To be perfectly frank, I am dumbstruck by some of the comments from my post, Fighting the Malaise. Several friends and family members have also made similar remarks. To me, these sentiments are on par with the nationalistic policies of protectionism and isolationism. The very idea that each of us should simply concentrate on our own little corner of the world and not get wrapped up in the bigger picture is troubling, to say the least.
When people today look back at what transpired in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 40s, the most prevalent question is: How could they let it happen? Why didn't the citizens stand up to stop Hitler dead in his tracks? Many of the same people who ask such questions will tell you that, if this ever happened in the US, UK or Australia, they would be on the front lines to put a stop to such shenanigans post haste.
What far too many people don't understand is that the vast majority of German citizens did not understand the terrible direction their ship was headed. The changes came incrementally and always wrapped in patriotic "national interests" jargon. By the time the realization became evident, it was too late to stop it. The citizens had ceded to the state apparatus enough powers and resources to make any public opposition tantamount to a trip to a concentration camp OR a speedy execution.
While I'm not here to suggest that the United States is marching lockstep down the precise same path as Nazi Germany, the path we are on is not all that dissimilar. The public is being manipulated by state leaders and corporate oligarchs, the main street economy is tanking, more and more public dollars are lining the pockets of the wealthy elite and military-industrial complex, we're closing our borders to maintain the sanctity of our pure white race, and our government is developing new strategies and technologies everyday to spy on us, its own citizens.
Consequently, sitting back to focus solely on our own inner worlds and our little patch of earth is to follow the same trajectory of the German populace that gave birth to the Third Reich!
But what this insidious propagandized message leaves out is that individual acts -- when combined with hundreds, thousands or millions of other individual acts -- can and do change history. If you don't believe it, take some time to learn about the Civil Rights, Gay Rights or Women's Suffrage movements. Our nation is in a better place than it was before because of the courageous acts of defiance of i-n-d-i-v-i-d-u-a-l acts of resistance.
From my standpoint, any person that identifies with the Taoist philosophy cannot be the kind of person who looks the other way. If you believe that all life derives from one source -- Tao -- then, as Martin Luther King, Jr. once wrote, "A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." An injury or act of oppression against any other life form is an injury or act of oppression against each of us because we are all manifestations of the same thing.
My blogging compatriot Thurman Hubbard recently wrote about why we must pay close attention to what's going down AND why we must continue to resist.
When people today look back at what transpired in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 40s, the most prevalent question is: How could they let it happen? Why didn't the citizens stand up to stop Hitler dead in his tracks? Many of the same people who ask such questions will tell you that, if this ever happened in the US, UK or Australia, they would be on the front lines to put a stop to such shenanigans post haste.
What far too many people don't understand is that the vast majority of German citizens did not understand the terrible direction their ship was headed. The changes came incrementally and always wrapped in patriotic "national interests" jargon. By the time the realization became evident, it was too late to stop it. The citizens had ceded to the state apparatus enough powers and resources to make any public opposition tantamount to a trip to a concentration camp OR a speedy execution.
While I'm not here to suggest that the United States is marching lockstep down the precise same path as Nazi Germany, the path we are on is not all that dissimilar. The public is being manipulated by state leaders and corporate oligarchs, the main street economy is tanking, more and more public dollars are lining the pockets of the wealthy elite and military-industrial complex, we're closing our borders to maintain the sanctity of our pure white race, and our government is developing new strategies and technologies everyday to spy on us, its own citizens.
Consequently, sitting back to focus solely on our own inner worlds and our little patch of earth is to follow the same trajectory of the German populace that gave birth to the Third Reich!
They came first for the Communists,In some ways, I do understand the degree of apathy that is gripping the general public right now. From birth, we are told that no one person can make a difference, that we are each one teeny tiny cog in the big machine. Like children who grow up in homes in which their parents drum into their heads that they are worthless beings, repetitive messages of this ilk start to stick after a while. People come to believe that it is self-evident truth.
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.
~ Martin Niemöller ~
But what this insidious propagandized message leaves out is that individual acts -- when combined with hundreds, thousands or millions of other individual acts -- can and do change history. If you don't believe it, take some time to learn about the Civil Rights, Gay Rights or Women's Suffrage movements. Our nation is in a better place than it was before because of the courageous acts of defiance of i-n-d-i-v-i-d-u-a-l acts of resistance.
From my standpoint, any person that identifies with the Taoist philosophy cannot be the kind of person who looks the other way. If you believe that all life derives from one source -- Tao -- then, as Martin Luther King, Jr. once wrote, "A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." An injury or act of oppression against any other life form is an injury or act of oppression against each of us because we are all manifestations of the same thing.
My blogging compatriot Thurman Hubbard recently wrote about why we must pay close attention to what's going down AND why we must continue to resist.
I sometimes work around natural gas pipelines; and if you leave even the tiniest scratch in the protective outer coating of the pipe and leave it unrepaired, the pipe will eventually corrode and fail. In a way, I suppose that’s what all dissidents are trying to do; make small scratches that weaken the system over time. We can’t hope to bring about the revolutionary changes we hope for working as individuals, or even in small groups, but over time every little dent we make leaves an opening for the next wave of activists to build upon.Well said, Thurman. Well said!
I agree. It just seems to me if the system is corrupt at heart, the only way to fight it is to leave it behind. If enough cogs leave the machine, it will eventually collapse under it's own bloated weight.
ReplyDeleteThe key is to somehow work towards a moneyless society. Because I can't do a damn thing about all the global problems, short of sending some money (though I don't have much) and a flimsy vote every couple years.
I mean, think about it: the "bigger picture" is only the result of the little lives and actions, like a pointillist painting. Move the dots around and you have a different picture. It's the only way.
So, how can I move the dots around? I have no power or money. But I do have choice and my own actions. They'll be limited, but they're all I actually have. Bartering without money, growing my own food, walking places, finding entertainment among nature and other humans rather than technology... these will have real, tangible effects, and may work also by leading by example.
Since Joy quoted my blog (thank you for reading it Joy) in response to you, I thought I should respond personally.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought that Martin Niemöller's poem was a powerful call to action. I also agree that Edmund Burke's quote: "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle."
And yet,
"Stop trying to control.
Let go of fixed plans and concepts,
and the world will govern itself.”
Chapter 57, Stephen Mitchell translation
What's a Taoist to do?
P.S. A friend just posted this:
ReplyDelete"If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room." Dame Anita Roddick
My only points in that whole dialogue were that feeling miserable and whining accomplishes nothing. You talked about being in a funk. I know you're not a Buddhist, but there's no point in getting stuck at the first noble truth...
ReplyDeleteAnd as Ta Wan mentioned, Laozi wrote his book and then said, "I'm outta here, folks."
I don't belive any of us who read this blog are oblivious, ignorant or callous about the condition of the world.
But we make choices about how to respond. Right wingers rant and leftists lament. Taoists observe. (Confucianists meddle.)
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ReplyDeleteIn response to this:
ReplyDelete"To me, these sentiments are on par with the nationalistic policies of protectionism and isolationism. The very idea that each of us should simply concentrate on our own little corner of the world and not get wrapped up in the bigger picture is troubling, to say the least."
I actually support protectionism (which is not synonymous with isolationism), because without it a return to a local based economy, which I support, would be impossible.
Here's an excerpt from The Idea of a Local Economy by Wendell Berry, which I think is relevant to your statement:
"The principles of neighborhood and subsistence will be disparaged by the globalists as “protectionism”—and that is exactly what it is. It is a protectionism that is just and sound, because it protects local producers and is the best assurance of adequate supplies to local consumers. And the idea that local needs should be met first and only surpluses exported does not imply any prejudice against charity toward people in other places or trade with them. The principle of neighborhood at home always implies the principle of charity abroad. And the principle of subsistence is in fact the best guarantee of giveable or marketable surpluses. This kind of protection is not “isolationism.”
P.S. Sorry for double posting, my first comment mysteriously disappeared (even though it was emailed to me). And in my second one the article link didn't show up.
If there is a murder in town do you kill him?
ReplyDeleteIf a thief steals your food do you rob him of his next meal?
In these cases you turn yourself into that which you dislike.
If a person is oppressive do you oppose and squash him?
If a person is backstabbing do you talk about them behind their back?
This is why the simple way, just being as you want the world to be, is the only way I can see.
With 100 fighting and 100 acting nice if the nice choose to fight the fight then 200 are fighting. If the nice stay nice then in time...
and let's not forget, in nearly all of history there have been oppressors, and here we still are, same story.
Thanks for the echo, I somehow missed it until today.It's good to be part of a conversation even if indirectly.
ReplyDeleteWe are indeed marching down the path toward some sort of fascism akin to what Hitler visited upon the world last century. Keep hammering!