Why you should not objectify – a base aikido principle

Objectification is something that people have investigated recently in a scientific way, and Zolley has also written a post about it in connection with a recent scientific study. The following paragrapsh contain my own personal thoughts about the issue of objectification.

What can we use objectification for? In my opinion, the phenomenon is perfect for brainwashing people. For example, in the military, soldiers/insurgents/civilians of the enemy are often called targets, and so they are kind of deprived from their human characteristics, from their being human. Soldiers don’t start thinking about executing orders, they just need to destroy almost inanimate objects, targets. They just need to believe somehow that the ’target’ does not come with any human properties, and the conscience remains clear. Or does it? As soon as they start thinking and realise that the targets are humans just like them, conscience changes and various problems appear which creates a lot of damaged soldiers, even if they are not physically wounded. A human person with a healthy soul has a very hard job processing things such as orders to kill a child. If someone can, nevertheless, execute this order no problem, I think they have already lost their main traits that make them human, and they become targets, even in their own minds.

The question is now why objectification is studied scientifically and who does these studies. Let’s start with the ’why’ and then we can easily move to the ’who’ part.

So why, what purpose do the research serve?

I think many researchers study the area to learn about the mechanisms in the human mind, so they or others can work out ways and methods that allow someone to control and direct other people. In other words, teach the soldiers how to treat others as objects and they won’t think about the orders for a second, and losing these kinds of thoughts won’t damage their minds and souls so much. Basically we try to take total control over the soldiers. We have just chatted about this with Zolley who mentioned that he had listened to a lecture in which the lecturer had actually said that a lot of the research on this and similar areas had been funded by the US military. But let us finish this line of thought here, you can continue yourself if you feel like doing so. Putting the puzzle together like the above seems to make sense.

Where does this come from? It’s nothing else but the wish for power. It’s to rule over others. As this manifests as aggression it cannot be a way to create or achieve harmony. Agressions leads to more agression. It will just keep growing. And whoever is in power at this moment might know this and might be afraid that they might lose this power some time. So they do anything to lengthen their time in power, even using inhuman methods. But those methods still manifest as aggression and they get yet farther from a harmonious state. Think about it. Is real love aggressive? Can it be conquered? Is it that real love is in power for only a matter of hours? Does it create aggression?

I guess you know the answer. These are the principles that also appear in aikido. If you are able to love your attacker who approaches with agression, if you can accept them coming then you can blend with them and redirect them using the power of love. You become invincible and you embody love itself. Then you won’t need a fight, a direct conflict, agression will not be needed. The real love is not the want of power, it is not aimed at ruling over others. Real love is to serve others’ development, even joy. I know it is really hard to show or do this in everyday life, I know how hard I need to work to achieve even a little bit of success, but I firmly believe that this is the way to go because love and a loving attitude are the only things that can change this selfish world to the better. That is why I also think that aikido is a fantastic tool that – through the physical world, i.e. movements – can show is manifestations of love. Complete beginners and fans of the art are often not able to see or understand these thoughts yet, but as soon as you are be able to look behind the physical techniques themselves, there will be moments when you can experience the essence of how aikido works.

Let us close with this thought, and I would like to urge beginners not to get stuck with trying to understand how the techniques work but they should also look for the opportunities for a deeper understanding of aikido. These opportunities might not come immediately but with perseverance and by investing energy into it you will definitely see positive results.