ADAM AND EVE AND DEREGULATION

My Congressman sent out a report on Corporate Corruption. His lead line is: “Corporate Corruption: What Happened?” Farther along he states: “Contrary to the claims of so-called experts, the rash of corporate scandals was entirely predictable. It was the inevitable result of a failed experiment with radical deregulation plans…”

I could have told him that.

Adam and Eve came to the same conclusion ages ago.

The whole Regulation versus Deregulation battle has been fought for ages. From day one we have chaffed at having to answer to anyone but ourselves. It is a political mantra of individuals, corporations, businesses and others to “get big brother off our backs.” Get a few of almost any working persons together and they will all agree that regulation is a problem and a pain.

We all hate to be regulated. The question is, are we trustworthy enough to be turned loose without regulation? On the freeway, for instance?

The old religious answer came down on the “depravity of man.” At the root we can’t be trusted. The core myth that has carried the weight of this is the Adam and Eve saga in the Garden of Eden. They had only minimal regulation. Just don’t eat the fruit of one tree. How good can it get? They didn’t even have to wear clothes.

But Adam and Eve didn’t want to be regulated. They defied regulation. They de-regulated the Garden of Eden. The way the story works is that this “original sin” was pinned on every one of us born since. We are “born in sin.”  This, of course, sets the stage for the later “salvation” drama.

I never really liked the idea of original sin or human depravity. I didn’t like the theological notion that God held Adam and Eve’s failings against every newborn baby. I thought the need to baptize infants to immunize them against God’s wrath should they die was crazy. And I couldn’t ever figure out how being “saved” disconnected people from their base nature. In fact, studies show that those “born again” are about as likely to go wrong as those who are not.

As years go by, and I read the news of my fellow human beings, it is more and more difficult to say that those ancient theologians were wrong about the nature of the human species. Five of the top corporate giants who rode the rainbow of de-regulation have both crashed their companies and run off with over a billion dollars personal gain. They are only a few of those who lived in the Garden of Eden without regulation. They came out looking like Adam and Eve. We are stuck with their betrayal of trust.

Some people seem to have a super-conscience derived from the idea of an active, Divine Regulator. I think they called it “God-fearing.” If folks are afraid enough, maybe they’ll do what they should do. Some call for religious renewal as a basis for regulation.

Well, think about it. Do you trust those who most loudly proclaim religious faith and righteousness? Do you trust the hierarchy of clerics who claim spiritual high ground? Do you trust that people of faith are less likely to abuse power, or less likely to seek financial advantage over those beneath them?

The ancient spiritual thinkers decided that human beings could not survive as individuals, families and society without regulation. They invented, appointed, created, or discovered a Regulator. The Regulator was a Judge whose judgment was meted out from time to time.

So, this is the way it works. Human beings want a Garden of Eden without any rules or regulations to keep them from doing whatever they want. So our electric rates are up 40%, phone service has increased 50%, cable TV has risen 36%. Banks have been bailed out at a cost of $160 billion by taxpayers. Many kinds of services, including food, have become less dependable. We want to mine, drill, fish, clear-cut and even go to war without the restraint of regulation. That’s what we want. Everyone wants freedom from regulation. Adam and Eve and you and me and even our President.

But un-Regulated behavior inevitably turns to mischief. Mischief does not go undetected or unpunished, even though it may cause great hurt and suffering before it is halted. Because human beings cannot be trusted, all are subject to regulation. No exceptions. No one is too big or too small to escape this need. They called the Regulator, God. It doesn’t matter what you call it. Our species, at least for the next 100,000 years or so, needs regulation. Ask Adam and Eve. ─ Art Morgan, October, 2008