"I went to the store the other day to buy a bolt for our front door, for as I told the storekeeper, the Governor was coming here. "Aye," said he. "and the Legislature too." "Then I will take two bolts," said I." HD Thoreau Journal, Vol XII.
"Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it." HD Thoreau, "Resistance to Civil Government."
"God lives between every man and the object of his desire." Rumi.
Power is the poser that captivates man. As individuals we are prone to reject the thought that we cannot have control of our lives. Some of us are more control freaks than others, and the passion that leads men to seek political power is a drug that deludes us into thinking that no one can do what we are doing, and that we have the exclusive answer to all things. As a part of the research I was doing for this post, I ran across a blog with the title, "Give me liberty or give me lead." Unforgivable egotism.
It might be wise to keep reminding ourselves that if we take our hand out of the bucket of water, no one will notice that it is gone, nor, as a drop of water in that bucket, can we speak for the entire bucket. How little humility there is in us! I agree with Thoreau that most governments, allowed to have reign over their subjects, are a danger to their citizens, and it seems possible that given the opportunity, some citizens, allowed to have absolute power, would be just as destructive. If you want to worry, Google "government power" with images and click on some of the blogs those images represent.
Greed and fanaticism is not only in the Middle East, but is also in America. To this end we each must make it known what kind of government will command our respect. Loud and Clear!
It might be wise to keep reminding ourselves that if we take our hand out of the bucket of water, no one will notice that it is gone, nor, as a drop of water in that bucket, can we speak for the entire bucket. How little humility there is in us! I agree with Thoreau that most governments, allowed to have reign over their subjects, are a danger to their citizens, and it seems possible that given the opportunity, some citizens, allowed to have absolute power, would be just as destructive. If you want to worry, Google "government power" with images and click on some of the blogs those images represent.
Greed and fanaticism is not only in the Middle East, but is also in America. To this end we each must make it known what kind of government will command our respect. Loud and Clear!
Rumi said that the reed and the grass must cooperate in order to weave themselves together to make a mat. I wonder if most Americans have any idea of what we have, compared to so many other countries, and I'm afraid we have been too apathetic to realize that every generation must protect that which makes us different. The one thing that can keep us from allowing a Theocracy or Oligarchy of the wealthy from completely smothering us is our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
I'm not sure that it isn't too late to fight the war we have almost lost to the top one percent of our citizens, or to those who do not understand freedom of religion. Like Coleman Barks, translator of The Essential Rumi, I believe that "the exclusivity of most of the organized religions does insult the soul." It also insults the soul to accept the fact that we are daily gaining more poor and homeless while the penthouses continue to be built. This is not the day to cynically complain and do nothing. It is past time for that. It is time now to learn to weave. Compromise is the only way to achieve anything in a Democratic Republic.
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