I've mentioned before that I'm in somewhat of a funk because of the direction this nation is headed. I'm certainly not alone!! Many of my blogging brethren are expressing the same kind of frustration. We each know that we've got to do something, but the big question is: What?
For all of our political organizing, protests, demonstrations and whatnot over the past decade or two, nothing seems to stem the tide. It's hard to move forward when you're being attacked on your front, flanks and rear. It is even harder to make headway when the other side controls most of the wealth and has the mainstream media in their back pocket.
And so, a sense of malaise has descended on what remains of the American Left. We know we need to work through it, but how? What can we do to battle the oligarchs and the profiteers?
These questions particularly are troublesome for those of us who stand for pacifism and nonviolence. We may reach the point in which the public erupts in a violent orgy of revenge and retaliation. How can we calm the angered masses and channel their anger in constructive and peaceful ways?
I don't have any answers right now; only questions.
For all of our political organizing, protests, demonstrations and whatnot over the past decade or two, nothing seems to stem the tide. It's hard to move forward when you're being attacked on your front, flanks and rear. It is even harder to make headway when the other side controls most of the wealth and has the mainstream media in their back pocket.
And so, a sense of malaise has descended on what remains of the American Left. We know we need to work through it, but how? What can we do to battle the oligarchs and the profiteers?
These questions particularly are troublesome for those of us who stand for pacifism and nonviolence. We may reach the point in which the public erupts in a violent orgy of revenge and retaliation. How can we calm the angered masses and channel their anger in constructive and peaceful ways?
I don't have any answers right now; only questions.
I hear you. the weight of the problems sometimes seems unbearable. I often think flight is the answer. Sort of dropping out of this system, go get a homestead or live on a commune, and kill the establishment by ignoring it. But really, who's going to voluntarily do such things? How can a plugged in society ignore the political playing, the advertising, etc. I'm fine with unplugging, but 99% of the country isn't.
ReplyDeleteSo I'm left with only questions too. That and a sense of impending doom. A revolution would probably turn out badly, though one is not likely. And following the road we're on, we're going to have feudalism again, when the oil runs out and we serfs are forced back to the land for Dark Ages II
Let 'them' fail, let them take it to what they believe is their pinnacle of success. When they have forced everything they can force and they define their own boundary, then the natural return takes place.
ReplyDelete"We each know that we've got to do something, but the big question is: What?"
ReplyDeleteRead history; stop obsessing over the media. Step outside "Left" and "Right", look down on the entire world as if from space, and you see there is nothing but eternal alternating currents of power. There has ALWAYS been oligarchy and profiteering. There always will be because people get hooked on (and exploited by) power and its tangible measure, money. They always have and they always will. (But I should say, I know plenty of wealthy people who are also compassionate and generous. Though I'm not so sure they are powerful.)
I try to be a little unplugged from it all, recognizing that empires reach a peak, and then decline. When you redistribute the wealth and power (politically or through revolution) to make the poor and powerless happy, somehow totalitarianism seems to be the interim unpleasant result. Although, even those regimes bounce back in strange new ways (e.g., post-Mao China) to perpetuate the cycle. Politics, as we know it, is probably futile for making lasting change (which is sometimes a good thing.) Real change happens through the influence of righteous leaders who are usually outside mainstream money, power and institutions.
I was just reviewing Time's end-of-year issues and observed that the the "news" of the year was nothing new. (The only interesting things were the annual obituaries of interesting people.) First issue of the new year profiles Aung San Suu Kyi, a righteous leader of the kind we seem to have none of (perhaps because things haven't got REALLY bad yet. In another time, she would have been man of the year instead of Mr. Facebook. But if times do get really bad--soon maybe-- I hope such a leader will arise who is identified not with Right or Left or tea parties or sectarian causes or generic troublemaking, but simply with common sense and compassion, qualities which are easily compromised in halls of business and government.
Until then, do some breathing exercises, a little qigong, some meditation. Paint. Write a poem. Give to charity (time or money. Be that leader in your own part of the world.
To Ta Wan & Baroness Radon,
ReplyDeletePeople are being oppressed, starved, raped, maimed and killed across the globe. Much of this damage is the result of US policy. This idea of sitting back or writing a poem should not be an option for a compassionate person.
What does it say about a person who decides to unplug from other people's pain and suffering? What does it say about a person who simply decides to focus on their own little corner of the world and to ignore the misery of others?
While I agree that we each need to take some time for ourselves, we shouldn't do it so completely that we are oblivious to the destruction being wrought (in our names) elsewhere.
We are not oblivious. Please, tell us what you would like us to DO, and we'll do it. If we think it is effective. Though, I'm not speaking for Ta Wan.
ReplyDeleteI support causes; I give money to helpless people. I earn a good living, I pay my taxes. I do not think wallowing and yammering and weeping over the misery of the world is any more effective than prayer. Probably less.
U.S. policy is not MY policy. It is not being done in MY name, although it is done with my money (taxes, which is just like money you have to give to the mob to be left alone. And that's all I expect from the government.) U.S. policy is just part of the larger dynamic of the global world of power and money.
It's a bitch living in a decaying great empire. Taoist techniques and art are ways to understand reality.
Baroness,
ReplyDeleteI don't know what to do. If I had a clue, I'd be the first to share it.
I agree that wallowing in misery is not going to change anything and will only zap energy. That said, sometimes it's beneficial to wallow for a while UNTIL the wallowing serves as an impetus to get back in the game.
And I beg to differ re US policies not being done in your name. If you pay for it, then it IS in your name. It's in my name. And it's in Ta Wan's name too!! We each are footing the bill for the destruction of the planet and the misery of countless people.
I like what the Taoish website had to say about this.
ReplyDeleteYou Can Believe Your Ego--Yes, you can!
You can believe your ego and think that you can impact the world, railing against those who oppose you, hoping that your prayers will be answered, battling what you think is evil or wrong, lashing out in anger and frustration, struggling ever upward, making the world a better place, and you might succeed. You might. It could happen. People have done it.
Or you can be at peace with Tao, enjoying your family and friends and the perfect universe that you've been given, avoiding friction and drama, getting done what needs to be done, bending in the wind, keeping your nose out of other people's business, enlightened, understanding that we all are one with Tao down here in the low calm places.
Your choice.
http://tinyurl.com/268puow
I don't think I should ignore the problems of the world and pretend that they don't exist; I just think I need to recognize what I am able to do, and do just that. I aim to help those around me, but I don't try to save the world, which is impossible.
"sometimes it's beneficial to wallow for a while UNTIL the wallowing serves as an impetus to get back in the game."
ReplyDeleteThere's no game I want to get back into.
I have been thinking about TTC #47 which seems relevant to all this. I would draw attention to your own commentary of that verse.
"The more you know,
the less you understand." (TTC)
That's what I was getting at.
Lau Tzu stepped away form society and wrote a book saying: "If only people did X,Y,Z the world would be much better." Chuang Tzu stayed out of society and wrote stories on how he would refuse office even though as a wise man it was offered to him.
ReplyDeleteCan we stop a fight by fighting?
"People are being oppressed, starved, raped, maimed and killed across the globe. Much of this damage is the result of US policy. This idea of sitting back or writing a poem should not be an option for a compassionate person."
ReplyDeleteTrue, but what can I really do about this? Right here and right now? Extremely little besides feel bad about it. You wrote in the post "Two Threads" about change in the here and now; but Taoism talks about being literally right where you are. I'm not in Washington, I'm not in New York, and can't do a damn thing about problems in Africa. I'm not there, it's not my life to be there and make those decisions. I can only act right here, in the sphere and scale of my life.
And, what about all those monks and such, people who know a thing or two about compassion? Are they wrong to meditate in their monestaries?
One thing we can do has already been mentioned, and that is read and study history - real history, from all sides, and then pass it on to those coming behind us.
ReplyDeleteThe powerful control the schools and thus control what is taught and learned. That, in turn shapes opinion and actions later on.
I read something years ago, attributed to singer David Crosby, which can be paraphrased like this. If you want to drive dinosaurs to extinction you must start by stealing their eggs. I think that may be our greatest calling, as bloggers and writers, to discover and understand the truth of the past, and make it available for others to discover.