Steve Bhaerman is an interesting fellow. With a blog called notesfromthetrail, he also writes under the nom de plume of Swami Beyondananda, in a very clever way; full of humor, and making a point at the same time. Just this week he weighed into the November elections subject, and made -or that is, tried to make - a case for voting for Democratic Party candidates. (As "a No-Bahrainer," a dig at the information that "the chief financier for the Republican election efforts, the 'U.S. Chamber of Commerce', has its offices in Bahrain."
"Huh?
"Well, it kind of makes sense. If we're going to outsource all of our jobs, why not outsource governance itself?
"If there has been any doubt that the 'new world order' intends to turn the world into one big third world country with the ruling elites safe in gated communities, this should put that doubt to rest. One can only hope that those social conservatives who habitually vote Republican for patriotic reasons will join the upwising and awaken to the realization that Tea Party or not, putting the Republicans back in power will reinforce government of, by and for the power of money - and not necessarily American money.")
I felt drawn to respond; thusly:
"Thoughtful stuff, Steve. But I'm not sure that voting Democratic is the answer. It sends the wrong signal; stays on the more-of-the same level. We the People need to put pressure on the Powers that Be to put a None of the Above choice on the ballot. Of course, people can already do that by voting with their feet, and refusing to play the game; but that just leaves the same old gang in charge (as you say, the corporate state). So, more needs to be done.
"A voting spot for None of the Above is one answer. Another is to follow up on your 'Bucky' initiative,* and provide The People with a First Party alternative, by spelling the choice out more clearly. To say: We are on the cusp of major change. The Western political system, at the least, is corrupt; the global economic system is corrupt, and about to collapse, under the weight of its internal contradictions (long-term pain for short-term gain; a socio-economic philosophy of growth and planned obsolescence at a critical time of need for conservation of resources; etc. etc.). And about time. About time: It's time to go neither Left nor Right but up, to a new level. You are alluding to it; but look at it more closely.
"Consider where we are at in terms of the insightful Hegelian dialectic of thesis-antithesis-synthesis: the Right has championed individualism/competition with a religious aspect; the Left has championed collectivism/cooperation with an anti-religious aspect; the latter believing (by and large) that we can get to a better world via cooperation, a big state with a big stick, and a secular humanistic philosophy; the former believing (by and large. Humor me here. You're good at that) that we can get to a better world via free individuals, a small state by definition, and a religious perspective. Never the twain shall meet? Maybe not on the historical level of the process; but if we take the process up a notch...we are talking the equivalent of the kingdom of heaven on earth. And lo and behold: We have the technological ability to accomplish such a munificent state of affairs. In our time.
"The secular humanistic philosophy - that is, basically, the Marxian philosophy - is not sufficient for this process to achieve its end. Trying to force recalcitrants to be Good via the power of the state is a losing cause; it gives people no real reason for being, except in and for itself. Dreary stuff. It also does not do away with money, which is a requirement for the proper kingdom to 'land' on earth, because it's a faulty motivator. People have become conditioned, with interest-bearing money (and fractional-reserve banking, the other training wheel we have been using on our social vehicle), to do things for the money involved (ie, as an end rather than as a means). The kingdom of heaven lands when we give of our best, in the exchange of goods and services, and the exercise of individual & collective ingenuity, out of gratitude to our Creator for life with meaning - reflecting that we are, first and foremost, 'spiritual beings having a human experience'; and thus that there is Plan in and Purpose to 'the universe' - to life, beyond just in and for itself.
"As for the evidences for such a continuum, that's for another blog. Just, for now, to say that:
"it's time. And well done for recognizing that. And for recognizing that inside yourself.
"As more and more will, and are."
And thus the prime reason to be Good: for our individual spiritual evolution, back into Oneness with our Source. Overriding the materialist philosophy of secular humanism: the belief that there is nothing more than Man; that Man is the be-all and end-all of existence. A belief that is liable to come crashing down soon, as Man makes contact with extraterrestrial races, and finds out what their belief systems are in this regard...
Anyway, the main point I want to make on this blog is that, even with the sorts of people who have a positive vision for the future, they don't seem to understand the central role of money in the blocking of the transformation up to a new level of being on our lovely planet Earth. Why do i say that? Because Steve - even a soul enamored of the positive vision for the future of a Buckminster Fuller - did not print my posting. Now that could, of course, have been out of discomfort with my calling it like I sees it (and it is): the 'kingdom of heaven on earth'. But, based on my experience with other blog sites, where I have not used that specific reference, I think the stumbling block here is that people just can't see beyond the conditioned pull of the concept of money. Heck, we've ALWAYS had something like money; right? Well; not always. And especially not like interest-bearing money; which has compounded (play on words intended) our problem, of seeing beyond the concept. Some peoples have shared amongst themselves simply out of love.
All you need is a common cause; a common heart connection. A common belief system. A common vision.
And I say we have that, in the recognition - the common-cause recognition, now, that we have a divine Source. And it's time - because of the historical, big-Crisis/big-Opportunity circumstances we find ourselves in - to honor that Source, in the best way we can: in trust.
Its really very simple. If there is not 'a God', then certain things follow; main among which is the understanding that nothing really matters anyway, and one might as well live exclusively for oneself, independent of the effect of that pursuit on others, as not. Nothing matters but Me, in such a cosmology. If there is 'a God', however, then certain things follow from that premise as well; as I remarked on in my posting. The bottom line: We should be acting as if there were 'a God' - something more than Man - not as if there were not, as we are doing at present.
And the key to acting as if there were, is to stop being under the power and control of the moneychangers; who are acting like gods, to whom we must show deference.
Not.
In God we trust. And we demonstrate that by loving our neighbors. And the result is that all else will be added unto us.
---
N.B. For the record: Steve did, in fact, print my comment later' with a gentle caveat.
*This is a reference to a previous blog wherein he extolled the vision of Buckminster Fuller, seeing a future world blessed, rather than cursed, by technology
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