- Most people believe there are two sides to the current
world war. And there are, but not the two that are normally spoken about
in the major media. The deeper opposites at war here are disguised by the
escalating outward show of grisly tit-for-tat between two very different
types of evil. Fundamentalist terrorists and fundamentalist totalitarian
authorities are simply the two extremes of the forces of regression on
Earth. That they are in a war to the death over which of them will rule
does not make either of these extremes anything other than they are: forms
of ultimate human darkness. Terrorism and totalitarianism are something
more and worse than best friends, strengthening one another's resolve with
every act of violence. These two are evil twins, indissolubly joined at
the hip, even as each tries to chop off the other's head.
-
- The real opposing sides at war here are two very different
kinds of potential futures for the human race. Progressive thinkers understand
that we have reached the point at which a measure of peace and plenty is
actually possible for a significant portion of the human race. It is well
understood that such a reasonable future can only manifest if the embodiments
of entrenched greed who presently run the world and dispose of all our
resources are deposed once and for all. What is at stake behind the scenes
is a more humane and just future for the majority, or an increasingly tight
grip on humanity's throat by a ruthless, remorseless elite
-
- There is no conceivable way in which terrorism can eventually
win this war against the national and global forces of totalitarianism.
There are many reasons why terrorists will eventually be killed off, even
though it means that some nations will use appalling military forces against
the citizens of other nations. No matter how many decades, how much life,
and how much of the world's resources it consumes, this is a war that will
be fought to the bitter, certain end. Ordinary human beings will increasingly
be inclined to accept the rapidly precipitating World Security State as
the only answer to acts of fundamentalist terrorism in the streets.
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- For those of us who deplore the suavely sophisticated
predations of current earthly powers, the spectacle of terrorism versus
totalitarianism presents a nightmare devoid of the prospect of waking up
any time soon. Every human being on earth is losing this war, whether they
know it or not. The prospects for a relatively decent future are diminishing,
discernibly, day by day. We know who will ultimately win this particular
battle, and we know what will happen next. The real war for human freedom
will only then just begin.
-
- So long as fundamentalism in its low-grade manifestations
continues to bedevil us, the forces of totalitarianism will remain powerful.
Regardless of whether political or religious, intractable fundamentalism
constitutes the spiked tail of human evolution. We can and do hurt ourselves
terribly when this dangerous and antiquated appendage lashes out wildly.
Simultaneously, techno-totalitarianism acts as sharpened horns on the head
of mankind, slicing through obstacles at all costs, hastening us toward
an infinitely more refined version of a dark future than any envisioned
by terrorists. In terms of exercising power, the creature that humanity
symbolically most resembles at this point has been mentioned in world literature
throughout the ages, and it is not the image of our better angel.
-
- Most human beings are basically decent, and capable of
much more than mere decency. Those who believe otherwise mistake their
own projections for reality. But at this stage we are also an apathetic,
selfish, and comfort-seeking species as well, and in this is the key to
our lack of peace on earth. There will be no peace for any of us until
we rise up together, in the name of our common humanity, and vigorously
overturn both extremes of the forces of greed and hate ruling the earth.
The interlocking, interactive forces of regression and division will not
step down from power, or cease from trying to annihilate one another, just
because we ask them nicely. What is good in humanity will have to fight
for its life, if it is to have a future at all. Every form of creative
will and intelligence must be called forth from the sleeping soul of humanity,
because there is no escape and no going back. If we truly love humanity,
we are going to have to fight brilliantly and courageously for the survival
of all that it means to be human.
-
- Can it really be necessary for human beings to battle
aggressively for eventual freedom from both totalitarian and fundamentalist
forces? Of course it is. Is it possible that as a species we are going
to have to wage a genuine war, against the worst elements within ourselves,
for the sake of a humane version of peace and justice? Of course it is.
How we will prosecute the coming war for freedom from our own worst embodiments
is up to us, and to those who oppose such a possibility. Will acts of creative
genius suffice against the forces of darkness? Personally, I believe they
must. There is no military solution available for establishing genuine
justice and sanity on Earth. This is a war that must creatively and efficiently
deploy minds and hearts and souls against the entire hardened world structure
of deadly intransigence, in all its forms.
-
- For now the following scenario must remain a figment
of imagination in the minds of practical idealists. But consider the effect
of ten million people peacefully yet resolutely marching on the White House
in Washington, DC, demanding essential reforms in no uncertain terms. I
believe that those who think the military would fire on an immense body
of civilians in such an instance are quite wrong. Marching and mass demonstrations
can be a relatively useless form of exercise, but by no means always. Peaceful
assembly gains immense potency when exercised by very large numbers simultaneously,
and at times can be exceedingly effective. The great secret that people
have forgotten is just how fearful despots always are, and by definition
must always be. Despots never forget the very thing that the people seldom
remember: there are many more of us than there are of them.
-
- There are an infinite number of ways for humanity to
force a peaceful revolution in behalf of its own intrinsic values. Just
consider the effect of millions of consumers agreeing to stop buying anything
at all on stated days. And specific boycotts may have little force on earth
yet, but the possibilities are spectacular. How long would it take to bring
venial worldly powers to their knees once humanity really begins to exercise
its own powers, in cleverly effective acts of resistance? Probably not
very long: the hard part is waiting for people to wake up to the necessity.
-
- The problem is that collectively we have not yet understood
what is at stake. The wits of the western world are dulled by collusion
with greed. The wits of the eastern world are dulled by deprivation. We
have not yet begun to insist, in sufficient numbers, on uniting to create
our own reasonable future. There's no telling how far human beings must
sink separately in order to rise up together. No one really knows what
degrees of suffering it will take to awaken us. Nevertheless, beyond the
vicious fistfight between terrorism and totalitarianism, there is another
world entirely, hovering just out of sight and waiting to be born. That
much is certain. What is not at all certain is whether or not a sane and
peaceful world will come into being any time in the immediately foreseeable
future. For now, the frenzied death grip exercised on world affairs by
the evil twins has far too many of us mesmerized by ignorance and paralyzed
into inactivity.
-
- Nevertheless, the present moment also contains many varieties
of wondrously potent and viable seeds for good. There are as many nourishing
possibilities as there are intelligent and loving human beings imagining
and working for such ends. For now, each person can do something every
day, however humble, toward manifesting a rational future. This is not
enough yet, but it happens to be what we can realistically do, and what
we can realistically do is what we must do. A decent life for all will
not spring full blown from the bleak wastelands of the present by sheer
accident of spontaneous generation. We will be obliged, like it or not,
to struggle unequivocally, and to absolutely insist.
-
- In order to protect and nourish our visions of a decent
and sustainable future it is insufficient to focus solely on manifesting
the wonderful forms this may take. If we expect to see these new forms
of life have any chance to take root, we have no choice except to fight,
as strenuously and as elegantly as possible, against each and every element
of chaos and darkness currently overwhelming the human race. If humanity
does not insist on acquiring the reins of genuine self-determination, by
means of love, will, and the judicious use of our powers of creation and
destruction, then the future will be exactly what we fear.
-
- As things stand today, the reign of the evil twins of
terrorism and totalitarianism could conceivably continue for a very long
time to come, constantly changing form, yet never altogether dying of attrition.
Our children and their children and their children as well could all too
easily languish in a world of perpetual war, abject poverty, abysmal ignorance,
and suffocating waste. This is the overall direction in which we are currently
headed. Either we alter course or we will continue to arrive, decade after
decade, at ever worsening versions of this same desolate destination. In
reality, there is no force on earth that can oblige us to continue as we
are, if we choose otherwise in sufficient numbers. Our destiny is given
over into our own hands. Through understanding and the right application
of our innate power of free will, we already contain the collective capacity
to create the world we want to live in. But it won't come true unless and
until we make it come true.
-
-
-
- Comment
- From Timothy Bartzer
- 11-23-2
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- Jeff - This is a stunning, brilliant insight on the state
of our world today. I've been a constant reader of your site, finding much
food for thought on a diverse range of topics, but this one, out of all,
struck me as particularly profound, cutting to the larger issues of our
survival as a unified species on the planet. The author has distilled and
articulated a cogent theme for the ultimate question facing humanity. The
final battle of Good versus Evil comes down to a question of relativity,
where both "sides" work toward the same destructive end. I can
tell you that most folks do not think outside the box in the way the author
does, though it makes eminent sense. I applaud this quality of commentary.
Do your readership a favor and feature this article. It is eye-opening
in a way that nothing else feature on your site is.
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