This week Jeff talks about the latest ruling on gay rights from the Supreme Court. The issue of homosexuality also features prominently in his assessment of Obama’s trip to Africa. Then we move north to Egypt where political evolution, with all its opportunities and dangers, is arising right before our eyes with the military’s removal of President Mohamed Morsi.
US Supreme Court Affirms Gay Rights (2:40)
A culture’s treatment of homosexuality is one of the most reliable developmental markers we can find. At the Archaic (infrared) altitude homosexuality is widespread, as it is throughout the animal kingdom. At Tribal (magenta) it is woven into the fabric of culture, with homosexual rituals and the acceptance of “third gender” social roles. At the Warrior (red) altitude, homosexuality is treated in a context of power and masculinity (adult man / adolescent boy). At the Traditional (amber) level homosexuality is outlawed as society is sexually “purified”; gays are closeted, and in cases of early amber, such as the Taliban, killed. In modernity we get “don’t ask, don’t tell”. In postmodern (green) culture gays are rescued from oppression (sometimes whether they want it or not).
In two landmark cases last week, the rejection of the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8, the Supreme Court made new rules that caught up with the rapidly evolving attitudes of the American people.
Obama Spotlights Orange Africa (24:34)
The big news out of Africa is that many of African countries are entering modernity. Modernity generally first arises in the exteriors: technology, commerce and living standards, and Obama’s tour through Senegal, Tanzania and South Africa spotlighted this growth. Evolution in interior culture can be much slower, however, and attitudes toward homosexuality in much of Africa are barely out of red, with gays in some countries being arrested and even killed.
Egypt in Turmoil (36:10)
Recorded Tuesday 7/2, the night before the military coup, we looked at the real time unfolding of modern Egypt’s rejection of their traditionalist (Muslim Brotherhood) president. More to come in this new chapter of the Arab Spring…
Check back next week as we take an integral look at current events and news headlines!
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Listen below to an excerpt. The full audio is here on integrallife.com.
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