any integrity.

Missing from these framings are the existential implications, namely the counterpart to the fear and terror in the anticipation of change. It is this existential change that will transform the sense of order with which identity is currently associated and to which it is "attached" -- as to an umbilical cord. The profound differences between these worldviews exacerbate the violence with which they are currently associated.

One possibility to be explored is the manner in which mathematical theology offers a bridge between both the religions and with the sciences -- given the profound significance attached to some mathematical insights by religion, as discussed separately (Mathematical Theology: Future Science of Confidence in Belief, 2011).

Little Red Riding Hood and the "wolf": Further exploiting both the "wolf" and the fables above, the tale of Little Red Riding Hood can be entangled with them to enable further insight. As indicated above, such widely-known tales carry folk wisdom regarding complex situations which is valuable in time of crisis.

It could be argued that there is always a case for mining such resources at the time of crisis to identify any that are especially relevant to deeper understanding and the need to share it widely, as argued separately (Proportionate Response in the Eye of the Beholder: educational fables for faith-based global governance, 2006). The existence of the Aarne-Thompson folk tale classification system suggests a complement to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in the identification and comprehension of "memetic disorders", as discussed separately (Memetic and Information Diseases in a Knowledge Society: speculations towards the development of cures and preventive measures, 2008). Used together, these might prove indicative of the potential for "intelligence failure".

Appropriate to this argument, the wolf of the tale is sometimes portrayed as a werewolf -- especially in the light of its changing appearance.

As with the "little boy", the "little girl" of the tale epitomizes a degree of innocence -- perhaps to be compared to the peoples of the world in their use of the internet. Even her encounter with the wolf evinces no fear -- as might be compared to the insouciance with which many relate to the NSA/PRIM revelations, despite the duplicity associated with the implementation of that system. The wolf skillfully extracts personal information from the little girl and is thus able to locate the home of her grandmother. The latter could be understood as embodying the traditional values and sense of security which the Statue of Liberty might be considered symbolically to enclothe as a democratic ideal. In that respect, Facebook and Google can be framed as the friendly front-end of the NSA/PRISM quest for Total Information Awareness.

The wolf then "swallows" the grandmother whole -- echoing the sense for many that what has been most valued in the USA has been similarly engulfed by NSA. Then, using those values as a disguise, and appropriately "embedded", the (were)wolf greets the little girl. Like the little boy, the girl notices how strange her grandmother looks -- leading to the memorable dialogue:

Embodying "malware": Subsequent phases in the tale of the relationship between (were)wolf, grandmother and the little girl are complex and variously recounted and interpreted.

One approach to their implications is through comprehension of integration of the shadow, perhaps to be phrased as "becoming what one fears" -- taking ownership of one's worst imaginings. Such comprehension does not lend itself to rational articulation -- hence the value of its framing through illustrative folk tales. The challenge is evident in passage through phases of life evoking fear (puberty, etc). The tale of the little girl has notably been interpreted to that end. More evident for adults is the midlife crisis, loss of sexual functions, and recognition of the prospect of mortality.

Another indication is offered by the extent to which "wolf" (as noted by Wikipedia) is used as a designation for the sports teams of many countries, and for military vehicles and ships.

Other clues are offered in competitive situations in which the art is to "know thine enemy" and creatively to reframe the skills of the enemy. Within a healing framework, clues are offered through techniques of taking on the ills of the other, notably by some psychic healers and faith healers -- perhaps exemplified by the purported role of Jesus, widely acclaimed by Christianity with respect to the problems of humanity.

As discussed separately (Progressive integration of the shadow of non-self-reflexivity, 2009), a further clue is offered by the classic set of Ten Ox-herding Images of Zen Buddhism. These are also known as the Ten Bulls -- a highly appropriate alternative for western appreciation (Transformation of Global Governance through Bullfighting: visual symbols and geometric metaphors, 2009). Each image is indicative of an evolution of insight into the relation with challenging "otherness" and is accompanied by brief commentary (cf D T Suzuki; Kubota Ji'un, Ten Ox-herding Pictures with the Verses Composed by Kakuan Zenji, 1996).

As argued elsewhere (Enlightening Endarkenment: selected web resources on the challenge to comprehension, 2005), these are of special interest because of their indication of progressive discovery and interplay with a shadowy element -- even an "enemy" -- denoted by an ox. In a Commentary on the Integration of perceived Problems in the Human Development section of the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential, the images were used to suggest the unfolding relationship between humanity and its shadow (in the shape of the complex of world problems).

The commentary on the "ox-herding" phases is made there under the following headings -- of potential relevance to phases in reframing engagement with the "malware" imaginatively exemplified by either "Al-Qaida" or "NSA/PRISM":

1. Undisciplined exploration of the problematique
2. Recognizing traces of the problematique as an integrated system
3. Focusing on the problematique as a whole
4. Encompassing the problematique
5. Orienting the problematique
6. Using the problematique as a vehicle for sustainable development
7. Transcending the realm of the problematique
8. Disappearance of both humanity and the problematique
9. Expression of essential humanity
10. Human intervention in the world

The sequence evolves from extreme dissociation, perhaps exemplified by framings such as "if it moves, kill it -- it may be dangerous". The final phases are an extreme challenge to conventional comprehension and more akin to understandings of nonduality, explored by fundamental physics and some philosophies. In that light it is not a question of "security" or "insecurity" but of the kind of vigilance cultivated in eastern martial arts and Zen -- hence the provocative reference to "No Security Anywhere". This is consistent with the much-cited quote "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty", and its alternatives, as variously attributed.

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