Chapter 12 – Camelot

Despite my chapter earlier about the preponderance of enemies in our society today, I believe there are still signs of hope for the future. Slavery, for example, is no longer espoused openly by civilized countries as morally justifiable. The steamrolling of tribal cultures, as the United States did to Native Americans in the nineteenth century, produces a consensus of outrage today. We are making great strides toward full equality for women and the LGBT population. Despite all the evil we complain about and grieve over, there is still the hope that humanity is learning and maturing.

Today’s citizens of Camelot, order mages in particular, use the power of their thoughts, actions and spoken words to nudge our civilization toward the day when human society embodies the ideals of Arthurian legend. Even if you did nothing more than obey the laws and wait your turn in line, you would still be exerting power for the sake of order. Let’s consider a human behavior experiment done by researcher Solomon Asch in 1951, which is cited in college textbooks to this day. The study went like this. Test subjects were places in small groups with actors playing the other group members. Each group was asked to look at images and respond to questions about them. The actors all agreed with apparent sincerity on the wrong answers. The object of the study was to see how the subjects would respond under peer pressure. According to the website simplypsychology.org, “On average, about one third (32%) of the participants who were placed in this situation went along and conformed with the clearly incorrect majority on the critical trials. Over the 12 critical trials, about 75% of participants conformed at least once, and 25% of participants never conformed. In the control group, with no pressure to conform to confederates, less than 1% of participants gave the wrong answer.”[1]

What this illustrates is that peer pressure creates a very real psychological force upon human beings. We often think of peer pressure as a bad thing, such as the stereotypical cases of teenage drug abuse and mob action. However, it can equally be a force for good. When the present majority are peaceful, tolerant and mature, we create a force which acts upon those who would otherwise be inclined to violence or hostile behavior. This “Force,” if you will, exists in all societies, and you contribute to it merely by standing with a law-abiding, peaceful majority. It is true, of course, that there is a Dark Side to this Force, which operates when the majority is hostile. In these instances, the order mages of the world have a mandate to calmly take exception to a herd mentality and speak up for what is right. Someday you might just tip the scales.

A very tangible example of this in the United States can be seen in the change in attitude toward bullying. As recently as 1998, there were no school-based anti-bullying laws on the books. For centuries, bullying behavior among youths was seen as natural and inevitable. As long as no physical injury occurred, no harm was recognized. I believe that bullying behavior was tolerated in part because it was presumed to encourage “healthy” conformity and “toughen-up” the victims. In the case of males in particular, this may have had its roots in tribal and medieval cultures. In those times, every young male was expected to go into battle as needed to defend the local populace or raid other villages if food was scarce. Males who had no fighting skill or otherwise showed cowardice were seen as dangerous liabilities which needed corrective action. Obviously, we have not lived in such a society for centuries, but human psychology takes time to adjust.

Although there have always been youths and adults alike who have believed that bullying behavior always does more harm than good, social change in the U.S. did not begin to affect the legislatures until 1999, when two high school seniors entered a school in Columbine, CT and shot thirteen students to death before killing themselves. Anti-bullying campaigns took off after that, and the State of Georgia soon became the first U.S. state to formally adopt anti-bullying legislation.[2] Since that time, all the other states have enacted some form of anti-bullying legislation.

We can look back over time and across cultures to see the ways the laws have changed to reflect increasing awareness of the needs of vulnerable groups. Going from the abolition of slavery, laws over time have come to protect women, children, ethnic minorities, the elderly and those with disabilities. It seems clear that, over time, people are increasingly in agreement that it is the role of government to protect the weak from the strong and to foster a just and equitable societal order. These trends have not come from divine revelation nor from alien intervention. They have happened because ordinary people have spoken out who have persuaded ordinary people to open their eyes to the needs of other ordinary people.

How can you speak out? For all its problems, social media levels the scales when it comes to interpersonal communication. Text-based communication prevents interruptions, and so persons who would otherwise be too shy to speak up in a face-to-face group environment now find themselves speaking on equal footing with the loud and verbose. Finding your niche in social media can give you more influence in social and political dialogue than you have ever had before. In addition to fostering incremental change, Order mages can have a stabilizing effect in the present. In times of crisis, we can be the ones who are best prepared. We will have savings in the bank, cash in the drawer, the first aid kit in the cabinet, canned food in the pantry. Like good scouts, we can be prepared to help ourselves and others when the unexpected arises.

In addition, we often have more influence, I think, than we give ourselves credit for. In our workplaces, our townships, our churches and our social circles there are numerous ways to contribute and to let our voices be heard. I have been a voice for ethical decisions in many of the offices I have worked, and sometimes I have made a difference. Participating in town meetings, school associations and church events all create venues where truth can be told and lived out.

It would gratify me deeply to see an official Order of Order Mages, or simply Servants of Order, arise. Those who embrace organization, moderation and balance are rarely in the spotlight. We often stand in the shadow of charismatic leaders and overachievers, yet without us many of their accomplishments would never come to pass. In one of the appendices to this book there is a Pledge of the Order Mage. My dream is to create an online home for like-minded souls to encourage one another and share wisdom.

I may not be a gifted seer, but I have seen the future in the present. I have lived in both a very poor neighborhood as well as a very affluent one. The ambience of the affluent neighborhood was courteous, polite and friendly. The ambience of the poor neighborhood was one of guarded distance and mistrust. To the extent that we are fighting poverty, and great strides have been made, we are building the New Camelot.  I am no King Arthur. I cannot wave a sword and usher in the new age of harmony. But if I can perhaps stand for one “brief shining moment” in the place of Merlin, I say to you that you, dear readers, are her citizens. Rise up and with me build a new civilization, one step at a time.

Thank you for taking the time to read this book. For more information about modern Order Mages, please visit my Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/846270103358218