What are WE afraid of?

The more I try to understand the society that I live in, the more it amazes me that so many alleged learned people get angry and defensive when questioning the 'Rule of Law' or society as a whole. I see that the people have been transformed into self-serving, xenophobic, narcissistic, predatory 'owners'. Each one worshiping the Gods of money and ownership and competing for their 'piece of the pie'.

I see people struggling to make ends meet, to upgrade, to modernize, to get with it, to pay their mortgage and to put their kids through college; feeling squeezed and trapped and trying to protect what little life they believe to be in control of. They try to avoid discomfort for it may shine a light on the negative aspects of life.

These are the same people that when asked about a transit strike say: "At least they have a good paying job with benefits". "The Unions just steal from the employees". "The workers are greedy". "How can they have a strike that affects me (usually they say "so many people"), "They should be forced back to work" by the government.

Do they see the Unions as ruining their aspirations of 'success' somehow if their company grows? They state that "a high school drop out should not have the same salary as a university graduate". That the Unions hire uneducated people to do repetitive labour for a good wage.

Are they jealous? Are they afraid that Unions and their well paid workers will sub sequentially be taking something away from their lives? That their 'portion' of 'trickle down' economics will be siphoned by the Unions? That the financial system which is controlled by 1% of the population is going to come crashing down because of Unions? In case no one is noticing, there is a 'trickle up' happening around us.

"I am free", "I control my destiny", "I am responsible" I've heard them proclaim. "I can speak my mind" (just so long as it is acceptable such as not to 'insight hate' and such) "I can travel" (so long as you have the monetary means and are not on a 'list'). "I have a job" (so long as you kiss-ass and play the game; in the end it has you). Are you? Are you really free? What is freedom? Is life not free? Is not nature free? What are you worth per hour? Is that your freedom?

The people that I am talking about usually consider themselves middle class and 'liberal', rich and 'conservative', poor, working class; it doesn't matter. They love babies, children, animals, small quiet neighborhoods and drive SUVs because they are 'safer'. They love TV shows like 'CSI', 'House', Survivor and Idol and get most of their information through CNN, BBC and Google News (because it scans 4500 news resources). They are usually educated and work for a corporation or are self employed but cannot see that life and indeed humanity, stretch far beyond their little corner of the world. They are in debt and work hard to 'get ahead'. they also think that those that are unemployed or homeless are just 'not trying hard enough'.

They emphasize that laws that 'protect' us from terrorists are good. That laws which reduce the amount of 'welfare fraud' are good. That laws which reduces bankruptcies are good. That laws which 'protect children' are good. That laws which 'protect' animals are good. That laws that 'protect their property' are good. That laws that enable surveillance are good. That laws that suppress dissent are good. That laws that censor content are good. They do believe that 'someone ruined it for everyone else'.

They blindly 'nod-and-smile' and keep accepting, all the while, trying not to 'rock the boat' and to 'roll with the punches'. They 'pull themselves up and dust themselves off' and continue on nodding and smiling and teaching their next generation to do the same. They feel safe in thinking that someone else is taking care of things. That the system has 'got their back'.

They have been told and believe that 'we are spreading democracy'. That 'we give aid'. That 'the IMF and World Bank are there to help development'. That 'poverty happens over there'. That 'the system works'. That 'there is no other way'. That 'socialism and communism are bad'. That 'if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about'. That 'you too can succeed if you just work harder'. That 'education is the most important thing'. That 'laws can only be reinforced by punishment'.

Now why is it that most of these people cannot have an informed, rational conversation about: religion, politics or money? How the three may intertwine in everything that we experience is something that everyone should be open to, as it affects everyone. Instead what happens is that most people will go to a certain point and then 'react'. The conversation has turned personal because of something that they may feel that relates to them in some way. They get defensive and spout lines like "I like feeling safe" or "what if it was your kids?"; the best is always, "in your Utopian World...".

How did it get personal? What, about a talk on global issues that may include the dreaded three, makes one close their mind? Is it fear of labels? Are we afraid of being judged? What if we are, will it be in the 'right' category? Did it invoke some deep seeded guilt which is complicit with 'our system'? These are all questions we should ask ourselves?

How can any talk of 'we', as a collective human race ever be accomplished, if 'we' are too busy defending, rationalizing, evading, labeling and blaming. Is our imagination so clouded that we cannot picture a perfect world without labeling it as an 'ism' or blaming it for it's possible failures? We demand irrefutable 'proof' that a an 'idea' is flawless before even listening to it without judging it's weaknesses? Would the world not become better if the collective we could utilize the brain power that we possess? Does this failing system, that has wreaked havoc and drained the life force of so many for so long, not need to adapt and to 'change'? What are we afraid of? How can we no longer imagine?

Some would say that we are led by some of a faulty 'moral compass', I view it more as 'sociological engineering'. Where the idea of freedom has been implanted using keywords such as 'crime', 'punishment', 'accountable' and justice to make the rest 'tow-the-line'; while using others like 'success', 'intelligence', 'happiness' and 'love' to convey the standard to avoid the first. Mix it all together with basic survival instinct and competition, et voila; 'it's every man for himself'.

We need to start asking ourselves W.W.W.W.H. (who what where why how)? Why do I react like this? Where did it come from? When did I learn it? How did the source learn it? Who am I trying to be? What am I learning today? How did I learn that?

We need to get to the root of the issues and leave the labels and the judgments at the door. We need to break through our very psyche to tackle our fears and definitions to get to the questions before attempting to tackle the solutions. We need to forget about our egos and start learning again. We need to work together to form a future that is sustainable and fair.

I think it just takes vision and the ability to discern. We also need to accept ourselves as the natural beings that we are and release all of the man made fears to which we have relinquished control. We can instill 'change' but not the way we are going now. It is time to change for the children, for the planet and for the future.

Why are we so divided? Where do we start?

Of all the reading that I have done, I have noticed one thing; everyone has or is against a cause.

The animal liberators want to free the animals. The anti-capitalists want to free the people. The environmentalists want to save the planet. Some want to eat meat, some don't. Some want socialism, some communism and some a different type of 'ism'. Save the planet, save the whales, save the Palestinians, save the children, save the ice caps; save our way of life. The problem is that the causes clash or are not in sync. That the people with the causes think that theirs is the righteous one. That it matters more. That it is morally superior.

What we have been led to believe (we being the whole of humanity), is that we have no other options, that we must survive and that the only way is through the taking away of life energies from others (being nature which includes people and animals) through competition. This competition has been 'bred' into us our entire lives; there must be a 'winner' and a 'loser'. We call it "human nature" and excuse our greed, our ruthlessness and our shallow existence with it. We state that animals fight and kill each other but then we try to elevate ourselves above nature by deploring the deaths of human beings. We are still just a 'dumb' animal. We have been filled with the fear of death and disease on a personal level and the irrelevance of death on a global level.

Do we really think that we can each achieve our 'causes' without the others? Do we think that the one, morally just above all others, cause will elevate everyone to join and instill the change that is needed? The fact is that all the causes have meaning and are just, but we need to prioritize and allow the causes to blend together naturally.

We need to look at all the issues, we need to question their involvement and we need to ask WHY. Why do we hate the unions? Why do we look down on AR activists? Why do we feel oppressed as a group? Why do label them conspiracy theorists? Why do we have racial, economic and educational divisions?

Here are but some of the issues that we are faced with:

Poverty - A creation of capitalism, ownership society and wealth. Used to give people a cause, feel shame, judgment and blame. The division that no one wants to 'slip' into.

Media control - used to propagate lies and dis-information in order to control the masses by providing them with just enough information to make them fearful and reactive. The control of thoughts.

Money - equated to life, a measure of success, showing of affection; therefore a measure of life. Caring for your family. survival. Has become the most important thing in life.

Education - a training institution designed to propagate society and the ruling class' thinking. There to make sure that the populace becomes a 'productive member of society'. Acts as a form of division as those that do not get an education are frowned upon, chastised and made to feel inferior their entire lives.

Politics / Government - a game for the rich. To control the population using the guise of democracy. Something to keep the divisions in place. Pick your 'ism'. Are you left, right or safely in the middle? Something to blame.

Prison system - places to 'make examples' of those that dare to step out of line or must survive outside the accepted norms. Crimes against property, victim-less crimes; makes us feel safe, gives us the impression that someone is looking out for us.

Speciesism - bring about feelings of shock and awe, fear, shame, judgment. An issue that is thought of as 'we'll get to it'. This is about the balance of nature. This is part of life itself.

Sexism - bringing feelings of oppression, judgment, anger, blame and self image. A division of humanity. Nice when a rift can be created right down the middle. Keeping the populace busy with each other helps to keep them off the trail to the root of the problem.

Racism - bringing feelings of oppression, judgment, anger, blame and self image. Another division of humanity, handy.

Capitalism - Here one could write volumes. Basically it's 'every man for himself' (and please don't go back to the sexism). This is the way it is. This is the only system that works. This is why we live so well today.

Global Warming - man induced climate change through the wasting of energies.

There are many, many more and far more detail for the ones above but it would be impossible to reach the end of the list in this writing.

Let us not view them as issues or subjects by classifying everything. When we classify something, we automatically put it into a pre-determined category. Let us instead think of them as energies which are required to intertwine for the natural balance to work. The 'sides' in an argument are often just fears that are echoed back through our minds which usually are implanted there throughout our lives. We memorize and regurgitate something out of fear of being judged. It is a reactive response; we need to ask "why do I to do this?" If we have to deal with people's egos before dealing with the matters at hand, nothing will get done.


"Language is employed to keep thoughts at bay." - Harold Pinter

There needs to be an uprising of the common people. There needs to be solidarity. There needs to be movement. For those that refuse to be slaves any longer, for those that THINK and can see beyond the fabrication that life has become and for those that know something is up but are not quite sure what; it is for those that we write and point out life's interesting nuances.

Sure there are the 'shruggers', which I would prefer to refer to as the lethargic. Those that are coasting through life thinking that if they don't disturb the waters, they will be safe. "Life itself is not so bad if you just 'play by the rules'", is their mantra, and they would like to stop those 'trouble makers' before they 'ruin it' for everybody else. They will agree with certain causes in order to alleviate some shame as long as it doesn't affect them personally; but will drop it for another easily to avoid judgment or if it does not fall within their 'growth' any longer. I also fight for them.

This is about not believing that this 'shit fight' of an existence is the reason for being. This is about life, nature and evolution. This is about cooperative society, living as one with each other and the world. This is not about the rich and the poor, human and animal, man and woman or adult and child; it is about all of them. This is about seeing through the multitude of lies and deceit. This is about releasing oneself from the 'chains' of induced thought, fears, reactions and judgments. This is about knowledge and universal growth; this is about 'Planetkind'.

Be it a 'Star Trek' fantasy or a 'Utopian' dream; this is what will save humanity and the planet. How we treat each other and our planet will determine our fate. The world is a 'balance'. Call it nature, good and evil, life and death or survival; that balance has been altered. It is time to get ORGANIZED; time to drop the judgments and the divisions and come together for the betterment of all. We cannot save nature if we do not first save ourselves by not forgetting nature in the process. This will not simply be achieved by knowledge but by wisdom as well.