It has been a busy crazy few years that is for sure. Internationally quite a bit is happening and it’s a time of change. It’s up to each person to assist the shaping of the world by actively living within it or instead -> react to what gets handed back to them by political design.
Modern Politics
You see everyone creates a world in their reflection. Now classically, reading books from ancient Greece to today, you will find authors complaining about people not standing up to create a world worth beholding… So lets not act as if our current issues of modern politics are a new problem… It only feels new, as we are experiencing it all first hand, so it becomes personal and feels new…The main thing that has changed is the scope and scale of the problem we face in modern politics. We are facing a global size problem rather than only a civilization size problem… In other words we have finally bit off the entire planet, and the question is have we bit off more than we can chew?
Lets first focus on the fears being projected in general media.
If you scan the news or blogs, you will find all sorts of warning cries, we are one step away from Fascism… And that is true. Fascism is a system of totalitarian power that arises during times of chaos.
We are living at a point of great change, and in great change, We have both great potential to create something new and sadly greater potential to fall prey to people abusing power in modern politics for personal gain through systems such as economic Fascism.
The only reason we are at greater danger of Fascism or other similar totalitarian systems… is that they are tried and true systems: people know how to create such a system, you can even Google it and find step by step instructions…
If you Google: How do I create a new and better world… what you get is opinion…
I suppose creating a new and better world that is something we reinvent every third or fourth generation. It generally is a mixture of trial and error with a dash and pinch of the old thrown in for comfort.
So lets look at the old first. From a Taoist point of view I have been here before. Long ago in China we had a period of time called the warring states period. It was a time of chaos , a time of great change. Large scale Nation states were relatively new and great wars were waged to consolidate power across the Chinese civilization.
Our times are a reflection of those times. The only difference is: it isn’t a warring states period based on nation states (they are merely puppets now) , rather our warring states are defined by economic boundaries, This is a war of business.
The modern warring states period began around 1913 to 1917 ish with World War One and the Federal Reserve Act. This was when one can argue (and many do) that we see the transition of imperial nation states transferred to Financiers. The information age has accelerated the pace of economic warfare and we are probably in the next ten years looking at the final consolidation of power for this period.
The question becomes: Is the world economy pushing everything towards a new form of Fascism: Economic Fascism
Meaning the economy/corporations exerts strong directive influence, and effectively controls production and allocation of resources of the government.
This is opposite of a traditional Fascist economy but seems to be fitting what is happening today. This is a fine distinction, but an important one, since traditionally government is a social tool that exists for the benefit of maintaining a society: the economy was dependent on the needs of the society.
What we are seeing is the opposite, that society is dependent upon the economy. In reflection those in true control are those who control the economy. Look at the last decade how the financial corporations directly control/made/forced the US government do their bidding with the Bail Outs as an example of this.
So yes we are in a warring states period, but the war is an economic war and it is directly reshaping our entire society, and then in reflection each person…
Are we heading into Economic Fascism? The most ironic truth of this question is:
This can only happen if people buy into it as a system.
In reality everything I have written over the last 10 years teaches how to create a better world. For example:
- Re-introduce compassion into the worlds business model
- Not to get forced and be defined by other people’s conflict
- To personally discover and reinforce kindness in one’s own life
- Rediscover our humanity and not live to the past
- How to change the world
- And literally hundreds of other posts teaching how to reaffirm your heart…
And so many others have written much also
For example here is a perfect Gem: Circle of Gifts
The truth is, we
- Don’t need new ideas how to save the day.
Someone may come along to re-package old ideas in a new manner to start a movement, But the information needed is already at hand. A new spokes person for our age, might happen, but that is merely optional.
- Don’t need a person to save us… No in the end we each save ourselves, if you have to follow another person to become yourself… then ironically chances are you are not truly living in your own heart. We follow others not to discover our hearts, we follow others because we enjoy their company and have like minded destinations to explore.
- Don’t wait for government to change. We are the government, we don’t save the day by voting , we save the day in our actions and building a better place now. Lets face it most of the laws of the last two decades are laws imposed to limit peoples rights not to expand them. We need for normal people to get back into politics and remove special interests from the process. Will this be easy no, but it requires normal people to step up, live and be active in their life, and for normal people to start being involved in politics. Not by voting for the parties or special groups but by being the ones to get voted in!!!We need every day people in government jobs to get brave enough not to fear losing their jobs but rather doing their jobs for the people. Too many people work in government now for the job as salary rather than to live out life in public service. I have worked in government for many years so I am not claiming high moral ground. I understand the problems a government worker faces, and sadly the system has evolved to force government workers to not be effective.This has to change. The only way it will change is if normal people stop complaining about government and get themselves involved at all levels to support the government itself. The United States is “We the people”. As long as “we the people” and “government” are at odds, then the government “Isn’t of the people”. It is this polarization that opens the doorway for special interests to take control of the process. Lets stop this silly, extreme division / polarization that has occurred and meet back in the middle. Jon Stewart got that message right in his rally for Sanity.
If you want a better world… then start living in it : TODAY
We create relative to the reflection to our actions. So we receive what our actions reflect.
- Whiners will inherit the Economic Fascist State.
- People living to conflict will inherit only ashes of the past
- Anyone over-supporting Big Business will only mutate into gods know what ( But will primarily end up as cancer victims ) as they reap the toxicity produced by Big Business model. Too many people have bought into the consumer model and a large part of the price of that consumption is cancer and other diseases
Since kindness represents our essence.
Only kindness reflects back what we are without distortions!
People living to kindness will inherit a world worth living in since it will be a world:
Of the people
For the people
By the people…
This isn’t idealism I am speaking about, it’s simple reflection and how our actions reflect who we are…
Kindness can be a guideline to help understand if you are helping things or making things worse. Then make course corrections accordingly if you want the world to be a better place. If what you are doing is causing conflict or waste or illness in any manner then that’s the major clue you are not acting kindly nor truly compassionately.
It isn’t easy to act kindly. There is much we inherited that must be cleaned up and many mistakes we have made over the years. We seek shortcuts and the truth is we must remove Judgment from how we measure kindness. It seems daunting what is faced ahead in resolving out issues. However, we each have an entire lifetime to practice it and get it right.
This is doable, if we just … do it.
What is the Taoist View Of Modern Politics?
It’s a game people play within society. Don’t lose yourself to games, yes at times to play, at times to start a new game, at times to walk away all together.
While playing don’t forget to live your life -> with kind modest and non judgmental actions to assist around you. Then you let everything else sort itself out.
This sorting out process is also politics. Taoism gives you several clues how to relate to modern politics:
- To not presort too much, since those with the biggest guns (someone always will have a bigger gun) wins this variation…
- Play simply, efficiently and early when possible.
- Don’t let others define the rules for you.
- Many times there is no game at all… as life and the world adds in it’s two cents. Don’t play games when the world itself is changing the playing field.
- Politics is billiards played with people as the balls… (Hence why kindness is important: because you are a ball also in this game…)
This is probably one of the most sensical things I’ve read even though it makes no sense at 1 AM.
That's a very astute analysis. I'm now anxious to read part 2!