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I recently received an email from a friend who came across this website. I have chosen it as the focus of this week's editorial because I believe it reflects the attitude of millions of Americans, and millions more throughout the world, who know there is something wrong with the world, but the immensity of the problem overwhelms them and forces them to live a life seeking short-term rewards while at the same time sacrificing their children's future. Here then, is the letter, with personal bits edited out. This very sincere letter highlights some interesting thought forms that powerfully shape the world. By addressing these "memes" in our own minds, we can free ourselves from the life of sad resignation that dominates so much of the collective subconscious. The first is that freedom is dependent upon what political system is in place. My friend's perception that Iraqi culture is "less free" than this one is partly manufactured by the mass media. The other part is manufactured by the Moneyed Powers of this world who have used the US government, and other "freedom loving" governments, to provide the material assistance for oppressive regimes like Mr. Hussein's. To say that the Iraqi people do not cherish freedom as much as the next human is a lie that helps to demonize a country and make the slaughter of its inhabitants a palatable media spectacle. Critics will always charge that the Iraqi people, as well as other citizens suffering under despotic regimes, "deserve" their fate because their will is or was not strong enough to overthrow repressive dictators. Will is a hard force to summon when the people are starved in the streets because of sanctions and the dictator is well armed and fed by the US and others. I wonder if America will have the strength to overthrow the dictatorship that has emerged in this country. After seeing how we responded to the Kennedy assassination, Bush's hijacking of the presidency, and his complicity in 9/11 scandal, we here in America must question our own love of freedom, for we are watching it slip away by the day. The other powerful thought form expressed in my friend's email is "don't bite the hand that feeds you." In other words, Corporate America has been responsible for creating the standard of life that makes this website, and maybe even my life, possible. I, and other dissenters like me, should be grateful for all that corporations do and have done. While it is true that corporations have made all the technological tools that we use to live our lives, this thought form reveals one fatal flaw. And that is…IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY. Ultimately, all of the great advances in life originate with a single person's idea. It is the system that a human plugs into that influences how that idea will manifest itself. Currently, we live in a system where great ideas are harvested and then horded for the benefit of a small, wealthy elite. America seems to benefit the most in this system because, for the most part, we have been the unwitting slaves to this system, conquering and forcing the elite's will on one people after another. Each success brings us the scraps from their table (trickle down economics) while each rebellion brings us increased government power. Human is pitted against human because we are disposable commodities that are easily replaced. Of course, third world peoples would act the same way most Americans are acting now if the situation could be reversed. This only highlights that the situation we are all collectively in is NOT a political one, but a SPIRITUAL one. This planet is imprisoned by bars of iron in many places, but is imprisoned by much stronger mental bars in many more. But the wardens are the same all across the globe. Do we have the courage to see them? The prison revolt they fear is not a violent one. Their worst day will come when they sound their clarion call for another war, another depression, another political collapse and the people will respond with a resounding "NO!" "We will not fight our brothers and sisters anymore. We will not allow our brothers and sisters to starve anymore. We will not allow your political, cultural, and religious ideas to divide us anymore. We are human, we are free, and so is this planet. Now leave us be!" But if you turn away, my friend, and live your little life and forget your power and place in this world, then the bars will get stronger. Mental bars may never be fully replaced with iron ones, but the movement of your soul will feel diminished, especially as you watch the lives of your children become more brutal and harsh as they toil to serve the ever increasing demands of your invisible masters. The Institute of Unlearning knows that the road to human justice must move through minds such as the one depicted in my friend's letter. It may be a fanciful endeavor, or one not entirely possible on this planet or plane of existence. But because the unlearner sees his/her freedom as part of our human destiny, we will move toward that possibility whether people like my friend come with us or not. The invitation to freedom always stands. |
Whose Life are You Living?
