I won't be blogging here any more under this topic. By now anyone reading must surely get the message. Check out my new blog for a more positive direction: love and appreciation.
This blog, A world without enemies, describes a dream. But how do we get there? The answers are in the new blog, "Consciousness of Love and Appreciation".
I point out a new direction based on six spiritual guildelines and a couple of universal truths. Why?
The old world order, the one we are living in today, is a result of humanity's underlying consciousness. That consciousness is one of fear and judgment. That is not serving humanity well. Dig into anything negative that you see around you and you'll see judgment and fear. They pervade our consciousness and impact the way we think, speak and act. What a mess. It's time for a change and I sense that the world is ready for it.
I'm sharing this because I believe it will work. It will. Now I'm sharing it so that a new consciousness can begin to grow in humanity - love and appreciation. It aligns so well with what religions teach and even with those of us who choose not to follow a particular religion. What's not to like about it?
See you in my new blog: Consciousness of Love and Appreciation
14 October 2008
We chose this financial mess!
George Orwell's book "1984" foretells about all-knowing, all seeing totalitarian government exerting total control over its people. The terms, "big brother" and "Orwellian" were inspired by this work. Perhaps the date was wrong - perhaps it should have been 2008. And who's our greatest enemy in this mess but ourselves! We chose this.
We have allowed ourselves to be thankful to for allowing it in. Governments, and particularly the US government under George W Bush, have taken us on a giant step closer to totalitarian rule. As the largest economy on earth the US exerts enormous influence and they know it. Around the world the financial industry has followed the "wild west" approach of the US financial industry. Assets didn't matter - money made money. And now it has fallen down like a house of cards.
Bush has been behaving like some sort of reincarnation of Hitler, but much craftier if indeed the ideas are his. Brutality isn't needed this time - at least not on home turf (but look where he uses it elsewhere). Where financial turmoil won't work, brutality and aggression is a good proxy. A good old fashioned financial crisis (like those globally in the 1930's) really stirs up fear and leads to fear based choices in our developed world. Make no mistake about it, our current financial markets crisis was manufactured and fueled by our fears. And I doubt that it is mere coincidence that it happens at a time when large parts of the developing world are embroiled in military or other violent crises.
This situation we are in was manufactured by those who stand to gain the most - our governments. And if you think they are "democratic" - then think again. Once elected, our governments tend to act for their own best interests. Here in Canada for instance, we "elect our dictators". The election that takes place today (14 Oct 0 is all about an egotistical and controlling minority leader (Stephen Harper) who wants a majority so he can control even more. This is clearly his election.
The US election is a bit different because the incumbent (Bush) can't run, but what are his successors looking for? We may be fortunate enough to see his successor in the Republican party go down to defeat. The hope of that gives me some reason to feel that the political system can work - at least a bit, but for how long? Never-the-less, the winner in the US will be faced with enormous challenges, perhaps even perceived as unsolvable without government intervention. A right leaning government (Republican) would just grab control as that's what they do - for big money interests. A more liberal (Democratic) government will feel compelled to control in the best interests of those who need help the most. Two objectives, same trigger, same result. It may not matter who wins. Government gets more control.
The "rules" of the financial games allowed a great deal of very complex risk taking and gamesmanship to occur. The financial industry got caught up in its games while the rest of us watched from the sidelines, not really knowing what was going on. The complex house of cards that was created eventually collapsed because there was nothing of value underlying all the investing. The money was backed by no real assets.
But dig a bit deeper. The "rules" allowed us enough rope to hang ourselves. Collectively we got into trouble - the financial sector simply played the leading role in a well orchestrated game. Look at who makes the rules - the governments at various levels and their various agencies set up to "protect" us all. Of course most of them didn't have a clue what they were doing and they merely followed the rules as set by those who appeared to be doing the best at the game. In Canada we've followed the US lead. The financial leaders in the US, UK, France, Germany and a few other countries were masters at the games. Others followed suit through greed – fear of not doing as well as the other “leaders”. And over time, the various financial systems all became entrained in the same dangerous game to varying degrees. And then it collapses.
The US sub-prime mortgage situation was the last straw. With no real value underlying the investments the investments were abandoned. That began a chain reaction - like dominos. So now there's a mess to clean up. Who do we look to for a solution? Who do we demand help from? Who steps in with the bailouts? Of course it's the very governments that set this whole system up to fail in the first place. Brilliant! Governments are now investing in the banks and bailing out failed financial institutions. Of course a few were allowed to collapse as examples in order to really underscore the gravity of the situation. Those sacrifices demonstrated that the current system (all playing by the governments' rules) was inadequate. The case is made for more government action. They softened us up for a power grab.
Governments are now stepping in with the argument that the entire economy depends on the health of those financial institutions. They cannot be allowed to fail and more - there have already been too many. There is truth in that, but look how we got there. By carefully crafting the rules of the game the failure was manufactured. The solution puts greater control in the hands of the very governments that created the problem. And to make matters worse, they are doing it with our money - or rather, what's left of it.
I see this taking us down the path of creating more government. More of what got us into this mess in the first place. The wolves are in charge of the chicken coup and we’re the chickens! Orwell's prophecy may come true yet! Why are we allowing that to happen? Many of us would say we want less government, yet we allow more. Many others want more government. I argue that they have virtually abdicated their free will - they no longer choose for themselves, they let others do it for them. They are not even leaders in their own lives. Jack Welch (former CEO of GM) once said, "control your own destiny or someone else will" - by failing to choose for ourselves we allow that control over our destiny.
Collectively we are choosing more government. We are, through our actions and inaction, allowing our governments to grow at our own expense. And it's happening on a grand scale globally. The global scale suggests that global consciousness is very consistent – and it’s all acting out of fear. While individuals and even large groups may disagree with the direction the "fixes" are taking, they are far outnumbered by the majority who either don’t understand, don’t know it’s happening, don't care or worse, actually support what the governments are doing. Typically those supporters will be those who depend on government most heavily. Out of fear they won’t bite the hand that feeds them. They don’t take responsibility for their own choices. Taxes and social programs, while seemingly well meaning, promote this mediocrity in the masses of people in our society. What we earn isn't really our own any more – government can just grab what it wants – and we let it! And sadly, many don't even realize what’s going on. They are not consciously aware of just how little free will they are choosing to exercise. They don't allow it themselves.
And others advocate less government and less tax. Let the free market reign. That's just another extreme and we have seen recently that it doesn't necessarily work unless the rules make sense. But who makes the rules?
Historically the world's peoples have revolted against their governments when the governments went too far. These revolutions were led by those who truly saw the big picture of what was going on. The American Revolution is a great example of how this happens. It wasn't a political coup by some military or other popular leader - it was a genuine revolution by the people against a government that was exerting too much control over them. Is it time for another revolution - this time against our governments globally? Perhaps its time to up the ante.
Do we really want a big brother as Orwell so aptly described? The choice is ours - and in choosing as we have, we are presently our own worst enemies. Choose consciously.
We have allowed ourselves to be thankful to for allowing it in. Governments, and particularly the US government under George W Bush, have taken us on a giant step closer to totalitarian rule. As the largest economy on earth the US exerts enormous influence and they know it. Around the world the financial industry has followed the "wild west" approach of the US financial industry. Assets didn't matter - money made money. And now it has fallen down like a house of cards.
Bush has been behaving like some sort of reincarnation of Hitler, but much craftier if indeed the ideas are his. Brutality isn't needed this time - at least not on home turf (but look where he uses it elsewhere). Where financial turmoil won't work, brutality and aggression is a good proxy. A good old fashioned financial crisis (like those globally in the 1930's) really stirs up fear and leads to fear based choices in our developed world. Make no mistake about it, our current financial markets crisis was manufactured and fueled by our fears. And I doubt that it is mere coincidence that it happens at a time when large parts of the developing world are embroiled in military or other violent crises.
This situation we are in was manufactured by those who stand to gain the most - our governments. And if you think they are "democratic" - then think again. Once elected, our governments tend to act for their own best interests. Here in Canada for instance, we "elect our dictators". The election that takes place today (14 Oct 0 is all about an egotistical and controlling minority leader (Stephen Harper) who wants a majority so he can control even more. This is clearly his election.
The US election is a bit different because the incumbent (Bush) can't run, but what are his successors looking for? We may be fortunate enough to see his successor in the Republican party go down to defeat. The hope of that gives me some reason to feel that the political system can work - at least a bit, but for how long? Never-the-less, the winner in the US will be faced with enormous challenges, perhaps even perceived as unsolvable without government intervention. A right leaning government (Republican) would just grab control as that's what they do - for big money interests. A more liberal (Democratic) government will feel compelled to control in the best interests of those who need help the most. Two objectives, same trigger, same result. It may not matter who wins. Government gets more control.
The "rules" of the financial games allowed a great deal of very complex risk taking and gamesmanship to occur. The financial industry got caught up in its games while the rest of us watched from the sidelines, not really knowing what was going on. The complex house of cards that was created eventually collapsed because there was nothing of value underlying all the investing. The money was backed by no real assets.
But dig a bit deeper. The "rules" allowed us enough rope to hang ourselves. Collectively we got into trouble - the financial sector simply played the leading role in a well orchestrated game. Look at who makes the rules - the governments at various levels and their various agencies set up to "protect" us all. Of course most of them didn't have a clue what they were doing and they merely followed the rules as set by those who appeared to be doing the best at the game. In Canada we've followed the US lead. The financial leaders in the US, UK, France, Germany and a few other countries were masters at the games. Others followed suit through greed – fear of not doing as well as the other “leaders”. And over time, the various financial systems all became entrained in the same dangerous game to varying degrees. And then it collapses.
The US sub-prime mortgage situation was the last straw. With no real value underlying the investments the investments were abandoned. That began a chain reaction - like dominos. So now there's a mess to clean up. Who do we look to for a solution? Who do we demand help from? Who steps in with the bailouts? Of course it's the very governments that set this whole system up to fail in the first place. Brilliant! Governments are now investing in the banks and bailing out failed financial institutions. Of course a few were allowed to collapse as examples in order to really underscore the gravity of the situation. Those sacrifices demonstrated that the current system (all playing by the governments' rules) was inadequate. The case is made for more government action. They softened us up for a power grab.
Governments are now stepping in with the argument that the entire economy depends on the health of those financial institutions. They cannot be allowed to fail and more - there have already been too many. There is truth in that, but look how we got there. By carefully crafting the rules of the game the failure was manufactured. The solution puts greater control in the hands of the very governments that created the problem. And to make matters worse, they are doing it with our money - or rather, what's left of it.
I see this taking us down the path of creating more government. More of what got us into this mess in the first place. The wolves are in charge of the chicken coup and we’re the chickens! Orwell's prophecy may come true yet! Why are we allowing that to happen? Many of us would say we want less government, yet we allow more. Many others want more government. I argue that they have virtually abdicated their free will - they no longer choose for themselves, they let others do it for them. They are not even leaders in their own lives. Jack Welch (former CEO of GM) once said, "control your own destiny or someone else will" - by failing to choose for ourselves we allow that control over our destiny.
Collectively we are choosing more government. We are, through our actions and inaction, allowing our governments to grow at our own expense. And it's happening on a grand scale globally. The global scale suggests that global consciousness is very consistent – and it’s all acting out of fear. While individuals and even large groups may disagree with the direction the "fixes" are taking, they are far outnumbered by the majority who either don’t understand, don’t know it’s happening, don't care or worse, actually support what the governments are doing. Typically those supporters will be those who depend on government most heavily. Out of fear they won’t bite the hand that feeds them. They don’t take responsibility for their own choices. Taxes and social programs, while seemingly well meaning, promote this mediocrity in the masses of people in our society. What we earn isn't really our own any more – government can just grab what it wants – and we let it! And sadly, many don't even realize what’s going on. They are not consciously aware of just how little free will they are choosing to exercise. They don't allow it themselves.
And others advocate less government and less tax. Let the free market reign. That's just another extreme and we have seen recently that it doesn't necessarily work unless the rules make sense. But who makes the rules?
Historically the world's peoples have revolted against their governments when the governments went too far. These revolutions were led by those who truly saw the big picture of what was going on. The American Revolution is a great example of how this happens. It wasn't a political coup by some military or other popular leader - it was a genuine revolution by the people against a government that was exerting too much control over them. Is it time for another revolution - this time against our governments globally? Perhaps its time to up the ante.
Do we really want a big brother as Orwell so aptly described? The choice is ours - and in choosing as we have, we are presently our own worst enemies. Choose consciously.
13 September 2008
Creating Criminals
Greetings,
As a member of Toastmasters International I meet some interesting and amazing people. One is a recent member of our local club named Paul. He's a former criminal who has completely turned his life around. He recently gave a terrific and touching speech that I believe is worth publishing here. He really gave me food for thought and I'm sure he'll give it to you. Please enjoy and then reflect:
"I was flipping through the channels a few weeks ago and I caught a quote, posted on the screen. It was from a viewer of the local news. This viewer had wrote in their opinion in response to a previous story. The story was on the most recent violence and shootings in Toronto. They wrote in saying “if our justice system and courts were not so lenient on our youth, then we wouldn't be having all these problems. We need tougher penalties and longer sentences to handle these people.” This statement took me back. Wow! our society is so naive. Look at where we place the blame. It is not the justice systems responsibility to fix these people. It is our responsibility as citizens, as people, as fellow human beings who walk this world together; to fix this issue. This person felt we needed to rule with the iron fist. Anyone who doesn't follow our rules or fit into our society must be locked up. Put them in jail and throw away the key.
We cannot fight hate with hate. For it was hate that created these criminals in the first place. In the absence of love, hate will prevail. Love is our goal. Love is our ambition. It is when we feel that this is being taken away from us, that is when we react and fight to get it back At any cost. We all crave this love, we all strive for this attention and warmth. Those “criminals”, they want the same things you and I do. They want to feel welcomed. They want to feel apart of something. They want the admiration and respect of their fellow man. Do we honestly believe that the gangs were the first place these people looked for acceptance? The gangs were just the place that someone finally welcomed them with open arms. As people they are no different from you or I. The only difference is society has put them on the outside and as outsiders all they have is the gun to enforce their rules. And each member of that family is more than happy to pick up a weapon to preserve their way of life. For it is that life that has finally given them the feelings they were looking for. The same feelings we all struggle for and long for within us. To me the gun symbolizes how hard these people are willing to fight to hold onto that feeling.
I want to take you on a journey. I want to take you back to kindergarten. Visualize a classroom full of young, spunky three and four year olds. How many of them have a gun? How many do you see living the “thug” life? How many, when asked say “when I grow up I want to be a criminal”? Not one person is born with the desire to hate, the wanting to destroy or the willingness to kill. But then our youth does grow up some do become criminals and some do kill. Why is that? If we are a society and the criminals are outsiders, how did they get there? The kindergarten kids are all insiders but when they grow to adolescents some become outsiders. What happened? At one point or another they get pushed away. We make them feel unwelcome and unwanted. We as adults modeled this behavior everyday as we interact with others and our kids, well they follow us perfectly. As a result we give these people only one final option. We turn them to the last family out there, the family of outsiders, in search of acceptance.
Do you believe that if you grew up under similar circumstances you would be any different from these people. From the way our society treats each other can you expect there to be any difference in the result. When we interact with the people around us we either leave them feeling good about themselves or we leave them feeling terrible about us. We either build love within each other or we foster hate and resentment. With every interaction we have a choice, we can either share a smile and say hi or we can ignore and continue to push away. You want a world filled with respect – show it. You want a world filled of love – give it. All of our issues on the outside stem from our personal issues on the inside. Pick up a book, read it. Learn its teachings. Educate yourself to become a better you so our children can have a better model.
It seems so convenient and easy, just like the lady on the news to blame others for the problems To say its their fault that life is this way. I'm here to tell you this. Take a look at your hand when you point the finger at someone. For every time you point the finger - there are three pointing right back at you. Thank you."
As a member of Toastmasters International I meet some interesting and amazing people. One is a recent member of our local club named Paul. He's a former criminal who has completely turned his life around. He recently gave a terrific and touching speech that I believe is worth publishing here. He really gave me food for thought and I'm sure he'll give it to you. Please enjoy and then reflect:
"I was flipping through the channels a few weeks ago and I caught a quote, posted on the screen. It was from a viewer of the local news. This viewer had wrote in their opinion in response to a previous story. The story was on the most recent violence and shootings in Toronto. They wrote in saying “if our justice system and courts were not so lenient on our youth, then we wouldn't be having all these problems. We need tougher penalties and longer sentences to handle these people.” This statement took me back. Wow! our society is so naive. Look at where we place the blame. It is not the justice systems responsibility to fix these people. It is our responsibility as citizens, as people, as fellow human beings who walk this world together; to fix this issue. This person felt we needed to rule with the iron fist. Anyone who doesn't follow our rules or fit into our society must be locked up. Put them in jail and throw away the key.
We cannot fight hate with hate. For it was hate that created these criminals in the first place. In the absence of love, hate will prevail. Love is our goal. Love is our ambition. It is when we feel that this is being taken away from us, that is when we react and fight to get it back At any cost. We all crave this love, we all strive for this attention and warmth. Those “criminals”, they want the same things you and I do. They want to feel welcomed. They want to feel apart of something. They want the admiration and respect of their fellow man. Do we honestly believe that the gangs were the first place these people looked for acceptance? The gangs were just the place that someone finally welcomed them with open arms. As people they are no different from you or I. The only difference is society has put them on the outside and as outsiders all they have is the gun to enforce their rules. And each member of that family is more than happy to pick up a weapon to preserve their way of life. For it is that life that has finally given them the feelings they were looking for. The same feelings we all struggle for and long for within us. To me the gun symbolizes how hard these people are willing to fight to hold onto that feeling.
I want to take you on a journey. I want to take you back to kindergarten. Visualize a classroom full of young, spunky three and four year olds. How many of them have a gun? How many do you see living the “thug” life? How many, when asked say “when I grow up I want to be a criminal”? Not one person is born with the desire to hate, the wanting to destroy or the willingness to kill. But then our youth does grow up some do become criminals and some do kill. Why is that? If we are a society and the criminals are outsiders, how did they get there? The kindergarten kids are all insiders but when they grow to adolescents some become outsiders. What happened? At one point or another they get pushed away. We make them feel unwelcome and unwanted. We as adults modeled this behavior everyday as we interact with others and our kids, well they follow us perfectly. As a result we give these people only one final option. We turn them to the last family out there, the family of outsiders, in search of acceptance.
Do you believe that if you grew up under similar circumstances you would be any different from these people. From the way our society treats each other can you expect there to be any difference in the result. When we interact with the people around us we either leave them feeling good about themselves or we leave them feeling terrible about us. We either build love within each other or we foster hate and resentment. With every interaction we have a choice, we can either share a smile and say hi or we can ignore and continue to push away. You want a world filled with respect – show it. You want a world filled of love – give it. All of our issues on the outside stem from our personal issues on the inside. Pick up a book, read it. Learn its teachings. Educate yourself to become a better you so our children can have a better model.
It seems so convenient and easy, just like the lady on the news to blame others for the problems To say its their fault that life is this way. I'm here to tell you this. Take a look at your hand when you point the finger at someone. For every time you point the finger - there are three pointing right back at you. Thank you."
04 September 2008
Let's just elect a psychopath again!
A good friend of mine sent me this link about Sarah Pallin's track record when it comes to animals. Yes, I'm no idiot - wolves and bears can be natural predators. That's what they are! Don't humans get it?
We're the ones encroaching on their habitat. Turning technology on animals is nothing short of barbaric. The National Rifle Association (to which Sarah also belongs) is probably delighted to have her on the Republican ticket. Heaven help planet earth if we get another "Bush - clone" team in the white house.
We didn't learn the first time; Bush was elected a second time - shame.
Let's not repeat the error. Earth is too important to all of us to leave it in the hands of incompetent and misguided American politicians.
Yes - for those of you who are American - I am a Canadian. I love America and my wife is American. But we are also human beings and we care deeply about our planet. It's time to stop cow-towing to the special interests of splinter groups and self-centered industries.
We're the ones encroaching on their habitat. Turning technology on animals is nothing short of barbaric. The National Rifle Association (to which Sarah also belongs) is probably delighted to have her on the Republican ticket. Heaven help planet earth if we get another "Bush - clone" team in the white house.
We didn't learn the first time; Bush was elected a second time - shame.
Let's not repeat the error. Earth is too important to all of us to leave it in the hands of incompetent and misguided American politicians.
Yes - for those of you who are American - I am a Canadian. I love America and my wife is American. But we are also human beings and we care deeply about our planet. It's time to stop cow-towing to the special interests of splinter groups and self-centered industries.
09 May 2008
Canada's Plunge into Mediocrity
Canada is a blessed nation in many respects. We are generally and open and welcoming society with abundant natural resources, intelligent and well-educated citizens, a healthy climate for business and so much more. Yet, the country is racing towards mediocrity in many ways.
In our attempts to be "politically correct" we are forgetting what it means to be Canadian. We are subordinating Canadian to the second part of a hyphenated association with a sub-culture within Canada. We dance around issues for fear of hurting someone's feelings rather than confronting issues and hammering them out to the greater interest of us all. Our government is leading that plunge.
We have failed to create any vision for Canada's future. Consequently our nation is aimlessly moving towards chaos at the federal, provincial and local levels.
At the moment there is a parliamentary act, Bill C-51 that proposes draconian controls and moves Canada another step closer to fascism. It attempts to put the natural products, vitamin, supplement, homeopathic industry at a disadvantage. It discourages Canadians from choosing and choosing health. It encourages us to follow the whims of the pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession. I realize that many believe they are doing good in both medical and pharma industries, but are they?
We have a "sick care" system, not a "health care" system regardless of what it is labelled officially. Doctors treat the sick. Hospitals are for the sick. Pharmaceuticals are to treat the sick and diseased. None of this promotes sustaining of a healthy state so that we don't get sick. There is no education in Canada beyond the most basic levels in grade school that is aimed at teaching us about maintaining our personal health. Essentially we are left with the knowledge that if we get sick we get taken care of. That's fine and we do enjoy that, but why not encourage us to avoid sickness?
Bill C-51 supports the pharmaceutical industry interests. I'm sure it's being paid for behind the scenes with payoffs to our Prime Minister (Stephen Harper) and Minister of Health (Tony Clement). Sure, those will be hidden in contributions or some in-kind donation to something or other. You won't see the money in their bank accounts. But it's no less real. C-51 puts roadblocks in the path of those of us who choose health, who choose to educate ourselves (because we care) and who choose to stay out of our expensive and overburdened "sick care" system. It's absurdity and it is driving Canada down yet another path to mediocrity.
If you are a Canadian reading this I urge you to write to your MP, to our Min of Health (Tony Clement) and our PM (Stephen Harper) to urge them to withdraw C-51 or at least to vote against it. Their address is: name, House of Commons, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6. No postage is required for letters to parliament so save your stamps. If you want to learn more please click on the link I've provided.
Choose free choice. Choose health. Choose a healthy and vigorous Canada free from the political interference of our industrial lobby groups. Choose parliamentarians who truly represent all of our best interests in common not the interests of small special interest groups to the exclusion of others.
In our attempts to be "politically correct" we are forgetting what it means to be Canadian. We are subordinating Canadian to the second part of a hyphenated association with a sub-culture within Canada. We dance around issues for fear of hurting someone's feelings rather than confronting issues and hammering them out to the greater interest of us all. Our government is leading that plunge.
We have failed to create any vision for Canada's future. Consequently our nation is aimlessly moving towards chaos at the federal, provincial and local levels.
At the moment there is a parliamentary act, Bill C-51 that proposes draconian controls and moves Canada another step closer to fascism. It attempts to put the natural products, vitamin, supplement, homeopathic industry at a disadvantage. It discourages Canadians from choosing and choosing health. It encourages us to follow the whims of the pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession. I realize that many believe they are doing good in both medical and pharma industries, but are they?
We have a "sick care" system, not a "health care" system regardless of what it is labelled officially. Doctors treat the sick. Hospitals are for the sick. Pharmaceuticals are to treat the sick and diseased. None of this promotes sustaining of a healthy state so that we don't get sick. There is no education in Canada beyond the most basic levels in grade school that is aimed at teaching us about maintaining our personal health. Essentially we are left with the knowledge that if we get sick we get taken care of. That's fine and we do enjoy that, but why not encourage us to avoid sickness?
Bill C-51 supports the pharmaceutical industry interests. I'm sure it's being paid for behind the scenes with payoffs to our Prime Minister (Stephen Harper) and Minister of Health (Tony Clement). Sure, those will be hidden in contributions or some in-kind donation to something or other. You won't see the money in their bank accounts. But it's no less real. C-51 puts roadblocks in the path of those of us who choose health, who choose to educate ourselves (because we care) and who choose to stay out of our expensive and overburdened "sick care" system. It's absurdity and it is driving Canada down yet another path to mediocrity.
If you are a Canadian reading this I urge you to write to your MP, to our Min of Health (Tony Clement) and our PM (Stephen Harper) to urge them to withdraw C-51 or at least to vote against it. Their address is: name, House of Commons, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6. No postage is required for letters to parliament so save your stamps. If you want to learn more please click on the link I've provided.
Choose free choice. Choose health. Choose a healthy and vigorous Canada free from the political interference of our industrial lobby groups. Choose parliamentarians who truly represent all of our best interests in common not the interests of small special interest groups to the exclusion of others.
13 March 2008
Why do we have enemies?
I was wondering why some countries have many enemies and some don't. Why do some people have many enemies and others don't? Why do wars or other harmful conflicts erupt with some more often that with others?
In every conflict there are antagonists. They fight with each other in some way, each trying to harm the other more than the harm inflicted upon themselves. The one left standing (surviving or least harmed) when it's over is the winner. By definition the other loses. But why did those two (or more) choose the conflict and not some other pair or group? What do they have in common?
The most obvious trait is that they generally don't like each other. Wars have been started over territory (land and sea), over resources, over ethnic differences, over religion, etc. Yet people with disputes don't always end up in warfare or even as enemies. Some people with differences are able to resolve those differences and come to solutions that are beneficial to both. In business we call it "win-win". Everyone gets what they want.
Win-win strategies only work however if both parties are open to it. If one person doesn't want to play by those simple rules then it won't work. The other often walks away from the deal realizing that they won't be treated fairly by the other party. They don't want to abuse themselves so they won't expose themselves to it from others.
In conflicts this doesn't happen. One or both parties want something and the other is unwilling to allow it. Canada has few enemies - not because we are a weak country, although compared with our neighbor the USA, we are. We simply allow others what they want within reason. Where we have enemies, for example, the Taliban in Afghanistan, it's because we've been unwilling to allow them what they want. The Taliban has enemies because it can't allow others their practices. They have little to no tolerance for anything but their own extreme interpretation of Islam. And they have many enemies because many of us don't follow their ideas. Canada and the Taliban are enemies because of mutual non-allowance.
The USA has more of this happening. They won't allow Iraq to choose it's own destiny - the US wants to impose democracy and some in Iraq don't want it. Furthermore, the US is doing it by occupying their territory. In the 1700's when Britain occupied much of North America and Americans wanted a different form of government they did what Iraqi's are doing today - revolted and fought back. The revolutionaries won and now their decendants are imposing their will on others - exactly what their forefathers fought against. Yes, there is a stack of justification, some not so valid (after all President Bush did fabricate some of it), but does that make it right? Many are losing their freedom and even their lives because the US would like to impose its will. And some of us are following the lead, no doubt out of fear of some sort of reprisal from the US. They have indeed demonstrated their ability and willingness to impose their will for their own selfish desires - why not take over Canada. The fact that they'd end up with 10 more Democratic states having some 10 or 12% of the total vote might be holding the Republicans back - another fear.
At the root of every conflict is fear. The real enemy is our own fear about what might or might not happen in the future if we don't get our way. So we try to control it and thus eliminate options. Interference in what others are doing is what causes conflicts. Sometimes it seems morally justified and sometimes it's not. Regardless, it arises out of fear and our desire to control the outcome. Our apparent enemies are those we fear - those we act against, to harm or destroy or control. Our real enemy is the fear of the unknown that we have inside if we don't exercise that control.
Look at what can happen if you control too much. We use anti-biotics to "control" some illnesses. By using them however we have developed resistance to their effect. New, more resistant strains of those illnesses have arisen as a result. We've made the enemy stronger. Had we left it alone some would succumb, but more of us would simply develop our own ability to resist without help from artificial substances. Those substances can cause other problems in completely unrelated areas. Why abuse ourselves this way?
The simple answer is that we want to be abused. We certainly choose it as a society. And society is us. Stop the abuse. Don't just tolerate, allow. By allowing all, we allow both the "good" and the "bad". We benefit too. Perhaps by our example we'll see that those who would do harm may see the benefit of doing no harm and simply allowing as well. Notice how people around you will change when you change. You do create your own environment. That which you are is that which I am, and that which I am is that which you are.
In every conflict there are antagonists. They fight with each other in some way, each trying to harm the other more than the harm inflicted upon themselves. The one left standing (surviving or least harmed) when it's over is the winner. By definition the other loses. But why did those two (or more) choose the conflict and not some other pair or group? What do they have in common?
The most obvious trait is that they generally don't like each other. Wars have been started over territory (land and sea), over resources, over ethnic differences, over religion, etc. Yet people with disputes don't always end up in warfare or even as enemies. Some people with differences are able to resolve those differences and come to solutions that are beneficial to both. In business we call it "win-win". Everyone gets what they want.
Win-win strategies only work however if both parties are open to it. If one person doesn't want to play by those simple rules then it won't work. The other often walks away from the deal realizing that they won't be treated fairly by the other party. They don't want to abuse themselves so they won't expose themselves to it from others.
In conflicts this doesn't happen. One or both parties want something and the other is unwilling to allow it. Canada has few enemies - not because we are a weak country, although compared with our neighbor the USA, we are. We simply allow others what they want within reason. Where we have enemies, for example, the Taliban in Afghanistan, it's because we've been unwilling to allow them what they want. The Taliban has enemies because it can't allow others their practices. They have little to no tolerance for anything but their own extreme interpretation of Islam. And they have many enemies because many of us don't follow their ideas. Canada and the Taliban are enemies because of mutual non-allowance.
The USA has more of this happening. They won't allow Iraq to choose it's own destiny - the US wants to impose democracy and some in Iraq don't want it. Furthermore, the US is doing it by occupying their territory. In the 1700's when Britain occupied much of North America and Americans wanted a different form of government they did what Iraqi's are doing today - revolted and fought back. The revolutionaries won and now their decendants are imposing their will on others - exactly what their forefathers fought against. Yes, there is a stack of justification, some not so valid (after all President Bush did fabricate some of it), but does that make it right? Many are losing their freedom and even their lives because the US would like to impose its will. And some of us are following the lead, no doubt out of fear of some sort of reprisal from the US. They have indeed demonstrated their ability and willingness to impose their will for their own selfish desires - why not take over Canada. The fact that they'd end up with 10 more Democratic states having some 10 or 12% of the total vote might be holding the Republicans back - another fear.
At the root of every conflict is fear. The real enemy is our own fear about what might or might not happen in the future if we don't get our way. So we try to control it and thus eliminate options. Interference in what others are doing is what causes conflicts. Sometimes it seems morally justified and sometimes it's not. Regardless, it arises out of fear and our desire to control the outcome. Our apparent enemies are those we fear - those we act against, to harm or destroy or control. Our real enemy is the fear of the unknown that we have inside if we don't exercise that control.
Look at what can happen if you control too much. We use anti-biotics to "control" some illnesses. By using them however we have developed resistance to their effect. New, more resistant strains of those illnesses have arisen as a result. We've made the enemy stronger. Had we left it alone some would succumb, but more of us would simply develop our own ability to resist without help from artificial substances. Those substances can cause other problems in completely unrelated areas. Why abuse ourselves this way?
The simple answer is that we want to be abused. We certainly choose it as a society. And society is us. Stop the abuse. Don't just tolerate, allow. By allowing all, we allow both the "good" and the "bad". We benefit too. Perhaps by our example we'll see that those who would do harm may see the benefit of doing no harm and simply allowing as well. Notice how people around you will change when you change. You do create your own environment. That which you are is that which I am, and that which I am is that which you are.
Lies or liars - who's the enemy here?
I'm watching the US fascination with NY governor Spitzer's indiscretion. He was hiding what he was doing (albeit not very well) and got caught. He was lying to his family and the public with his false law and order face. I wonder how many other politicians are like that? Perhaps they don't all have affairs, but what else do they lie about. Hiding the truth is really no different than lying about it.
In Canada we've got probes into wrong doing by various government ministers and departments and they are being held up by political stalling over "access to information". In my time in the military I discovered that the real reason for most official secrets is their potential to embarass the country, not to do any harm. So why so many secrets? Clearly we have a lot to be embarassed about. And who's keeping the secrets a secret? Mostly politicians and politically minded civil servants when it comes to government. But curing government of all its stupidity seems pretty futile, although a worth goal.
What about individuals? Do they have secrets? Yes. Why? Same reason - the truth could be embarassing. Why? There is a fear that the truth could do harm. The harm has not been done yet, there is just fear of some future event that may or may not happen. So we put a lot of energy into avoiding what may not even happen only to create circumstances that lead others down dead end paths. If you've ever acted on a hot stock tip, or advice from someone biased you'll know what I mean.
Who's the enemy here? The liar? Yes, but there's more. The liar is lying because we allow it and even reward it. Not getting caught means that you've "won". In politics it appears that the better the liar the more we reward it. Just look at our current crop of politcal leaders - liars to the core. None of them carries out his or her promises. They keep information from us - ostensibly for the public good.
Of course the Liar isn't the only enemy here. We allow them! We are our own enemies here. Collectively we allow and reward it. We lie to ourselves. By allowing others and rewarding them for it, we encourage it. We clearly don't want the truth. Why? Because it might be painful. Perhaps it is, but it is the truth - nothing, no amount of lying will change that. Knowing the truth is empowering - once known, it can be dealt with.
Stop lying to others and yourself. Always provide the truth and expect it in return. Reward those who are honest, not those who lie.
Where can lying get you? Well look at the democratic presidential candidate race in the US. Someone has lied about whether or not the two candidates will really want to open up the NAFTA treaty for change. Perhaps Hilary Clinton lied, perhaps Barrack Obama lied, perhaps the news reporters lied, perhaps the Canadian politicians who "leaked" the news lied. We'll probably never know for sure who did, but we do know a lie was used. And the US will select the person most likely to be their next president in part because of the fallout of a lie. And they worry about "hanging chads" in Floida. What a joke!
Look around you. See the lies and the deception and the untold truth but more importantly, see what it creates. We create our own reality. After all, "Existence is but an Extension of Yourself" (source: The Wonders).
In Canada we've got probes into wrong doing by various government ministers and departments and they are being held up by political stalling over "access to information". In my time in the military I discovered that the real reason for most official secrets is their potential to embarass the country, not to do any harm. So why so many secrets? Clearly we have a lot to be embarassed about. And who's keeping the secrets a secret? Mostly politicians and politically minded civil servants when it comes to government. But curing government of all its stupidity seems pretty futile, although a worth goal.
What about individuals? Do they have secrets? Yes. Why? Same reason - the truth could be embarassing. Why? There is a fear that the truth could do harm. The harm has not been done yet, there is just fear of some future event that may or may not happen. So we put a lot of energy into avoiding what may not even happen only to create circumstances that lead others down dead end paths. If you've ever acted on a hot stock tip, or advice from someone biased you'll know what I mean.
Who's the enemy here? The liar? Yes, but there's more. The liar is lying because we allow it and even reward it. Not getting caught means that you've "won". In politics it appears that the better the liar the more we reward it. Just look at our current crop of politcal leaders - liars to the core. None of them carries out his or her promises. They keep information from us - ostensibly for the public good.
Of course the Liar isn't the only enemy here. We allow them! We are our own enemies here. Collectively we allow and reward it. We lie to ourselves. By allowing others and rewarding them for it, we encourage it. We clearly don't want the truth. Why? Because it might be painful. Perhaps it is, but it is the truth - nothing, no amount of lying will change that. Knowing the truth is empowering - once known, it can be dealt with.
Stop lying to others and yourself. Always provide the truth and expect it in return. Reward those who are honest, not those who lie.
Where can lying get you? Well look at the democratic presidential candidate race in the US. Someone has lied about whether or not the two candidates will really want to open up the NAFTA treaty for change. Perhaps Hilary Clinton lied, perhaps Barrack Obama lied, perhaps the news reporters lied, perhaps the Canadian politicians who "leaked" the news lied. We'll probably never know for sure who did, but we do know a lie was used. And the US will select the person most likely to be their next president in part because of the fallout of a lie. And they worry about "hanging chads" in Floida. What a joke!
Look around you. See the lies and the deception and the untold truth but more importantly, see what it creates. We create our own reality. After all, "Existence is but an Extension of Yourself" (source: The Wonders).
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