James M. H. Gregg: Selected Works: Social Justice Zen Master Ideas of a Twentieth Century Grandfather Some Poems

By James M.H. Gregg

The James M. H. Gregg Selected Works includes four books. Each book was written to inspire future generations to think and act in ways to improve themselves and society.

Mr. Gregg's most recent work, Social Justice (A Blueprint), explores a new set of ideas and strategies for moving humans to a higher cultural plane on which all can live to their full potential.

In Ideas of a Twentieth Century Grandfather the author reveals to his grandchildren his knowledge and insight that he may not otherwise get a chance to tell them.

Zen Master is a dialogue between a Zen Master and students. The students ask him questions about many subjects to include the meaning of life and living, death, the essences of Zen, and peace of mind.

Finally, Some Poems is a compilation of poems that the author has written over the years about loving, living, being, and love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Sep 27, 2005
• ISBN: 9780595815418

James M.H. Gregg

James M. H. Gregg was born in Florence, South Carolina in 1935. He attended Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He served in the US Army and had a long and distinguished career in the US Federal Government Senior Executive Service. Mr. Gregg has been a resident of Potomac, Maryland for over 40 years. Currently, he spends his time writing, exercising, gardening, traveling, and spoiling his four grandchildren with his wife of 45 years, Dianne.

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Copyright © 2011 by James M. H. Gregg

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ISBN: 978-0-595-37143-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-0-595-67465-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-0-595-81541-8 (e)

Printed in the United States of America

iUniverse rev. date: 10/03/2011

Contents

Foreword

Social Justice

Introduction

I

BASIC REQUIREMENTS AND DEFINITIONS

Basic Requirements

A Definition of Social Justice

II

MAJOR ISSUES

General Failures

Fundamental Issues

The Art of Social Justice

High Risk Predispositions

A Science of Acculturation

III

GOALS

Strategic Goals

Survival Security Goal

Transformed Mentality Goal

Knowledge and Understanding

Self and Other

Harmony of Self with Society

Membership and Bonding

Summary

IV

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

Strategic Objectives

Survival Security for All

Strategic Action for Democratic Governance

Equal Opportunity for All

Expanding the Knowledge Base

Freedom of Thought and Inquiry

Basic Education

Mental and Behavioral Pathologies

Acculturation for Justice

V

CONCLUSION

Appendices

Appendix I

Appendix II A

Appendix II B

Ideas of a Twentieth Century Grandfather

A Letter to my Grandchildren

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

G.

H.

I.

J.

K.

L.

M.

N.

Zen Master

SOME POEMS

POEMS

OF

LOVING

POEMS

OF

LIVING

POEMS

OF BEING

LOVE

Foreword

It is a pleasure to introduce the Selected Works of our father, James Malcolm Hall Gregg. Since his retirement from a distinguished career in public service, he has endeavored to put in writing his thoughts for future generations – particularly for his family. Our family has a long, documented history that dates back to the kings of Scotland and other ancestors including Rob Roy MacGregor; Peregrine White, the youngest person to arrive in America on the Mayflower (born two weeks prior to arrival); and the Revolutionary War General Mad Anthony Wayne. His work is his legacy that he wants to leave to us, to future generations of the Gregg family, and to all those who are also interested in reading and learning. He believes his work will make the world a better place and our lives more fulfilling both today and in the future. As our father turns 70 years old, we feel it is important to let others read his work, and that through questioning and discussion, like in Zen Master, it may give him inspiration to expand on his work.

Our father will continue to learn as his life moves forward yielding perspectives on new topics like a world with terrorism, stem cell research, and diseases that plague us today which may be quickly part of the past. His wonderful mother recently passed away at 94 years of age after suffering from the terrible illness, Alzheimer’s Disease. As a devoted son to his mother his entire life, and spending so much time with her in her final years, we believe this experience will allow him to expand further his thinking on some of his Zen principles about living in the now. As he learned through this terrible disease, if there is no context of the past to put the now and the future into perspective, living in the now does not appear to have as much meaning.

Our father has always been a believer in merit and excellence. Politics was another man’s game: Skills in expedience, compromise, and social climbing are not a basis upon which he wanted to be judged. At leisure, he would wear tee shirts that would have a big E on them, which he said stood for Effort or an R which stood for Results. We have never heard our father ask a favor of anyone nor have we heard him apologize for his actions.

He was born in Florence, South Carolina in 1935. He was a child of the depression and World War II. However, he speaks only of the great times he had growing up in Decatur, Georgia and spending his summers with the relatives he loved in Florence, South Carolina and Wilmington, North Carolina. As a teenager, he moved to Natick, Massachusetts and was the president of his class in high school as well as the quarterback of the football team and editor of the school paper. He performed well in school and earned a scholarship to Harvard College and later attended Harvard Law School after volunteering as an enlisted man in the infantry in the U.S. army. He was always a bit of maverick almost getting kicked-out of Harvard for refusing to wear a tie to dinner. He had the nickname One Punch from his roommates for his street fighting prowess and boxing ability that he inherited from his father, a Golden Gloves Collegiate Champion.

Our father moved to Washington D.C. after law school and quickly rose to the highest levels of the Civil Service system in the Federal Government, which later became known as the Senior Executive Service (SES). He implemented many great programs for our country in Government agencies such as NASA, Office of Management and Budget, Department Of Justice, Office of Personnel Management, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. He helped establish the Department of Energy during the energy crisis of the 1970s and spearheaded the wars on drugs at The Special Action Office of Drug Abuse and Prevention (a precursor of the Drug Enforcement Agency) in Nixon’s White House and crime in the Justice Department’s Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA). For his leadership as Acting Administrator of LEAA, he was awarded the Attorney General’s Medal, the highest law enforcement award in the land.

He has great insider stories of his encounters with J. Edgar Hoover, George Wallace, President Nixon and most of the key figures implicated in the Watergate scandal. When asked, we usually tell our friends that he was responsible for the creation of the Ad Council’s McGruff, the Crime Dog — known for the slogan, Take A Bite Out of Crime. This was not exactly the legacy he wanted, but not a bad one in our opinion because it included many initiatives that are now part of the American landscape like Neighborhood Watch programs and police Sting operations. Continuing his Harvard legacy of bucking fashion norms, he once caused great turmoil in the senior ranks of the FBI for appearing for a special picture with J. Edgar Hoover wearing an electric blue shirt, rather than the standard white that was regulation.

We have always been a very competitive family, frequently walking around the house with our index fingers in the air signifying that one of us had won something over another in the family, and that person was #1 and always with shouts of Mama, I beat him! It was all a great deal of fun and fostered an atmosphere for us to always try to win, excel, and succeed at what we did. This may not be obvious when you read his reflections today, but achievement and service were always a part of our lives. However, if you follow the guidelines he proposes in his Ideas of Twentieth Century Grandfather, the things he most wants you to succeed in are happiness and fulfillment in your life

Although quite good looking, charming, well spoken, our father still tries his best to avoid social gatherings, with the exception of family, old friends, and now book clubs. He prefers to read, garden, or exercise. In fact, he would probably prefer dental surgery to a cocktail party. However, when he must attend a social function, he is always gracious and ensures that everyone is having a good time. He has always been athletic. He enjoyed baseball and football as child, tennis as an adult, and he still runs / walks five miles a day.

Other memories of our father from childhood include requiring us to submit a written budget in order to receive our allowance; family court where he was the judge and we had to argue disputes before him; and Hearts games where his cruel side came out. With a devilish grin he would lay the Queen of Spades on members of his family. For two years in a row, when we were small children, he sent us sprinting down the street after a non-existent Ron McDonald or Bugs Bunny giving away free food and drinks in an open convertible on April Fool’s Day.

Our mother has stood by his side for now 45 years. She stayed home and raised us while our father was working. However, she was still able to become a widely acclaimed antique art glass expert while running a busy household. They now share a love of gardening and traveling together. My mother even typed my father’s hand written manuscripts that now form this book. Although she does not agree with everything that the author has written, we are sure she is proud of this book and has always been proud of her husband.

All of us are not without fault, and neither is our father. Like Mary Poppins, the Gregg family likes to think of themselves as practically perfect in every way, and that is the way he and we would like him to be remembered when this book is read 50 years from now.

Our father’s other pastime is spoiling his grandchildren. His four grandchildren definitely view him as practically perfect, and we hope they always will. He goes to ballet recitals, soccer games, bowling, and birthday parties. He is currently responsible for organizing one of his granddaughter’s horseback riding lessons.

Finally, our father is an intellectual. He reads, he studies, he thinks, and now he writes. His greatest fear is to lose his capacity to reason. He was in a terrible car accident years back, and we remember our mother saying to us that there was no brain injury as that would be the worst injury he could imagine. These books were written with great care and passion. We are sure that each word and each sentence was carefully considered. These books were not professionally edited, so you are reading them in a very raw but genuine form. Our father’s hope is that these books will give greater understanding to the readers. It is our hope that publishing the book will bring greater joy to him.

It is with great pleasure that we share with you James M. H. Gregg Selected Works.

John, Tom, and Jennifer

Social Justice

(A Blueprint)

By

James M. H. Gregg

Introduction

The world’s civilizations and cultures are obsolete and unable to adequately serve human needs. Over the past five hundred years there has been an extraordinary expansion of our understanding of the physical universe and the biology of living creatures, including ourselves. New technologies and new powers have evolved from this knowledge, but our ability to use them to meet fundamental human needs has been pitiful.

We have fallen short of realizing our potential to develop and fulfill ourselves and to contribute all that is possible toward the welfare and security of our species. We are not taking the right actions, as individuals or as members of societies, to best serve our own interests. We are awash in a sea of information, but are unable to organize it and act upon it in order to make necessary changes in our behaviors and cultures. On the contrary, we are continuing to hold beliefs and support cultural practices that are exacting enormous pain and waste of human lives and talents. Even more seriously, we are taking actions or neglecting to take actions that are putting the existence of our species at risk. It is bad enough that humans suffer unnecessarily. It would be tragic if we destroy our own kind.

The gap between what might be achieved for all humans and what humans have achieved to date is so great that to truly see and appreciate the lost opportunity, and the misery resulting from it, is enough to create madness in the human mind. But unless we understand this disaster, we will not be motivated to begin to correct it. It is not sufficient for me or any other person to simply decry the ignorance, the mistakes, and the inadequate actions that have led to so much human woe. What is required is a new set of ideas and strategies for moving humans to a higher cultural plane on which all can live to their full potential in health, joy and dignity. These ideas and strategies must flow from a common vision of what human destiny might be. As always, a grand task must begin with a dream.

This essay is a dream about social justice. Such a dream is crucial to the further sound development and evolution of humankind. Dream work is required of all of us now. It is time to start the process of dream creation and building. The dream we build must be drawn from all relevant sources of knowledge and experience. It must be debated and tested with the utmost rigor. It must be continuously refined in the undimmed light of all that can be known or reasonably imagined about nature and human behavior. The dream is not, of course, a nocturnal or sleeping dream, but rather a conscious vision to be constructed and shared by fully awakened, aware, and deliberate minds. It is a dream that would express an ideal of justice that is most probably not fully attainable, but which would provide an inspiring goal to pursue, so that by ever more closely approaching it, humankind would accrue highly valued benefits.

The most fundamental difficulty in creating such a vision and gaining general acceptance of it is the presumption that any dreamer can know what benefits humans do or should most highly value. Therefore, a proponent of a vision worthy of acceptance must make every effort to specify, prioritize, and justify an ideal set of benefits that a just society should strive to attain. Under any circumstances this is a heavy burden for a dreamer to bear. It will be even heavier if the proposed benefits and their relative values and weights do not correspond to those currently held by most people. This, of course, is a challenge the dreamer most accept and meet if there is to be any hope for the future of his vision.

In this essay I have not aspired to create a dream or vision that is poetry, or one that is based on intuition, but rather one which springs from solid analysis of what is possible for humans given the realities of their biological and social capabilities. My goal is a vision that is realistic and practical to the extent that substantial progress can be expected in moving toward it. The vision must present concepts of social justice that are attainable. This certainly does not mean that they must be easily attainable, but that they should not make demands for behaviors that are beyond the bounds of present human potential.

In my view, social justice must not only be attainable, but it must be available for all people within the society. Often in discussions of justice it is assumed that justice for all is a universal ideal of great value, and that the only problem to be considered is how to organize society so that justice may be provided for as many members of society as possible. But while it may be true that all individuals want justice for themselves, it is also certain that many societies have existed and endured in which some powerful individuals quite readily denied justice to many or even most other members of the society. In putting forward a concept of justice and advocating it as I shall do, it seems important to make a strong case that justice must be enjoyed by all members of society. Furthermore, I will make the argument that a valid concept of social justice will yield results that not only are satisfying to all individuals within the society, but that the satisfaction of each individual can be maximized through the enjoyment of such results by all.

Making such a case is difficult, but I believe it must be attempted if a social justice concept is to have broad persuasive power. I must convince you that your enjoyment of justice can be greatest if all others have equal access to it. I realize that there is nothing original in asserting that equal justice for all is best for all. It is a familiar moral principle. It is an ideal underlying democratic societies and democratic systems of governance, and a tenet of many religions. Yet, institutions of governance and religion and their spokespersons have not really convinced the more powerful members of societies that concepts of equal and universal justice are truly in their individual interest, either as they live now, or might hope their descendants will live in the future. Philosophers of democratic governance have pointed out that equal justice under reasonable rules of law seems fair to humans. At least it seems fair in theory to reasonable humans who might make the rules of justice without regard to their own particular situations in a so called state of nature or original position. Social contract theories of justice are based on such assumptions, and it does seem that reasonable humans would agree to principles of fairness and equal justice under such hypothetical circumstances, but there has never been a state of nature or an original position and there never will be. Justice will be defined by real humans with biases, particular interests, emotions, and individual differences of biology and experiences. Any society of the future, with whatever operating concepts of governance and justice, must contend with these real humans who will be unique individuals bringing with them their own experiences and variety of needs.

Recorded history has shown that in civilizations throughout the world individuals can be extraordinarily selfish, greedy and abusive of others. Such individuals will rarely dedicate themselves to the collective good if their unique experience as individuals has been that they can prosper at the expense of others. Even though the development of democratic systems of governance has moderated these abusive tendencies, at least among political and governmental leaders, the risk of such behavior will not be minimized until the concept of individualism itself is transformed. Only when we understand the essential connections of the individual to family, society, species, and all life will we understand the true danger of selfish and power hungry leaders, and deny them access to positions of power.

A new ethics and vision of justice must redefine individual so that it is understood that, while each human is distinct and unique, no person can be isolated and unrelated to all others. We humans are social animals and being concerned and caring toward others is part of our nature. In a just society the individual will find a balance between the needs of self and the needs of others that best serves both the individual’s interest in happiness and fulfillment, and society’s interest in the survival of the society and the species. How this balance can be attained so that the satisfaction of both the needs of self and the needs of others is optimized is the fundamental challenge of a just society.

We humans may be one of only a few species of animals with an awareness of self. We may be the only animal which actually calculates self-interest rather than simply acting immediately on the basis of instinct or experience. In our ten thousand or so years of civilization, the wonderful calculating powers of the human mind have shown some deficiencies when directed toward serving our own best interests. One root cause of this is the tendency of humans in civilized environments to increasingly build walls and other barriers (physical and psychological) around ourselves and gradually lose our sense of close connection with fellow humans who live beyond our barriers. As the 21st century begins, we are gradually recognizing the severe damage that derives from social isolation and isolation of the human spirit. Modern science is increasingly showing the absurdity of regarding anything in nature as independent of all else, and certainly the human mind, spirit, and community is no exception.

This essay is entitled Social Justice, but it is essentially about human needs and how they might be satisfied by appropriate human behavior. The answer can be found only if we better understand (1) how humans can best relate to one another in families and small groups; (2) how groups within various cultures can interact to form cooperative societies; (3) how societies can work together to create a world community; and (4) how humankind as a whole can effectively interact with all of nature and the physical environment to best serve the interests of life on earth. Unless we seek social justice in the context of this tapestry of enormous complexity and meaning, we cannot hope to get satisfactory results. This essay will suggest that some fundamental changes in human perspectives and behaviors must be achieved before we can successfully address these high social challenges. The nature of these changes and their implications for future progress toward social justice is the central theme of this essay.

Finally, a sound concept of social justice cannot be grounded on logic, reason, economics, or religion alone. Rather it must be grounded in the basic principles of human nature and human behavior. My confidence in the flexibility of human nature allows me to suggest some profound transformations in human consciousness and behavior that must occur if the goal of social justice for all is to be substantially attained. I will try to describe clearly the transformations that are needed, and to suggest some general conditions of social organization that should support the transformative process. Exactly how to accomplish these transformations in a comprehensive and timely way will be the great challenge for thinkers and leaders of the 21st century.

I

BASIC REQUIREMENTS AND DEFINITIONS

Basic Requirements

I intend to provide for your consideration a specific definition of social justice. Before I do that, however, I want to present a set of basic requirements that I believe any definition or concept of social justice must meet if it is to be both valid and practical. These are as follows:

(1) Application of the concept must have a high probability of providing the most valued benefits of a just society. There are, of course, a great number of benefits to be expected, and at present, there may be no strong consensus as to what they all are, and which are the most important. Therefore, I am going to suggest that there are two that are of essential value and should be at the top of any hierarchy of benefits to be sought. The first is that the concept will benefit and contribute to the greater probability of human survival. This is a fundamental benefit for it is obvious that if we do not survive, we are not in a position to enjoy any other benefits. Furthermore, it is essential because the drive to survive is a fundamental feature of human nature and behavior, and any concept or theory of justice that does not take it into account as a primary benefit will inevitably be deficient and inadequate. The second important benefit is that social justice provides happiness and fulfillment for the people who achieve it. Few theories of justice today fail to recognize and highly value this benefit. However, acceptance of this benefit as an essential one begs the question of what conditions of human life and society can best assure it. That question will be addressed frequently in this essay.

(2) Application of the concept must be feasible and attainable within the bounds and limits of our human nature and the cultures our nature allows. Unfortunately, our present understanding of these bounds and limits is still quite elementary, but we do know something about the matter, and I expect we will know much more about it by the end of this century. In the meantime, we must organize as best we can what we do know, and test any concep t of social justice against that knowledge. Where my concept gets very close to the bounds or limits, I will point that out and also suggest ways that the bounds and limits might appropriately be expanded.

(3) The concept must be highly inclusive. Ideally, it would include all people all the time. However, if this were literally required, it is likely that the basic requirement of feasibility or practicality would be at risk. Perhaps inclusiveness should apply to almost all the people almost all the time, because it is possible to imagine scenarios in which expectations of absolute inclusiveness would themselves threaten or undermine the other essential benefits. Nevertheless, it seems to me that a very high level of inclusiveness is essential. When inclusion is denied anyone, the integrity and dignity of justice itself is diminished. The exclusion of any individual, group, or minority from the application of social justice would reduce trust in the concept itself and could provide rationalizations for maintaining the exclusions or even expanding the total number of people affected. Any injustice to anyone must always be regarded as a potential beginning to the erosion of justice for all others.

(4) The concept must produce synergy between the process features of social justice and the benefit or outcome features. As you will see shortly, in my definition of social justice there are process features such as social cooperation and self-development of individual talents. In addition, the definition includes beneficial features such as survival, and the satisfaction of basic needs. If there is synergy or mutual energizing between the process and outcome features, the concept at issue will be strengthened and will prevail. If there is no synergy, the concept may weaken and fail. I hope to show that in the definition and concept I offer there will be powerful synergies possible.

(5) Finally, any worthwhile concept of justice must: (a) stimulate a great expansion of human perspective and understanding; (b) increase our tolerance and encouragement of diversity, while fostering a very general concept of social unity; and (c) intensify and increase the efficacy of the human drive toward species survival.

I believe that the concept I will now introduce can meet the five requirements outlined above.

A Definition of Social Justice

My definition of social justice is as follows:

"Social justice results when a society enables all people to live in