The Canada Action Dashboard
Our Northern neighbor, Canada, is a beautiful country and a good neighbor. However, this article is not about Canada, the country, but about “CANADA” the word, as a dashboard for assessing our behavior and actions.
Now I am sure you can agree that the quality of our lives depends primarily on the quality of our actions. Our individual actions, taken together, make our homes, our society and the world a better or worse place to live in. It is relevant then, to reflect on the nature and types of our “actions”.
Let’s start with a simple illustration. An arsonist, for whatever reason, sets fire to a building. Very soon, the Fire Department and the medics arrive. As the neighbors gather and watch
This is where “CANADA” is a handy mnemonic:
CA= Constructive Action
NA= Neutral Action
DA= Destructive Action
The six letters “CANADA” neatly encompass the entire gamut of actions, in order, from best to indifferent to worst. Ideally, anyone interested in self growth would try to maximize constructive behavior, limit neutral action and eliminate destructive actions. This would also provide a bottom-line approach for evaluating certain courses of action, based on their results, rather than a moral or traditional approach. (By the way, our written and spoken words are also considered “actions” for the purposes of this discussion.)
Now most of the time we are neither heroes, like the firemen, nor villains, like the arsonist (at least I hope not). There are no subtleties to be discussed about these two extremes. Heroic as well as villainous activities are the bread and butter of the T.V. news channels but have zero relevance to our life. Instead 99% of our life is occupied with “middle of the road” activities. These are not “newsworthy” but are certainly “attention worthy” because they are never “truly neutral” but have a beneficial or detrimental bias. Trivial in the short run, their long term and cumulative effect is significant. Also, by slight modifications, they can be nudged towards either the constructive or destructive zone. For a numerical evaluation, we can make a scale from 10 to 1 as shown below.
CA(10)— 9——8——7——-6——–(5)NA(5)——-4——- 3——-2——-1—-(0)DA.
Activities with a Constructive bias would be numbered greater than 5, while those with a Destructive bias would fall below 5. Of course CA(10) and DA(0) stand for the ‘heroic’ and ‘devilish’ respectively.
As an example, let us evaluate the habit of TV watching, a common and daily indulgence. If the program I watch is inspirational and leaves me refreshed mentally and spiritually, I can classify it as a #6 activity. Further, while watching, if I sit on an exercise bike, and pedal away for a half-hour, it would jump 2 pts higher to a #8. A smutty show or a championship wrestling might rate a 4. If while watching, I snack on junk food, I slide lower, perhaps to a #2. So TV watching would represent an activity which could rise to #8 or sink to a 2. This is shown below.
CA(10)—Insp+exer=8—Inspirational=6—-NA(5)—-junk=4—–junk+soda=2—–(0)DA.
TV VIEWING DASHBOARD.
Using a similar logic, let us examine social drinking of alcoholic beverages. The first drink arguably makes a person feel a little better physically and mentally and may be conducive to more creative thinking. It may also improve social interaction at a gathering. The utility gradually tapers off with the second drink- there is little or no improvement and there may be a marked reduction in intelligence and sensitivity. The third drink is markedly destructive in all aspects. The heavy drinker therefore, goes through several phases of “CANADA” (retrogressing from best to worst) in perfect order.
CA(10)……1st drink=7……2nd drink=5…..3rd drink=3……4th drink=1…….(0)DA.
SOCIAL DRINKING DASHBOARD.
Corporal punishment of children is a controversial topic; while some people are all in favor, others are vehemently opposed to it. However, instead of taking sides, (or more correctly, taking any one side), it may be advantageous to consider the bottom line, based on results, rather than moral grounds. If the child is stubborn and/or getting really involved with bad elements like drug dealers, perhaps some physical punishment may be desirable, and rated as an 8. It would be better than him getting involved with drugs/illegal activities or ending up in jail. In the case of a sensitive child, one who is amenable to reason and persuasion or understands what he has done wrong, such punishment may do more harm than good, and rates a 2.
CA 10—–Stubb+drugs=8——-Stubb=6———Sensitive=2———-0 DA.
CORPORAL PUNISHMENT ASSESMENT.
We could examine more scenarios, but I think you’ve got the picture. Why not come up with your own assessments? Possible activities for assessment might include, shopping, gossiping, reading best-sellers, meetings at work, or any other activities you may think of. The results should be interesting and I would welcome any insight and feedback from you.
Riding the Railroad to work, gives me a chance to reflect and muse at random. Over several days, my jotted thoughts gradually combine into an article.
Tags: ACTIONS, CANADA, MNEMONIC, QUALITY