Shit (From a previous post)

Iraq may be preparing a request to retain our troops ‘a bit’ longer.  Alright!  Wow, we’re #1!  Nothing succeeds  like success. We’re the best hired gun in town.  And why not?  These countries don’t have to do anything to get our blood and treasure; we’re just there for them, in a way we’re not just there for our own people.  We’re happy to give and sacrifice because they are so appreciative.  They need do nothing, just fuck things up and count on us to go in there and bail them out. 

My god, you’d think they were American banks, Wall Street, or corporations!  There’s no free lunch for you and me, and especially the poor people who need it, too bad for them and us it’s their own fault, after all as John Calvin pointed out, if they were good, god would smile on them.  But the biggest banks, corporations, industries, well, alright, they get whatever they need, obviously they’re good and god smiles on them.  After all, we have the best government money can buy.  That’s the way it’s supposed to be, too, right?  I mean after all, if the rich and powerful can’t get what they want, the rest of us be damned, in this the greatest capitalist democracy in the world, what are things coming to?

Shit, I wish that rant made me feel better.  It did in a way.  But my heart breaks when I see our noble experiment, the US of A, becoming, no being, the very things we really don’t want to be, the very things we wanted to shun when our country was founded and the noble experiment begun.  It hurts when I think of us as just another empire doomed to sink beneath the tides of history.  I thought we were better than that.  Obviously we’re not.  Our shit does stink.  I’d like us to acknowledge that, that our shit does stink; that we’re just another failed and failing nation state if - if we keep on as we have as if our shit doesn’t stink.

Come on, folks, smell it; rub your face in it; if it looks like shit, smells like shit and makes you want to flush it down, it is shit!  But everything that lives shits, so why not us?  It’s OK to take a crap, but please, let’s not pretend it isn’t crap or that our crap is golden.  As I said two days ago, we can do better.  But first we have to quit deluding ourselves and see our shit as shit.

Abstractions vs. Flesh and Blood Human Beings

Two things I’ve been meaning to talk about: abstraction vs flesh and blood human beings, and the person with his finger on the nuclear trigger. Both of these of course, highlight reasons not to support the current Republican brand. Just want to be up front about that. A caveat first: note that I’ve specified the current Republican brand. And further, there are people within the Republican Party, who are working to change both the substance and the image of the current brand.

The person with his finger on the nuclear trigger: this is about who you want to entrust with the power for nuclear war; which of the two candidates is best qualified to make the decision to start a nuclear war—the so-called business man or the President?   The President has had his steady finger on the nuclear trigger for nearly four years. He may only have been a Senator before, but at least as a Senator, he had a sense of foreign policy and treaties and nuclear arms limitation. Compare that to the so-called ‘job creating’ corporate raider, ‘business man’ (as if running a business, seemingly any kind of business, is comparable to running a nation).

Many of us need to step back from our abstract, fanatical ideological hate and blame for a moment and think about what’s at stake here. We’re going to elect the person who can start a nuclear war! Which one of the two candidates do you really think has the skills, temperament, experience and background to be trusted with that awesome challenge?

Abstraction vs flesh and blood human beings. There are millions of real, flesh and blood people, millions of them, with flesh and blood just like yours and mine, badly hurting and needing our help and support right now, in spite of the Federal budget deficit and pledges not to raise taxes. Wouldn’t you want help, support and compassion if you were one of them?

Shakespeare had Shylock say, “if you prick me, do I not bleed?” Not only are these real people bleeding; they suffer, often silently, in agonies of shame, pain and self-loathing. They hunger, they love, they care, they want the same things you and I want: peace, joy, good health, opportunity, family and community. They want these things, need these things, deserve these things now, simply by virtue of their humanity, the humanity we all share.

Abstractions and ideologies feel nothing, want nothing and suffer not. In fact, abstractions such as political ideologies, especially current Republican brand ideologies, deny our humanity, are not real, not human, have no compassion and no humanity. A commitment to extreme political ideologies, instead of compassion for our brothers and sisters and the planet, is a betrayal of our own humanity. There, but for the grace of God, go I.

Abstractions have a place. Extreme political ideological abstractions such as those espoused by the current Republican brand also have a place, just as mosquitoes, snakes, spiders, death and disease have places. But please, please, those of you who support such hurtful, blameful abstractions over flesh and blood people, be aware of what you’re doing and the impact your beliefs have on your fellow, flesh and blood human beings right now.

Shun the Current Republican Brand!

In his column in the Sunday Herald, Leonard Pitts, quotes a plank from the 2012 platform of the Republican Party of Texas: “We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills, critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome Based Education which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.”

“So presumably,” Pitts goes on to say, “if a child is of the ‘fixed belief’ that Jesus was the first president of the US, or that 2+2= apple trees, or that Florida is an island in an ocean on the moon, educators ought not correct that student, lest she change her ‘fixed belief,’ thereby undermining mom and dad. Republican Spokesman Chris Elam says the statement’s ‘inclusion (in the platform) was an oversight.’”

There’s so much wrong with the kind of thinking embodied in, “We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills, critical thinking skills…undermining parental authority,” that I’m nearly speechless…nearly, but not completely. Here are a few of the things that are wrong:

Most parents can’t do the homework, use a computer very well or function in the world students inhabit today, so why is ‘parental authority’ so important? Oh, I get ‘parental authority’ has a place and I’m gad my parents exercised theirs when they did. But to trade off critical thinking skills in favor of ‘parental authority’ is suicide for a democratic society and its economic well being. If all we want is students that obey authority without thinking, our school systems are indeed in great need of reform.

But besides, does it have to be either critical thinking or ‘parental authority’? Can’t it be both/and, both critical thinking and ‘parental authority?’ My parents managed to do that.  What sort of mind and ideology sees it as either/or, as a need to trade off one for the other, and then choose ‘parental authority’ instead of critical thinking? An ayatollah in a madrasah would. A citizen of Nazi Germany would. A totalitarian dictator fearful of his people arising would. Is that who our Republican leaders have become? Is that who the people who keep electing them are? With thinking like this, it seems these people don’t want to just “take the nation back,” they want to take it backwards; back to some imaginary fantasy time when things were better.

I know I recently wrote about the need for both Democrats and Republicans, and as you can see from above, I’m a both/and guy. But each day brings a new revelation of Republican craziness.  The brand is tarnished and getting more tarnished daily. Like any other product or activity it will continue as it is and get even more so until people demand a change or stop buying it. No matter how much you hate Obama, or a disappointed in him, please try and see that the alleged danger he poses, is nothing compared to the danger the current Republican brand poses.

As Pitts’ column highlights, along with so many other news stories, the real danger the current Republican brand poses is not at the presidential level, but in the House of Representatives, the Governor’s Offices and in the state legislatures. The craziness and danger will continue until Republican constituents demand a change.  The current Republican brand must be shunned, no matter what, at all levels.

“Remember when Republicans were grownups?” Pitts asks. Agree with them or not, you never thought of Bob Dole, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, even Richard Nixon as less than serious, substantive adults, susceptible like all serious, substantive adults, to logic and reason.”  Compare them to Michelle Bachmann and Rush Limbaugh. Shun the current Republican brand. This is not business as usual, this is putting out the fire before it burns the house down.

Whole & Complete: Both Republicans and Democrats

Previously, I posted about living from the inside-out, from our inner, benign spiritual core out to the surface. Living this way is in line with the New Testament injunction to “be ye perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect.”  In other words, as we feel the perfection of our spiritual core within, which is perfect, we in turn can be perfect and act in a way consistent with the inclusive compassion of spirit.

Though this concept is meant to empower and soothe us, it usually has the opposite effect. We feel tremendous emotional pain and self-judgment for not living up to the ideal of being perfect and without a flaw. “What? Me, perfect? No way! I’m lucky if I can do a few kind and descent things once in a while.” Right?

Well, here’s some good news! The problem is not our lack of perfection, but our definition of perfection.  The Greek word used in Matthew for ‘perfect’ is also translated as “complete” or “whole.” In other words, we are not asked to be perfect, but to be complete and whole, to use all of our energies—spiritual, emotional, mental and physical; and we can do that, in fact, do, do that.  We are just being enjoined to use the inner spiritual more than we do.

Also, Jesus was a reformer and when he spoke of being whole and complete, he was encouraging his people to be more inclusive and let go of limited, cultural, and tribalistic thinking. He was encouraging people to think holistically, to use all their energies, especially the spiritual; to be complete (not limited) in your thinking, even as your Father (First Cause within) in Heaven (Consciousness) is whole, complete and inclusive in Its nature.

Whole, complete: both left and right, not either one or the other, but both—where would you be with just one arm? Both Republican and Democrat, not one or the other, but both. Sure we have to choose when voting, but even then, we can choose from our spiritual core the party that is most inclusive, compassionate and centered.

Perfectionism is not a virtue, but wholeness is. Seeing with the eyes of wholeness and inclusion changes everything. From there we are able to live awakened, empowered and joyous lives, and make our own unique contributions to a world that works for everyone and everything.

How Different Would Our Politics Be?

Beneath the layers of fear, anger, ignorance, attack and blame is our spiritual essence—compassion, joy, creativity, inclusion and forgiveness, the core reality of our being. This spiritual essence is not something we have to imagine or create, it is already there, within you and your enemies, the truth of who we really are. But it is beneath the layers of fear, anger, ignorance, attack and blame; beneath the layers of our ego’s bloated nothingness.  That means to reach our core reality and tap into our spiritual essence, we have to go through the layers of fear, anger, ignorance, attack and blame and not mistake them for who we are, our core reality.

The layers of fear, anger, ignorance, attack and blame are like clouds, hiding the sun. Once the clouds are gone, the sun is shining.  The cloud-like layers of fear, anger, ignorance, attack and blame that obscure the sun of our spiritual essence and core reality are no more substantial than the clouds that obscure the sun.  The layers of fear, anger, ignorance, attack and blame seem to substantial and have massive power, but in truth they are flimsy constructs of water vapor. Of course clouds do bring storms, rain, thunder and lightning, but even these are only temporary conditions, never obscuring the sun for long.

When we live on the surface of our reality, instead of the inner depths, we are victims of the storms arising from the layers of fear, anger, ignorance, attack and blame. We see with the eyes of habit, fear, anger and sometimes hope, but we do not actually see. We see, hear, and touch without truly connecting, so we are left feeling empty and unfulfilled.

But, when we live in the depths of our core spiritual reality, we no longer fear and feel the need to clamp down on our thoughts and feelings. We can allow life to happen, allowing each moment to be just as it is.  In this fluid, unobstructed way of being, everything becomes more vividly itself.  Instead of becoming unfeeling zombies, as we realize our spiritual nature we become more deeply receptive and more responsive to life, able to move through the most intense storms, guided by the sun and not be overwhelmed.

How would our politics be different, and what great things could we accomplish for America and the world if we realized who we really are, cut through the ego BS and let go of the layers of fear, anger, ignorance, attack and blame on the surface and shifted to our inner spiritual core? It wouldn’t have to happen all at once, it could be done like a process, one step, one challenge at a time.

We Agree, Why Are We Disagreeing?

Previously, I wrote about how the world view we accept as true, determines what we expect to occur; that we tend to see what we want to see, what we believe is possible. A recent survey conducted by The Atlantic magazine and the Aspen Institute reported in the 7/9&16 CS Monitor sheds much light on what world view Americans currently accept as true and what our expectations might be.

Two thirds of respondents said the country was going in the wrong direction, 70% said that people’s values were getting worse, and 46% thought that American values were likely to decline even further in the future.

The article asked if these respondents thought that their own values were getting worse, or that the values of all those other bad people out there were getting worse? The survey suggests it’s those other bad people out there, not the respondents themselves. Half the respondents admitted that they rarely attend church, but more than 62% said they believe they are more tolerant than their parents were.

“The problem with America, it appears,” said staff writer Scott Baldauf, “is other Americans.”  More than 77% believe that people are generally motivated by self-interest (dog eat dog?), 71% believe elected officials reflect the values of the wealthy (rather than the middle class), and 89% believe the values of executives on Wall Street are worse than those of ordinary Americans, because they are just plain greedy.

Wow!  Quite an amazing consensus! Seems like we ought to be able to get together.  Both Occupy and the T Party agree on these.  So what gives?

The Miraculous Shimmering

What do you accept as true and expect to occur?

Is it a world full of lack and limitation, a dangerous, dog eat dog, competitive, survival of the fittest world in which the golden rule – them with the gold, rules - applies; where evil and original sin are human nature and only the fear of God, strong law enforcement and quick and rapid punishment keep civilization afloat?

Or is it an abundant and generous, but neutral world, a world that is neither for us nor against us but one which is responsive to our deepest thoughts and feelings, a world in which human nature is good and god-like, in which cooperation, empathy—there but for the grace of God go I - compassion, trust, honesty, community, fellowship, and mutual respect keep civilization afloat?

The world view you accept as true, determines what you expect to occur. We tend to see what we want to see, what we believe is possible.

If I believe in a dog eat dog world, that’s what I see. I see people competing and tearing one another apart, and viciously attacking one another for scraps. If I believe in an abundant, neutral world, I see that it is done unto you as you believe, and I see the lilies of the field that toil not, yet are fed.

Most of us accept both world views as true, and expect both kinds of phenomena to occur.  That is duality, the belief in God and in a power equal and opposite to God. But if there’s only one God, how can there be anything equal and opposite to It? There can’t be, contemporary Judeo-Christian theology to the contrary. If I am able get my bloated nothingness out of the way and let go of the equal and opposite power, accepting the truth that there is no equal and opposite power, then I can expect to behold the “miraculous shimmering in all that exists.”