World War 1 - Legacy

Before WWII 1 in 4 poor children died.. That compares with 1 in 9 soldiers during the war. corner shop keepers looked down on the working class as a group so far below them that they were almost a different race. The War forced social change that would have probably not happened otherwise. 

Solders were given meet with every meal, as poor workers they would have only had meet on special occasions. Not even once a week. Bread was the main food and hunger the norm in 1914. After the war the troops came back better fed,stronger and healthier with higher expectations.

The officers of WWII were expected to lead from the front. Officers were not selected on their ability to lead but on their class. Upper and middle class formed the officers. Leading from the front meant they were the first out of the trenches and therefore the first and most likely to die. The average life expectancy of these offers was low and less than 6 weeks at one part. This culling of the upper and middle classes caused their families to pay death duties that in turn forced large estates to sell off their land. Post war it meant that companies that would have nepotisim or cronyism to select  management roles where forced to look to at a meritocratic selection proces. 

A male dominated workforce was forced to accept women as skilled labour. Improving their status and independence in society. At the end ofWWI most woe me and all men had a vote. The war forced everyone into a collaboration to service and win that could not be undone after. It forced myths, conventions and prejudices  to be discarded fro practical and real truths.

Today in the UK we have benefited from this equality for almost 100 years. But.. The human need for a hierarchy is slowly but surely creeping back. There excess of the Thatcher era and the yuppie may have disappeared from the headlines but the excesses of bankers show that they have simply gone underground and not disappeared. TV and the internet has slowed down the return to the excess of elite ruling class like some pressure valve of information. It seems that TV and the internet may have encouraged others to move towards democracy as in the Arab uprisings and unrest in Eastern Europe. Do they just want the benefits, without the culture changes and is that achievable. Regardless, in the UK rich are getting richer the poor are getting poorer and cultures that didn't go through the decorosisation of WWI are exerting their influence and prejudices.

Was the changes that I merged as a result of WWI and benefited generation, transient and doomed to be lost as we return slowly and inexorably back to some status que of have and have nots?

Placebo effect

Just watched a documentary on BBC in their Horizon series on "the placebo effect". As well as being interesting it reinforced to me how we each live in a world created by our minds. Outside things influence and change our perception but ultimately it is OUR perception that is our truth. The fact that even when some people know it is a placebo it can still work in 60% was even more astonishing. This seemed to show that we can suspend logical reasoning if it is to our " perceived" benefit.

If you believe, it works. Hypnotism is the same, as are faith healers, psychics, TV evangelists and voodoo doctors. It's just the degree to which you suspend logical reasoning. Clearly in some cases this ability to suspend logic has benefits. While complete abdication of logic can see the vulnerable abused and in a cult. 

What is fascinating is the minds ability to create a world in which belief is reality. There is a theory that there are infinite universes. I vaguely remember a quote that was something like "when a human dies a whole world ceases to exist". 

Clearly there are limits to this. One can't ignore the laws of physics. A belief that you can fly does not make it so. Where the external world can be suppressed momentarily, it seems the body can be at the disposal of the mind, and the mind can fool itself. Giving someone an empty oxygen bottle at a high altitude didn't increase the oxygen in their body, but did reduce hormones in the blood as if they had and enabled them to carry out tasks as if they had.

Even fake surgery. Where the theatre that goes around the preperation, gave people benefits as if they had the surgery. People with back pain, was the example. There was no attempt to set or mend broken bones. But clearly not all surgery is necessary. 

So if it is just the theatre of people in white surgery outfits, in a hospital setting that enables the mind to trick itself, you should be able to make the link to religious and other institutional ceremonies that impart some belief that things have change, for the individual or group.