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Wake Up, America!
We're Not in Kansas Anymore, Toto
By Steve Bhaerman
We're Not in Kansas Anymore, Toto
By Steve Bhaerman
Have you ever had a dream like this? You’re cruising on the freeway, and you hit the brakes to slow down -- and nothing happens. Then you go to turn the steering wheel, and once again you have no control. You try the gas. Same thing. None of the control mechanisms are working, and you are helplessly careening down the freeway in an out-of-control vehicle. At that point, you usually wake up.
Well it’s time to wake up, America. Welcome to the new American “dream.” Over the past five years, the steering and driving mechanisms our country’s founders designed for our ship of state have been progressively (or rather, regressively) taken out of our hands. Our elected representatives ... our courts ... the “loyal opposition” ... the press ... the electoral process itself, have all come under the influence of some dark force. We find ourselves in an intractable, costly perpetual war. Civil liberties are being taken away, and those who have taken an oath to protect us are inexplicably going along with the program. Gold collar criminals and high-ranking officials are looting the commonwealth, as the middle class in our country disappears. Scientists who point out global warming or environmental distress are being silenced. The media keeps us numbed up and dumbed down by distracting us with the most divisive or trivial issues.
Aside from the real massive problems we face if we would only face them -- peak oil and global warming, and a house-of-cards economy where the Chinese hold the strongest hand -- we face the gravest political and moral crisis in our history. Yes, there was the bombardment of the Capitol during the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Great Depression, the war against fascism sixty-five years ago, and the ongoing cold war, ostensibly against totalitarian communism. But never, never in our history has the “enemy” been so starkly and obviously our own rulers.
This realization is a hard gulp to swallow. None of us have wanted to go there. But now, we must courageously wake up to the realization that “there” is already “here.” The body politic is gravely ill, and unless we open our eyes and face this condition squarely in the face, government of the people, by the people, and for the people will indeed perish from this earth, only to be replaced by neo-feudalism disguised as Big Brother totalitarianism.
This is not a time to push the panic button, but a time to push the “calm button” that activates our highest values of love, courage, imagination and curiosity. Einstein has told us that a problem can never be solved at the level of the problem. So as the “political” solutions seem to dissolve one by one, we must find the solution at the next level up.
The Truth Shall Upset You Free
The first step in facing any grave illness -- particularly when the disease is addiction-based -- is telling the truth. This may not be pleasant or easy, but as the Swami says, “The truth shall upset you free.” The condition we face is life-threatening, not just to liberty and justice, not just to our democratic republic, but to human life on the planet itself. (We can assume that whatever happens to us, the roaches will very likely survive.)
In addition to the truths the framers of the Declaration of Independence held self-evident 230 years ago, we must now take the first step of facing some darker self-evident truths:
1. The results of the Presidential elections in 2000 and 2004 were very likely the result of fraud, and thanks to very hackable voting machines future elections are in jeopardy.
2. The official 9/11 story has more holes in it than Dick Cheney’s hunting buddy, and could very well be the most devastating and cynical scam ever imposed on the American people.
3. The media -- the fabled “fifth estate” has become the “fifth column,” betraying the truth left and right, mostly right. The one major difference between our “liberal” media and Pravda of 30 years ago is that the Russian people knew they were being lied to.
4. The Democratic Party leadership (an oxymoron very high in irony content) lacks vision, courage and integrity. You can count on them to once again trot out the slogan that has kept them safely out of power for years now: “We’re not as bad as the Republicans.” Not even this is true. In my book, the enabler bears as much responsibility as the abuser. Until they prove otherwise, the only things the Democrats are good for are taking our money and wasting our votes.
Now I hope all of that didn’t sound too cynical, because cynical is the last thing I want to be. The upside of “disillusionment” is that it disabuses us of of the “illusionment” that keeps us knocking on doors that will never open, and marching down pathways that lead to a dead end. The release of false hope is the gateway that can lead to real hope. Hopefully, that is where this is all leading.
Time To Face The Music and Dance
So how do we face these issues on a higher level, and translate all of this happy-sounding philosophizing into effective action? How do we make the shift from politics as usual to politics as unusual? What does the American Evolution look like in practice? Here are some ideas which will hopefully lead to better questions, and clearer answers:
1. Cultivate the Field. Right now, the most effective thing we can do on a daily basis is speak the truth with “calm passion.” In their heart of hearts, a majority of Americans know there is something terribly wrong. We’re not in Kansas anymore, and we may not even be in America, at least not the America we love. The media refuses to go any deeper than positional squabbling. So we must do it. The biggest obstacle we face right now is our collective unwillingness to see our own shadow. However, once a critical mass of us face this fear directly -- and act anyway -- it only becomes easier. Remember, the wall of lies is “hanging by a threat.” When we the people no longer feel threatened by that threat, the wall of lies will crumble into dust. The stronger the “field” of courage and truth we create at the grassroots, the more inevitable the breakthrough.
2. Stop Marching, and “Stand” Instead. No more yelling, no more shouting, no more spouting anger that squanders energy better spent. Marching indicates there is someplace to get to. Standing demonstrates that we are already “here” and are quietly steadfast as a “stand” for the world we know is possible -- and necessary. “Standing” is an acknowledgment that we are not fearful or intimidated. It is an invitation to courage, and an inspiration to those who are ready to evolve beyond dueling dualities. Standing also acknowledges that darkness isn’t the “opposite” of light, it is the absence of light. So there is no need to “fight” darkness, as long as we shine the light.
3. Pray For the Soul of America, and Invite the People of the World to Do the Same. I’m sorry if this sounds unctuous, and before you secular humanists reading this run for the hills please take a minute to sit with this idea. There are many definitions of prayer, but if we go with the most generic, it boils down to “shared intention for the good.” In his book on the subject, Dr. Larry Dossey cites studies that show people who are “prayed for” actually recover more quickly from surgery and have fewer complications. Interestingly, it doesn’t seem to matter what tradition the prayer is in. As long as there’s healing intention, it works. In this sense, even a self-identified atheist could participate in this field, simply by wishing an individual, a group, or a situation well. In a similar way, practitioners of Transcendental Meditation have correlated an influx of meditators to an area with a reduction of the crime rate.
If all this sounds “idealistic,” remember that we are rapidly approaching the point where the ideal must become the real deal -- otherwise, when it comes to human life on the planet, it’s no deal. For a long time now, we’ve been hearing that every generation must step up to defend freedom. Now it’s our turn. In the past, we’ve been called upon to march to some foreign land, armed with a gun. In these times, being a stand for freedom looks like standing up where we are, armed only with the Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, and the knowledge that every religion or spiritual path boils down to some variation on the Golden Rule. A critical mass of citizens standing on the brink of evolution, firmly and fearlessly, stripped of illusion. Now that is the real “naked power” that will change the world as we know it.
© Copyright 2006 by Steve Bhaerman. All rights reserved. Steve can be found online at www.wakeuplaughing.com