August 31, 2012

Force And Control: Deadly Obsession Threatens Human Survival


Government Literally Explained

Robert A. Heinlein 
“The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.”

Bell Hooks 
"In a culture of domination everyone is socialized to see violence as an acceptable means of social control. Dominant parties maintain power by the threat (acted upon or not) that abusive punishment, physical or psychological, will be used whenever the hierarchical structures in place are threatened...”

During our formative years many (maybe most) human beings experience violence and imprisonment (time spent grounded) from those entrusted with our protection and nurturing (parents & caregivers)! After many years of  conditioning we come to accept such treatment as legitimate even in adulthood. We merely regard the State in our minds as a sort of adult replacement for our childhood caregivers - with the result that many view the State as a 'nanny', never taking full responsibility for their lives. But the more we look toward the State to be an adult caregiver and provide us with safety from every kind of danger and security from all manner of threats, the sooner we come to realize that the State turns out to be no better than a wicked stepmother or stepfather who has other reasons to be around!

The basic reason why so many are so easily controlled is that we have failed to accept our adulthood! When something bad happens we regress to the known, looking for Mummy or Daddy to put it right. We call upon 'big brother' State to solve our 'problem' by passing laws against some activity that we have decided should be forbidden. However, each time this occurs the State gets greater power over not just our 'siblings' lives - but our own! They, in turn, then get the opportunity to restrict us from activities they dislike but we see as okay, leading to the enslavement of the whole society over time. Like a double-edged sword, the more we abuse the power of mob rule (democracy) to prevent others pursuing happiness as only they see fit, the more we cede power that will never be willingly returned!

Politics and state office attract more sociopaths than any other occupation- this is unfortunately true! These characters are only too happy to find a 'solution', so they can prove how much they are needed. Understanding human nature and how to play on our fears is how they gained office in the first place. The most cynical use this knowledge and influence to perpetrate false flags - applying the Freemason motto 'order out of chaos' to direct the masses through fear, standing ready to provide needed order!

The obsession to control human behavior (other people, that is) runs deep within the human psyche! The State has been supported in this venture by both businesses and religions, each desiring greater control towards a different end - increased profits or a larger following. But, as available resources dwindle in the coming downturn, the State will jettison both parasites as it seeks to preserve its position as sole benefactor in the eyes of the masses - going on to demand unquestioning obedience!

Humanity is at a crossroads in our development - to go forward we must look within to find solutions and stop blaming others for our problems and depending on a 'Big Daddy' State to make things right! Those unable to go past this mental hurdle will find themselves increasingly at the mercy of the State!

The obsession humans have in controlling the actions of fellow man is not merely a mental disorder - it threatens our very existence as a species! Rather than force others to do what we feel they should, we must heed the advice of Gandhi - "Be the change you want to see in the world". Time to grow up!


Greatest Weapon Used on the American People


The Limits of Our Freedom

freedom
Photo byh.koppdelaney

By Mark Harrison
Viktor Fankl, the Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, wrote in Man’s Search for Meaning, ‘Between stimulus and response there is a space, and in that space lies all our freedom.’ In the most extreme conditions of privation imaginable, Frankl discovered that he was, remarkably, free to choose his response to any situation.
I love this quote because it sums up the essence of my philosophy. I believe it is the cornerstone of a happy and effective life. A real, experiential understanding of this radical freedom is life changing, liberating and empowering. To suddenly come upon the realization that we have always been free, not in some abstract sense, but in a real, personal and imminent way, is like being let out of prison.

We are not free to control others

The point is that we are free. And so is everyone else. That means we cannot impinge on the freedom of others. This is not some moral statement. I’m not saying we should not interfere with other people’s freedom – it is simply impossible to do so. You cannot make another person do anything. Even putting a gun to someone’s head cannot make them do anything. If someone is threatened to the extent that they fear for their life, they are likely to comply with whatever is being demanded of them, but this compliance is not a result of the threat – it is still a choice they make. If you doubt it, think about the people who have been threatened and not complied – think about people who have died for what they believe in rather than comply with an external demand.
The belief that we can control and coerce others, bending them to our will, is the cause of a great deal the misery in the world. This belief, springing from the external control psychology that we have overwhelmingly been conditioned to accept, is the cause of much of our pain. To let go of our belief that we can control others is astonishingly liberating. To accept other people as they are, to make no demands on them, simply to dance our own dance, as Anthony de Mello would have put it, and to accept that we cannot but allow everyone else to do the same, is not only the only choice that makes any sense, but is also the only way we can make any difference in the world.

We have a choice

In every situation, there is a choice. Accept that we cannot control other people or try to force, coerce, manipulate and bully to get our own way. The latter course of action damages relationships and, in the end, leads to pain and dysfunction. Or, we can accept people as they are, accept they are utterly free agents, accept that we cannot force them, and concentrate instead on building relationships with them and on building the inner world which echoes back to us as our experience. When we have good relationships, things work. Perhaps not in the way we might have expected, or even in the way we would have preferred, but things will work. The world is not ours to control, so let it go, and let it work in its own miraculous way. This is the effortlessness to which Lao Tzu alluded when he wrote, ‘The world is a mysterious instrument, not meant to be handled. Those who act on it never, I notice, succeed.’

We are responsible

We are responsible for ourselves. We make our choices and then we must live with them, not blaming others or circumstances, and not cowardly abdicating responsibility to some external forces. We are not victims! We are in control.
By the same token, we are not responsible for other people. Their fear, their anger, their pain, their misery – it’s all a choice they make, as freely as we make ours, and they need to shoulder the consequences of these choices – they are not our crosses to bear. Their happiness, their success, their joy – it’s all their doing, not ours.

Being proactive

So here lies our freedom – it is inside us every moment and we can recognize it and live our lives according to the truth of this freedom, or we can continue to behave in the way we have been conditioned by society and try to force our way through life, pushing and coercing others into doing our will. One way is peace and happiness, the other way is pain and madness. Being proactive is the first of Steven Covey’s Seven Habits and is the cornerstone of a truly effective life. I believe that living a proactive life, centered in the self, accepting that we can change nothing but ourselves, and choosing to focus on the good in our life and seeking to attract more it to ourselves is the purpose of our existence.

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