Interesting...this is a "free" post, and only five comments...after 2,500 people got the post (supposedly). Hmmmm. I am beginning to think Substack is a scam.
I can’t speak for everyone who read and didn’t comment but I didn’t comment myself because I felt I had nothing of value to add. As always I enjoyed the article and the opinions of everyone who did comment.
Had never seen the terms Top-down and Bottom-up used this way, but it is crystal clear what you mean. As you suggest, probably both approaches are necessary at some point, but certainly Top-down is just a temporary Band-aid. The problem is that Top-down is just easier, and although it "doesn't work", the results are easily "measurable" and you can make them look as impressive. Using your example of mental disorders: it is fairly easy to run someone's symptoms through a checklist of DSM-5-TR criteria, come-up with a diagnosis, prescribe the mandated drugs, and show that one month afterwards the symptoms have decreased. It takes a LOT of more effort and time to sit with the person, "place them on the couch" and try to figure out the root causes of their depression. My hat is off to you, because I believe that is what you do.
My husband didn’t stop getting in trouble until the judge said he was tired of looking at him and threatened prison. That was it. Rebellion tamed. But my husband did not have a criminal mind-he was just rebellious.
The true criminal mind cannot be threatened into behaving in a positive manner. I’m glad you stated that clearly.
The liberal nannies will never accept that some people are inherently bad
Your husband chose to live within the system to some degree...more trouble than it is worth not too in most cases. Negative consequences compete with rewards. We all do this every day in some way.
And yes, the criminal mind is being driven by something else entirely than "common conscious sense"...punishment to the criminal mind could possibly even be the desired goal!
Top-down suggests external programming, and bottom-up suggests education, or bringing forth from within. Recalls the adage: fake it 'til you make it. I've found conformity absent understanding inadequate, but often a useful expedient. My mind has questioned my conformity until I understood it, and the folly of mindless rebellion.
Yes, the agenda uses top-down extensively...they want nothing to do with bottom-up because they cannot control it. It is deeper, richer, and not easily manipulated. The nature of top-down is just as you say, "external", or certainly can be.
"Quick fix" is one of the incentives of top-down solutions. It is black and white, usually easy to understand..." no-brainer solutions". They CAN be complicated, but usually they do not need to be.
We definitely live in a top-down world for the most part. If someone is able and willing to start at the bottom-up, it is usually because they initiate that themselves through self-searching or they are guided to that way by someone who cares or someone like you Todd. We suffer endlessly now with more laws and bills squeezing us into submission (or trying to) but not ever tackling the real problems. We use band-aids for all sorts of things beyond a cut: in health, law, social fixes but the root of the problem is rarely tackled. It is reaching for the low-hanging fruit rather than trying to get to the real issues.
We seem to have less people today following a moral code (example, the Ten Commandments). I am not saying you can't be a good and moral person without religion but I definitely think connecting beyond yourself or your problems towards a spiritual path, definitely helps.
Everything you are saying is right on and supports all the points I made in the article. If things do not come naturally (decent behaviour) then you have to put out lots and lots of "rules and regulations" (top-down solutions) in order to attempt to get things in some sort of decent order. That's bad enough, but if you "train" people to ONLY rely on top-down orders in order to survive, then there is a lot of opportunity for deceit and corruption.
Top-down does have its merits, particularly in teaching children what is dangerous (putting a fork in a wall outlet) and what is safe (NOT putting a fork in a light socket). They can't rely on bottom-up (character development, an understanding of ethics and decency) to keep from getting run over by a car or electrocuted.
But those "top-down" lessons are taught by parents who love their children, not someone who has malevolent intentions.
Interesting...this is a "free" post, and only five comments...after 2,500 people got the post (supposedly). Hmmmm. I am beginning to think Substack is a scam.
I can’t speak for everyone who read and didn’t comment but I didn’t comment myself because I felt I had nothing of value to add. As always I enjoyed the article and the opinions of everyone who did comment.
Had never seen the terms Top-down and Bottom-up used this way, but it is crystal clear what you mean. As you suggest, probably both approaches are necessary at some point, but certainly Top-down is just a temporary Band-aid. The problem is that Top-down is just easier, and although it "doesn't work", the results are easily "measurable" and you can make them look as impressive. Using your example of mental disorders: it is fairly easy to run someone's symptoms through a checklist of DSM-5-TR criteria, come-up with a diagnosis, prescribe the mandated drugs, and show that one month afterwards the symptoms have decreased. It takes a LOT of more effort and time to sit with the person, "place them on the couch" and try to figure out the root causes of their depression. My hat is off to you, because I believe that is what you do.
My husband didn’t stop getting in trouble until the judge said he was tired of looking at him and threatened prison. That was it. Rebellion tamed. But my husband did not have a criminal mind-he was just rebellious.
The true criminal mind cannot be threatened into behaving in a positive manner. I’m glad you stated that clearly.
The liberal nannies will never accept that some people are inherently bad
Your husband chose to live within the system to some degree...more trouble than it is worth not too in most cases. Negative consequences compete with rewards. We all do this every day in some way.
And yes, the criminal mind is being driven by something else entirely than "common conscious sense"...punishment to the criminal mind could possibly even be the desired goal!
Top-down suggests external programming, and bottom-up suggests education, or bringing forth from within. Recalls the adage: fake it 'til you make it. I've found conformity absent understanding inadequate, but often a useful expedient. My mind has questioned my conformity until I understood it, and the folly of mindless rebellion.
Yes, the agenda uses top-down extensively...they want nothing to do with bottom-up because they cannot control it. It is deeper, richer, and not easily manipulated. The nature of top-down is just as you say, "external", or certainly can be.
So true! It takes more diligence, patience, commitment and compassion but longevity not a quick fix is the goal.
"Quick fix" is one of the incentives of top-down solutions. It is black and white, usually easy to understand..." no-brainer solutions". They CAN be complicated, but usually they do not need to be.
We definitely live in a top-down world for the most part. If someone is able and willing to start at the bottom-up, it is usually because they initiate that themselves through self-searching or they are guided to that way by someone who cares or someone like you Todd. We suffer endlessly now with more laws and bills squeezing us into submission (or trying to) but not ever tackling the real problems. We use band-aids for all sorts of things beyond a cut: in health, law, social fixes but the root of the problem is rarely tackled. It is reaching for the low-hanging fruit rather than trying to get to the real issues.
We seem to have less people today following a moral code (example, the Ten Commandments). I am not saying you can't be a good and moral person without religion but I definitely think connecting beyond yourself or your problems towards a spiritual path, definitely helps.
Everything you are saying is right on and supports all the points I made in the article. If things do not come naturally (decent behaviour) then you have to put out lots and lots of "rules and regulations" (top-down solutions) in order to attempt to get things in some sort of decent order. That's bad enough, but if you "train" people to ONLY rely on top-down orders in order to survive, then there is a lot of opportunity for deceit and corruption.
Top-down does have its merits, particularly in teaching children what is dangerous (putting a fork in a wall outlet) and what is safe (NOT putting a fork in a light socket). They can't rely on bottom-up (character development, an understanding of ethics and decency) to keep from getting run over by a car or electrocuted.
But those "top-down" lessons are taught by parents who love their children, not someone who has malevolent intentions.