March 15, 2016
The Spirit of Tango
One of humanity’s greatest limitations is egocentricity. We tend to think first—and often only—from our own perspective, acting primarily in our own interests.
Yet human beings are not inherently selfish. When humanity was in its infancy, we relied heavily on each other for survival, everything was shared. Fraternity, cooperation and Good Samaritanism were our second nature. Ideologies such as liberalism, individualism, feminism, personal liberty, and individual rights came much later in human history, and are still imperfect theories, or in many ways even adverse to humanity's greater collective interests, as evidenced by selfishness, greed, competition, aggression, inequality, obscenity, substance abuse, gun proliferation, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, single parent family, LGBTQIAPK+, etc. All of these are defended under the banner of individual rights and freedom. As Madame Jeanne-Marie Roland lamented, "O Liberty! O Liberty! What crimes are committed in thy name!" In many ways, humanity is still in its adolescence—too self-centric to fully grasp the connection between personal freedom and the collective well-being of the species. (See The World Needs a New Philosophy.)
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Perhaps the most valuable lesson that tango imparts is that we are interdependent rather than independent, that we need each other, that our individual well-being is inseparable from the well-being of others, that one cannot be happy unless all are happy, that cooperation and sharing serve us better than animosity and competition, that human rights are the collective rights of mankind as a species, not just personal entitlements, and that compassion and self-discipline are important attributes of what makes us human. Tango brings out the better side of our nature, offering a vision for us to live together in peace and harmony through generosity in spirit, loftiness of purpose, altruism, and cooperation. Wherever tango takes us, it serves as a powerful reminder that love, despite our many limitations, is what binds us together as partners, communities, nations, and ultimately as one global family with a shared destiny. (See The Lessons of Tango.)
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Yes, it awakens the humanity in us. I go to the store and my conversation with another human being is reduced to “Paper or plastic?” I call the 800 number for service, and I’m gated through a set of scripted questions sandwiched between an insincere greeting, and a faux expression of appreciation of patronage that always sounds like “thank you for shopping at K-mart.” At the office I’m subordinated to the hierarchy, whether they are reasonable or not. My job is getting my inflexible computer to reflect the work product required by the human stakeholders. Here the ostensible platitudes are teamwork, cooperation, and service. Just under that veneer lays the narcissism, bullying, and desire to win at any cost. A ten minute tanda is a radical response to the dehumanizing reality of modern day-to-day living. It is an opportunity for two humans to embrace each other in the promotion of humanity. Don’t let the precious opportunity slip away because your partner isn’t a good enough dancer, tall enough, young enough, old enough, attractive enough, friendly enough……..whatever enough. Every embrace has a story – dance with it.
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