With God on our side ...

... a message from the Ol' Master himself:

Oh my name it is nothin’
My age it means less
The country I come from
Is called the Midwest
I’s taught and brought up there
The laws to abide
And that the land that I live in
Has God on its side

Oh the history books tell it
They tell it so well
The cavalries charged
The Indians fell
The cavalries charged
The Indians died
Oh the country was young
With God on its side

Oh the Spanish-American
War had its day
And the Civil War too
Was soon laid away
And the names of the heroes
l’s made to memorize
With guns in their hands
And God on their side

Oh the First World War, boys
It closed out its fate
The reason for fighting
I never got straight
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
For you don’t count the dead
When God’s on your side

When the Second World War
Came to an end
We forgave the Germans
And we were friends
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
The Germans now too
Have God on their side

I’ve learned to hate Russians
All through my whole life
If another war starts
It’s them we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side

But now we got weapons
Of the chemical dust
If fire them we’re forced to
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God’s on your side

Through many dark hour
I’ve been thinkin’ about this
That Jesus Christ
Was betrayed by a kiss
But I can’t think for you
You’ll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side

So now as I’m leavin’
I’m weary as Hell
The confusion I’m feelin’
Ain’t no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
If God’s on our side
He’ll stop the next war

Copyright © 1963 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1991 by Special Rider Music
Available online at http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/god-our-side

Fear will be our undoing

FDR's "We have nothing to fear but fear itself" is one of those quotes we learn about in school and don't understand until many, many years later. When he said it, the Depression was wreaking its havoc and WW2 was on the horizon. There was, to be sure, lots of reasons why lots of Americans were afraid. And, the same is true today.

Terrorism, be it domestic (the preferred American variety) or foreign (what the rest of the world gets), has but one goal: instilling terror in those in some way close to the victims. For the most part it works, and the knee-jerk reaction to anything that terrorizes us is to fight back. Against what? We don't always know. But when we're "thinking" with our spinal columns, it doesn't really matter. Better a bigger bunch of bodies lying around than to do "nothing", whereby not reacting in a knee-jerk manner is probably the best thing you can do. And here, the emphasis is on "do". Having the presence of mind, willingness, and courage to not simply lash out in fear is an act, an action, worth applauding.

Problems are never, and have never been, solved by violence. It doesn't matter what the problem is. Problems aren't, and never will be, resolved, by blindly reacting aggressively. Frustration (and a feeling of powerlessness) is poor counsel for smart decisions. Don't get me wrong, I know just how easy it is do simply strike back; I know how much we'd like to just "put an end to it all". But, truth be told, that's not how things work, and it is long past time that we grow up and recognize that all the approaches we have tried thus far have not produced the results that most of us want. It is time most of us realize, though, that the results that "we" want are not necessarily the results that others -- in particular, others with more influence with decision-makers -- may want.

Terrorists live from terror. The more afraid we are, the more effectively they've "done their job". If we all don't immediately react with abject fear, we've got a huge, well-paid, and submissive media industry which will do what it can to keep us shaking in our shoes. And, there are untold numbers of large and small corporations who start rubbing their hands in glee, for nothing sells weapons like fear. Yes, the first question we always have to ask ourselves in "cui bono" (Who benefits?) And, the fact that the question shows up in Latin (a language spoken by the world's last great empire, two millennia ago) should tell you how long "we, the people" have been having to put up with this.

Power lives off fear. It is really that simple. The more you're afraid, the more power others have. We really need to start asking ourselves just how much we need to be living in fear. We need to ask ourselves whether our willingness to submit, to kow-tow, to defer to the "wisdom" of others is really worth the benefits we supposedly gain.

When you're afraid, you can't think clearly. When you're afraid, you're more than willing to compromise. When you're afraid, you can be too easily led and misled. And all the blustering, bravado, macho, military, fire-power, talk will -- I can assure you, and history proves me right -- remain just that, talk. Why? Because you can't bomb an idea out of existence. Ideas ... and their evil spawn ideologies ... can only be countered by sounder, stronger, more substantial ideas. Resorting to force, pure and simple, merely "proves" that you have no ideas left.

Yes, fear will be our undoing, if we continue to be afraid, but what we should be more afraid of than random terror itself is the calculated terror we are fed day in and day out from those who allegedly want to protect us.

Dark days are upon us

Dark days are upon us.

The heartless command, our attention at the very least. It may be a
madman with an Arabic name; it could be a finance minister whose
madness won't allow him to admit he is wrong.

Our minds are not being molded, they are being violated, bludgeoned,
abused, every bit as debilitating as any comparable physical abuse, but
as Stockholm taught us, it is possible to love one's abusers. It's not
mentally healthy, but it is a survival strategy.

Democracy hasn't been taken from us. You can't lose what you never
had. What has been taken from us, though, is our democratic ideals and
beliefs. In the United States, money talks; it's speech is free. Here in
Europe, we politicize instead - it's so much more sophisticated - and we
simply deny sovereign states their sovereignty. Both methods are
employed in the name of "unity", but we're not one, nor of one mind, nor
should we be, but we will be made to be alike.

It's not the silence of the masses that frightens me. What does
frighten me is the moment of their awakening to the realization that
they have been lied to, manipulated, and extorted. No, right now, what
makes me so uneasy is the silence of those who should know better.
Perhaps they have been bought; perhaps they have been intimidated;
perhaps they have simply lost hope. It doesn't really matter when the
results are the same.

The paternalization of society, not just here in the West, and
misguided feminism (only in the West) have made everyone just a bit more
manly: we're so easily distracted by shiny, glittering, but ultimately
worthless little things. We can argue for days about meaningless,
trivial, irrelevant details, yet we won't admit, neither to ourselves
nor to others, that there's a real problem that needs to be solved.
We're in crisis mode all the time. Men are, as you know, always in
crisis mode.

Dark days are upon us. And, they will not find the light as long as
we can be distracted, frightened, threatened, intimidated and bullied
into thinking that different is dangerous, that otherness is
ostracizing, and that only each of us can save him- or herself.

Why beliefs trump reality

Before anyone gets the wrong impression (whereby I'm fairly sure that this plea comes a bit late), I would like to reiterate something I never tire of saying. I am not just beating up on my home country. I am merely using them as an example, for in many cases, the USA is simply the best example of what I'm talking about. The root causes, the root feelings, the root beliefs and the root reactions are evident across the entire world, both West and, mutatis mutandis, East. We're all human beings and no one is exempt. We all have similar moral potential, and we all have inherent weaknesses. That's what makes us human. But it is always easier to ignore than to acknowledge, let alone accept.

It just so happens that I agree with Einstein that patriotism is an infantile disease. We are born where we are born by virtue of an inexplicable cosmic accident. To use that as a basis for unquestionable allegiance to one's birthplace is, in my mind at least, just silly. We are made into unswerving loyalists, we weren't born that way, so when you place your own country, for example, above all others, it is not a fact, it is simply a belief that you have taken on for any number of reasons, some perhaps OK, others questionable.

The point I really want to make is that we buy into this belief because it makes us feel good, it makes us feel worthwhile and it makes us think we have a purpose. We want to believe we are the good guys, that what we do is good and right and proper and admirable. And, there is nothing essentially wrong with any of this, as far as it goes. The problem is, however, that it goes much farther and deeper.

When confronted with evidence that contradicts this most fundamental view of the world that we have, we become fearful and insecure. We simply don't want to believe that things are different than the way we want to think they are. We will do everything in our power not to look these facts and this possible evidence in the eyes. Why? I don't know for sure, but one reason is certainly because we think we will no longer be the person we once were. That may be true, but it's not bad. Sure, it may be unpleasant, even painful, but closing one's eyes to reality doesn't make it go away. No one ever said the truth would make us happy, but it is truly the case that it is the truth which sets you free.

FDR once noted that we really have nothing to fear but fear itself, and he had a point. Whether you like his politics or not, he still had a point. I believe that now, more than at any other time in my short life, we are being called upon to face our fears. We can't give in ... or can we? Fear is more often that than not the root cause of hate, and when you begin to hate on the basis of your beliefs, for whatever reason, you have removed yourself from the world of reason. Hate is a powerful emotion, one of the most powerful in fact, but it is destructive, not only for others but for oneself. Hate is a poison that destroys one from inside every bit as much as the actions it calls forth wreak destruction on everyone and everything toward which it is directed. And, I must say that it saddens me to see and hear as much hate being spread about as I do these days.

As cynical as I may be, I would still like to think that we're better than that.

Revolution's end

Whereas throughout the course of the history of humankind, revolutions have tended to be brutal and violent, the most important, lasting, and profound revolution that can ever take place is the conscious change that you undertake within your own self.

I know you all like to think that mere change and revolution are two different things, but when it comes to oneself, a conscious change is the same as a revolution. If you fundamentally, truly, change yourself ... the way you view the world, the things in which you believe; if you consciously decide to be different than you are, to act in a different way, you have most certainly changed the world.

John the Baptist's message was simple: change the way you think (metanoia) and the Kingdom of God will be realized on earth. Jesus' message was the same, only he provided us with a couple of guidelines in which direction we might consider changing in a worthwhile manner. They cut off John's head, according to the story, and we all know what they did to Jesus. Has it ever struck any of you why whoever it was, whenever it was, would have resorted to such drastic measures for such as simple statement: change the way you think?

It's not all that difficult, really. Should we stop talking about how much we love Jesus and believe in him and start acting like he did, the world would change in drastic and radical ways. Or, just for the contrast, we stop talking about Buddha and start acting like he did, we would recognize our true selves and the world would change in drastic and radical ways. Or, just for laughs, if we stop talking about the Tao and start acting like Lao-Tzu admonished us to act, we would change the world in drastic and radical ways. And the same is true no matter who I call as witness. We love to talk about a lot of things, but in the end, we're reluctant to do anything at all.

For you non-believers or atheists among us: you're not off the hook. I, personally, don't care if you believe in God or Allah or Nothing or everything. I don't care if you think religion is a bogus pyramid scheme that needs to be eliminated. If you're so fixated with eliminating the "evil" influences of religion, how about simply acting in a way that others might find worth emulating. Set a good example.

What we think and what we say is all very nice. I would hate to think that those who are saying and thinking nice things should be ignored. But, in the end, when you get right down to it, what you say matters very little compared to what you do. The real revolution would be a revolution of action, of doing: saying what you mean, and meaning what you say; doing that which is necessary to support what you say; doing as you do, not only as you say. If we could get just this far, we'd have taken a huge step forward.

Unfortunately, as is so often the case, there are more than enough folks who are simply all show, and no go; folks who can talk the talk, but can't walk the walk. The final question is obvious: where are you in all of this? Are you the revolution's end, or its beginning?

What happens without a revolution?

The world will change ... or at least our perception of the world will change. Nothing is going to stay the same. Change is inevitable. Being born, growing, dying ... these are all marks of change. That's simply the way of the world.

Conscious change, however, can only happen where there is consciousness, where there is an awareness of what can, needs, or should be changed, when individuals gather like-minded others together to make a difference. Of course, that is next-to-impossible these days since everybody is right and everyone else is wrong, since there's no talking to most people anyhow, and you can't fight city hall.

Toward the end of last year, there was a spate of postings that appeared on my Facebook wall about individual responsibility. You know, things like each of us is responsible for the choices and decisions we make; it's not our parents, our neighborhood, nor our community who's to blame, we have to own up to our own choices and decisions. Some of these appeared concurrently with news reports of protests and demonstrations, the hand-up/I-can't-breathe/Black-lives-matter events. It's sad enough that such "statements" get made for what are obviously the wrong reasons, but while I am all for personal responsibility, if we apply the logic of the statement to the statement itself, we find it collapses into a rather pathetic bleating of it's-not-my-fault.

Think about it: we live in a world run by fear, directed by terror; we're restricted in our freedom by oppressive political and police structures; Americans are personally armed to the teeth to protect itself against everyone who's out to get them; religious fanaticism brings forth sickening violence and horror; there's not talk and discussion anymore, only accusations, claims and contentions, our infrastructure deteriorates before our eyes, illness drives so many to bankruptcy, and nobody can do anything about anything anymore. The logic of the personal-responsibility advocates tells me that since you choose to do nothing about any of that, then your are responsible that things are the way they are. You choose to buy your new car instead of putting the money to better use for the community; you choose to sit in front of the TV instead of getting involved in community projects; you choose to watch Fox instead of getting the facts and informing yourself about issues; you choose to put more energy into rooting for the home team instead of making a difference in the world. These are all choices we make, day in and day out, and each and every one of them contributes to how the world is.

The world is the way it is: unfair, unjust, unequal, inhuman, violent, dangerous, threatening, and deadly because we have all made those choices that end up making the world this way.

The revolution, should there ever be one, will never, ever start with the others. In can only start with you. If you don't consciously change, don't expect that anyone else ever will.

Is there really going to be a revolution?

Though often accused of being terminally cynical, I have, deep within me, quite the optimistic streak. And when I tap into it and think about the revolution I've been going on about, there is only one answer that keeps coming up: no. No, I don't think there's going to be a revolution. It saddens me to say this, believe me, but I have to be honest with you, and with myself. Why? Why have I come to this conclusion? I can sum it up in two words: "conscious change".

Yes, "conscious change" is what I have been talking about for the last half-a-dozen posts. The deliberate, aware, recognized and acknowledged changing of oneself: conscious change. We may do a lot of things in our lives, but most of them -- too many of them, unfortunately -- are not conscious choices. And, when it comes to change, well, let's be honest: that's something for everyone else, not for me.

Let's face it, taking a good, hard, impassioned look at oneself is anything but easy. In fact, it's downright hard work. It requires, strength, patience, endurance, courage, tolerance and the ability to forgive. That's how we like to think we are, but that's how the fewest of us are, really. Most of us put on a pretty good show, but at heart, we're pretty much lost and pretty much overwhelmed by the world around us. So what do we do? We puff up our chests, beat upon them, if necessary, and bluster our way through the everyday. Things would be so much better, so much simpler if others thought like we do, or so we say, and acted like we do, well, as long as those others don't act toward me like I act toward others. Yes, everybody else has every reason to change, every reason to need to change, but me, well, I'm not such a bad person really, I'm pretty much OK the way I am.

Whatever change happens, of course, happens to us, certainly not because of us. The world keeps getting worse, the problems bigger, the threats darker and more horrific, the dangers graver, and the outlook bleaker. We fail to recognize, let alone acknowledge, that things are the way they are because we allow them to be that way, we make them that way.

Oh, we have our lucid moments when we decide for ourselves ... to move house, get a new car, go to the movies or the pub, watch football with the guys, or buy new shoes. But that's about it. Big issues, real-life issues, issues that affect us and everyone around us ... those we leave to others, not because they're more qualified to deal with them, but because we then have someone to blame when things go wrong.

Is the revolution desirable?

We're such strange creatures, we humans. We're so amazing, glorious, astounding, and at the same time we're horrible, despicable, and revolting. We can create artistic works of breathtaking beauty and inspiration, but we can also devise the most hideous methods of torture and depravity.

I know that many of you belong to that school of thought that says we humans are, in the end, merely animals. It will come as no surprise to any of you when I most vigorously disagree. Don't get me wrong. I admire and am awe-inspired by so many of our animal cousins, throughout the entire biological spectrum, but, when all is said and done, when all the evidence is in, and when all the measures are applied, we humans are, well, just a little different. Personally, I don't care if this is because you believe that God created us in His own image or whether you believe that it is merely the chance result of a gazillion gene mutations. I don't want to discuss the cause, I merely want to focus, for a moment, on the effect.

I said it before, and I'll gladly repeat it here: difference obligates. If any creature or entity is capable of something then I expect that this creature or entity live up to its possibilities and capabilities in an optimal way. (Yes, my dear critics, there are a lot of fuzzy words in that last statement, so I'm open to any and all suggestions how one may phrase the idea more concretely and more precisely.) What I'm saying is that should any of our animal cousins change, according to current biological and evolutionary theory, it will be because some gene mutation, not because that creature or entity desired that change to occur. We, however, as humans, as I have been painfully trying to point out over the last few posts are in the rather unique position that we can change who and how we are by merely willing to be different. Now, that, in my own rather humble opinion, is an extremely powerful capability. That is, without a doubt, an awesome power. And if you disagree that difference obligates, you're going to have a much more difficult time convincing me (and many others, I might add) that with power comes commensurate responsibility.

If things are so (and I believe they are), then we have every reason to pause and reflect on how much we want to change and how quickly. We could, perhaps, establish peace of earth. Theoretically, it is possible. On the other hand, we have it within our power to create Hell on earth. That's just as possible.

Is that the reason, deep down, that we are reluctant to change even ourselves, to participate in any larger action that may induce a sudden or drastic change, because we don't really know which way it all could go? Perhaps.

It has always amazed me how fear-motivated we are. We're afraid of consequences, even though there are consequences for being afraid, which are anything but welcomed consequences, but ... how circular and confused our logic can get.

The revolution is only desirable, of course, if the results are desirable. I'm advocating desirable results for the maximum number of people: love and care and be concerned more; hate and interfere and be apathetic less. What's so tough about that? You tell me.

Is the revolution even possible?

Spoiler alert! The short answer is a very sound "most likely not."

Disappointed? You should be.

You see, it all boils down to something very fundamental, very basic, and very personal. We all think that we're all OK, it's everyone else that needs to realize they're being talked to and do something about it. That's why nothing ever changes: because for change (and I'm not talking about any kind of "revolution" here) is only possible within oneself. Things don't change, we do ... as Thoreau pointed out, but even when we do change, we don't admit to it, for somehow we think we would be betraying ourselves.

Change is possible. As a matter of fact, it happens all the time: we get older, more experienced (I'll leave the judgement as to wiser or not up to you), our bodies get weaker and eventually break down completely. This is the way of the world.

Conscious change is possible too. We can decide to lead a healthier lifestyle. We can decide to be more open-minded and tolerant. But we can also decide not to do anything at all. But the one thing that we can never decide to do is not change.

Again, the observant reader will have noticed that since the year began, I have not been advocating mere change. Why should I if it comes about all by itself. No, my focus has been revolution, and revolution is not a slight, gradual change of circumstances, it is a sudden, sometimes drastic, shift in ourselves and much of our environment. But, revolution can also be conscious, desired, willed, and put into motion. The prerequisite for this, however, is that enough of us decide that things shouldn't stay the way they are, that we ourselves should be different.

Do you have any idea how many of your fellow readers just jumped ship? "Oh no, we'll be having none of that!" Others: "We have no idea what might happen," scream others. Why would we want anything sudden and drastic to happen? One reason could be that "sudden and drastic" are, in and of themselves, not all that bad, but most of us have a very negative attitude toward them.

I'm now going to put this into terms that I think everyone can understand: we (all of humanity) are at a threshold. (I know you've heard it before and most of you think it's crap, but bear with me.) It is within our power to change the world. This change can take place within the timespan of a day. However, it is up to you. If you are with me, and if you feel up to it, and I have but two small, simple challenges for each of you: Pick the one person in your life who causes you the most joy, and do whatever you can to make that person more joyful and aware that this is their role in your life (and I'm not talking about a one-time thing, I mean continually). The other half of the challenge is this: pick the one person in your life who causes you the most grief, and do whatever you can to be kinder, more tolerant, more understanding of who they are and what problems/issues they may be facing (and I'm not talking about a one-time thing, I mean perhaps even approaching them and offering to help with the issue).

All of you were with me on the first challenge; I lost most of you on the second. And that's why, my dear friends, I believe that the answer to this blog's question is a very sound "most likely not."

What's the revolution about?

For those of you who have been paying attention since the turn of the year, it should be obvious that the revolution of which I am speaking is a personal, if not private one. We need to start slowly, start small. There's no need to take on too much too fast. The world's a big place and it could take a while to change it. Nevertheless, much of what has been said thus far has been intended on recognizing that there is more to each of us than we may initially suspect. We're not everything, that this for sure, but we are not nothings. We are ourselves and who and how we are affects and has effects on a lot of other people as well. We're not lone, isolated individuals, but the one to whom we are always the closest is simply ourselves.

The purpose of our last little thought experiment, it will be noted, was simply to make you aware that if enough people moved in any given direction -- good, bad, or indifferent -- significant change could occur. We have little to say about how others may or may not move, but we have everything to say about we ourselves will move.

The observant reader will have also noticed that I'm not selling anything, I really have no agenda as I have nothing to gain by you following along or not, I don't have a fancy set of rules to follow, nor am I pushing a particular view of the world. No, I have asked nothing of you, other than you, perhaps, take a bit of step back from yourself and look at yourself again. You can block out friends, family, loved ones, employers, colleagues, co-workers, passing acquaintances, or anybody you happen to pass while walking down the street. I have not asked you to do anything but look at yourself. I don't care what your political leanings are, whether you believe in God and go to church or are an atheist or an adherent of some new-found earth religion. It doesn't matter. Nothing matters ... absolutely nothing matters but you and -- this is the big IF -- whether you're willing to simply take an inventory of your own inner self; that is, of who YOU think YOU are.

Stated most simply: I merely want you to take the opportunity to become just a little more aware of yourself. If you're not willing to take this step, if you are not willing make a serious effort, if you are not willing to go even this far, then I want you to finally sit down, shut up, suck it up (as many of you probably like to tell others), and put up with all the crap life throws at you. If you are not even willing to take a good, hard look at yourself, you aren't willing to contribute to solving anything you think is a problem, for, in the end, you are a good part of the reason we have all these problems to begin with.

How serious is the revolution?

How big, strong, sudden, radical or drastic a revolution is depends on a number of factors. We could go through a number of physics-related metaphors, of course, but at bottom, the answer is going to be that old stand-by "it depends".

Our authoritarian-minded friends of whom I spoke last time are particularly susceptible to this problem. To them, for the most part, even the smallest change is a change of everything, down the last detail. This is, as I think most of you will recognize, an exaggeration, but I would be the last person to maintain that a change of anything (or everything) you once thought to be good and true to even the slightest "maybe" can be next-to traumatic. And this is why I never hesitate to add that the revolution you choose to initiate is always whichever one you think you can handle. This is one of those many, many situations in life where, well, to co-opt a phrase, "size doesn't matter" at all. Who cares how big or small your own personal revolution is? It's yours, not theirs. What is more, who cares how long or rapidly your own personal revolution takes? It's yours, not theirs. In other words, if we were more worried out our own revolutions than those of others, well, we would have probably changed the whole world already.

I'm serious. Just stop for a moment and think what the world would be like if every single person you know -- family, friends, business associates, teachers, students, acquaintances, the cashier in the supermarket ... everyone -- suddenly became more interested in the effect that they were having on others than the effect that others were having on them (and don't forget to include yourself in the thought experiment). Really. Do you think the world would be the same as it is right now? I didn't think so.

OK, we all know that this isn't going to happen just like that, immediately or without any kind of warning. And, yes, we all know that everyone isn't going to (and maybe some people will never) change all at once. But that's not the point. The whole thrust of the little exercise is open ourselves up to new possibilities. We're not talking about a big, individual change: simply paying more attention to one's own effect on others. I mean, how much time, energy, or other resources can that demand. But, simply becoming aware of that effect will have a feedback effect on ourselves. What we do about it is a different issue that we can get to later. My point is that with a very minimal amount of effort, without attracting the slightest attention to yourself, without having to make a New Year's Resolution (public or private), without anyone suspecting anything, you could end up having an extraordinarily profound experience.

I know that most of you think you know what the result of this little data-collection exercise will be, so you won't do it. But I'm here to tell you that you have no idea what the result will be unless you do do it. And I'm also here to tell you that you'll be surprised at what you find.

The fun-seekers, the courageous, the risk-takers, and the desperate will take me up on the challenge. You may like what you find and you may not. It may mean something to you and it may not. But I assure you, if you are open, honest and earnest in your effort, you will have already started your own revolution.

How big is the revolution?

In astronomy, mechanics, or Nascar, it's easy to measure the size of the revolution in question. We needn't even try to think in terms of government or society, for those are entities that are so much larger than ourselves that we can very easily get lost. (Once we have our orientation, however, we can return to these subjects, but for now we'll put that off till later.) But even if we are dealing with just ourselves, just how big a revolution are we talking about?

We humans have the special ability take on a variety of roles simultaneously. We can be parents, children, siblings, bosses, workers, co-workers, friends, lovers, spouses, aunts or uncles, cousins, chairpeople, simple members, co-members, committee members, and who knows what else all at the same time. And what is more, we are fully aware (whenever we think about it at least) of being all these different "people", yet we are still "just ourselves". To deal with this complexity, some of us -- well, a lot of us; perhaps too many of us -- take on the divide-and-conquer approach. We construct our lives into a bunch of different little compartments that we keep diligently separated from each other. We have our "family selves" who are different from our "work selves" or are different from our "free-time selves" and on and on it goes. For those of you who have tried this, you know it really doesn't work. The moment you come home from work and let your frustrations out on the family, you've mixed up the two. It's a nice illusion, and you could start your own revolution but at least dropping this charade.

I have to admit, though, some people are better at this than others. There are people who will maintain the non-interrelatedness of things even when presented with clear, sound evidence to the contrary. These are the people I care about and am concerned about most, and this isn't the first time I mention them. These folks have a particular ability to admit to contradictions without batting an eye. These are people who can have dinosaurs, people, fossils on a 6,000-year-old earth. These are people who can assert that excessive military force is necessary to ensure peace. These are people who think that innocent people who end up being executed simply had bad luck; there's nothing wrong with the system. And there are more of these people than you think. And I'm sure that most of you don't think I'm talking to you anyway. But think again ... just to be sure.

The reason why I'm most concerned about these people is two-fold: on the one hand, they'll just put this change-yourself/revolution thing in just another box; and on the other hand, deep down, we both know that the reason they do this is because they are afraid. Terribly afraid. Deathly afraid. They make a good, sound, brave impression on most of us, but at heart, they're shaking in their boots. They are afraid that if they make the slightest change to anything about themselves, their entire world can come crashing down upon their heads. And that could in fact be.

But maybe it is otherwise.

Where does the revolution start?

Don't you just hate when that happens? When somebody tells you a big change is both needed and coming and, suddenly, you have to do something about it? I know. I hate that too. Unfortunately, that's just one of the ways of the world that we all have to learn to come to terms with.

The world is the way it is because you are the way you are. It's that simple. Now, I hear some of you out there waving this off as the rantings of a slightly less than mentally stable individual, but just stop and think about it. You exist completely and independently of everything else and everyone else on this planet? You have not interaction with anything or anyone outside yourself? Of course not. You might get your electricity out other wall socket, but somebody somewhere made it possible for that socket to be installed so that it would deliver electricity. You don't grow, hunt, or produce your own food, even if you may occasionally engage in isolated activities that resemble it. You have family and friends, some closer than others; you have a job, colleagues or co-workers, a boss or clients and customers; you worry about what money you have and what you're going to do with it or where you're going to get more. And every single one of those relationships, both personal and impersonal, play out the way they do because you are who and how you are. Now, granted, we spend a lot of time worrying and hoping and complaining that others ought to change, but somehow they never do, and that simply bothers us to no end. At some point we have to realize that we really can't (and in most cases, shouldn't) be trying to change others. If you want change, you've got to change yourself.

Of course, it could be you don't want change at all. I know some people who are convinced that there isn't a thing about them they need to change. They are as close to perfect as humans can get. When you talk to their friends and family, however, you get a slightly different picture. There are others who will tell you that they have to be one way in this situation and these people and be different in other situations with other people. That sounds like multiple personalities to me, and that's a sure bet for mental problems down the road. The world has enough mental problems as it is. I'd suggest rethinking this approach. And there are lots and lots of lots of folks who will tell you that it doesn't matter. They're my favorite: the avoiders. If I don't acknowledge a problem or if I place its solution outside my own sphere of influence, I don't have to do anything about it. Of course, some of these folks are the ones screaming loudest about "personal responsibility".

Unfortunately, the world is anything but a perfect place, and every single one of us is confronted with challenges and circumstances that we do not like. There are lots of problems to be solved, at all levels of existence, I would add, and we don't know much about how all those things work or where we should start or what we could possibly do ourselves.

And that, dear reader, is precisely my point: if anything anywhere at anytime is going to change in any way, the only opportunity you have, your only recourse, your only option, is to change yourself. But, is changing yourself a "revolution"?

The revolution starts now

Dangerous words, those are. We hear a word like "revolution" and alarm bells start going off. Yes, "revolution" is one of those words we think about very specifically or not at all.

Were the subject astronomy, it's a mere circumnavigation of one celestial body around another, like the earth around the sun, or the moon around the earth. Perfectly harmless, and most people know little about astronomy anyway, so it's not important. Were the subject mechanics, well, if we're a horsepower fan, revolutions, as in per minute or second, makes our hearts beat just a little faster. Perfectly harmless, and most people don't know about mechanics anyway, so it's not important. Should we simply approach the word abstractly, any procedure or course or circuit that starts and ends in the same place is a composed of revolutions. Nascar is, in this sense, a perfect example thereof. Perfectly harmless, and most of us don't care much about Nascar, so it's not important. But, this is just the I-don't-think-much-about-it part of the word.

Were there a sudden, marked change in how we design and construct, say, buildings, we could talk about a revolution in architecture. Again, perfectly harmless, and most of us don't know anything about architecture anyway, so it's not important. Move the field of observation ever so slightly from the buildings to those who use them; that is, the society; and all of a sudden, an unexpected, marked change in how we design, organize and operate our interactions with one another makes us very uneasy very quickly. We tend to be afraid of such things, and suddenly, "revolution" becomes an undesirable word. Even though most of us don't know much about society and, following the same reasoning as above, it really shouldn't matter all that much. For some reason, we think it does. The only time we really get involved in using or talking about the word, though, is when governments are involved. It's quite clear: revolutions are not nice at all and should be avoided at all costs ... even if one's own current state of political existence is the result of one. That one was OK, all the rest must be avoided. It's an odd creature that can think so differently about the same thing.

Since I don't want to frighten any of you, and I certainly don't want my American friends stocking up on more guns and ammo than they have already, I'm here to tell you that I'm not talking about that last meaning of the word at all. Too often, revolutions end up being violent, and it has been very precisely documented and soundly analyzed that violent revolutions tend to beget violent societies. If you don't want to believe me, try Chenoweth and Stephan for the whole story. I see little point in trying something again that has never really worked before.

No, if there is going to be any kind of revolution at all -- and as I hope I've been making clear for the past 5+ years and hope to continue doing so in the future -- it can start at only one time and in only one place. Now, and with you.

What does it mean?

Over the past few posts I really haven't said anything that most of us don't know or suspect to be true. And a lot of you are simply asking yourselves why there is such a discrepancy between what we know and suspect and what we experience. Let's face it: it really doesn't look like things are getting any better "out there". I'm not saying the answer to the dilemma is simple. It isn't. What I am saying is, the approach to a "solution" is. Please note: I didn't say it was easy, I said it was simple. Nothing worth having comes simply.

No, the reason why things aren't getting any better, even though we know deep down what is wrong, is because at heart, we're probably just frightened, little cowards. Oh I know that sounds harsh, but how do you say that gently? I don't know either, that's why I said it that way.

Let's face it: Americans know they live in a violent society, yet they still scream for more violence (harsher prison sentences, more guns, more suspicion of others). We all know that the banking industry literally got away with murder, not just theft, and we let them get away with it. We know that capitalism as currently practiced benefits the smallest minority, but we shout down, insult, and condemn anyone who dares question its validity. We in the Western democratic societies all know that we're being systematically stripped of our rights and our freedoms, and most of us just sit by and think that it's not up to them to change the system.

And that's why all of us share in the guilt for the crimes and the blame for the situation. It's not somebody else's fault, it's ours. And as long as we don't own up to it, we're being irresponsible on top of everything else.

Why don't we act? Why don't we speak up? Every time we think, "well, I got mine, everybody else has to see how they get theirs" we retreat into our cowardice. Every time we complain about the government intruding into our lives, we are showing our fear. Every time we argue that you can't fight city hall, we are declaring our impotence. Every time we simply say nothing at all and only think our part, we betray our integrity. And every time we say, "it's not my problem", we betray our humanity as well.

You have to be able to say "no". You have to want good things for others as well as yourself. You have to stand up and speak. You have to stand up and be counted. Wake up. Get involved. Do your part. It's that simple. It's not easy. It's simple.

The courage to be foolish

Yes, I know, I'm being foolish. Expecting folks not to be afraid is just plain silly. I know most of you are saying to yourselves, "I have no idea what he's talking about. I'm not afraid of anything." You couldn't be more wrong. Take this scenario:

In just under three weeks Americans are going to go to the polls. Most of you, I'm sure have already made up your minds how you're going to vote, simply because - as I said before - you're afraid to vote differently. Seriously. I know there are a lot of you voting for Romney because you don't like or want Obama. Mitt, however, is heartless, cruel, mean, deceiving, conniving, and ruthless. He has no idea what he's talking about, I have no idea what he stands for (other than money and moneyed interests) and his running mate is every bit as bad, if not worse. I also know there are a lot of you voting for Obama, because you don't like or want Romney. Obama, however, is weak, ambivalent, misguided, deceiving, conniving and, in domestic policy, at least, ruthless. He does know what he's talking about, but I'm only sort of clear on what he stands for, and his running mate is harmless. I don't think I need to remind you all that neither of these descriptions are reasons to vote.

Granted, the Republicans are trying to make an unreasonable voting system even more unreasonable with this whole ID thing that has no basis in reality, and there are some of you who are even contemplating - perish the thought! - voting for a third party candidate, just to protest. And that, my dear friends, is about as courageous as the American voting public will become. In the secrecy of the voting booth, they'll pull the lever for someone else. But to what avail? None.

Regardless of how the election turns out, it will be the people who "wasted their votes" that will have screwed everything up, just like Nader was accused of in 2000. First, we have to realize that the very concept of "wasting a vote" only exists in America, and it is far from the concept of "democracy" as you can get. So, here's my suggestion, here's how you make your wasted vote count:

Vote for Mickey Mouse. Write him in on the ballot. It's that simple. Let's face it, he gets votes in every election anyway, but never enough to get electoral votes to really make a difference (because, remember, Americans aren't even trusted to elect their own president ... how insulting is that!). So here's your chance. Forget the Greens, the Libertarians, the Socialist Workers. Rally for Mickey Mouse! Take a stand, show the system how silly it really is and for once in your life, cast a vote of which the system is worthy. Why? Because if you all did it, you'd finally get the much-needed discussion started to get things sorted reasonably. Maybe, just maybe, you could even turn your electoral system into a democratic one.

But, I know that most of you just don't have the courage, so you'll bow your head, lower your eyes, "do the right thing" (which in this case is wrong), and pull the lever for who you believe is the least of all evils. But remember, that's still choosing evil. You need courage to face up to evil ... or are you just too afraid?

Mongers

I'm sure there are some of you who are upset right now. Good. I'm sure there are some of you who don't feel you've been spoken to. Not so good. And, I'm sure there are some of you who don't know how you feel about any of this at all. Bad. Sooner or later you have to wake up and put the old brain in gear.

Don't get me wrong. I know exactly how difficult it is to be courageous when faced with the violence that civil authorities can bring to bear. And more importantly, what will the neighbors think if you get picked up somewhere for dissenting? Yes, we shouldn't forget the neighbors.

As far as I'm concerned, the biggest cause of violence in the West -- especially in the US, but elsewhere, like Spain or Greece recently -- is fear. The government is afraid of the people. The people are afraid of their governments. How sad is that in 21st-century, allegedly democratic societies? The problem in America is compounded by the fact that there are almost as many weapons in private hands as there are private hands. There are a lot of guns and a lot of potential for violence, even if it may be in some way in self-defense. No, with so many guns and so many people on edge, I think everyone has every right to be just a tad uneasy. No, they have every right to be downright afraid. Fear is our biggest enemy.

I'm not the first to say this (nor will I be the last) and a friend of mine recently nailed it in his blog, too. We're being told to fear everything: authorities, others, strangers, illegal immigrants (legal immigrants will soon follow, believe me), radicals, extremists (especially religious ones), and the list goes on and on. Why? It really doesn't take all that much effort to turn just about anyone or anything we don't particularly care for into some kind of bogeyman. That's that way were raised, I suppose. Be afraid of whatever it is you don't know. We didn't do anything else our parents told us, but that ... well, we probably learned that lesson all to well. The one lesson that wasn't worth learning at all.

Most often, we're afraid of whatever we don't know ... the unknown. The easiest way to overcome that particular fear is to get to know whatever it is that is unknown to us. Instead of simply rejecting things out of hand because we're afraid of what we might find (what happens if what we envision to be so "bad" turns out not to be bad at all ... or even worse, what if we find out we like it?). The solution is easy: stop, look, listen (just like crossing the street, remember?) and when in doubt, ask. It really is time we got serious about being critical. The only thing you have to lose is your fear.

SOD - Same Old Dilemma

I'm starting to think like Yogi Berra. It's deja vu all over again.

Nothing seems to work. Nothing functions as it should. Real discussion is next to impossible. Nobody is really responsible for anything. Everybody else is all screwed up. You really can't get anything accomplished. A major election is bearing down on the Americans, and there are more and more of them most likely thinking that there's no way that they can't waste their vote (a truly American idea). And those of us who think they have a clue are proposing one solution after another that may in fact solve one problem, but each of these "solutions" invariably causes a half-a-dozen new problems.

No, it's not a happy place. Deja vu all over again is what we know as a rut. We're in one, and it's an exasperating one on top of everything else. Poor us.

Well, no. Yes, nothing works, and we're all in an exasperating rut, but I'm afraid you're not going to get any pity from me.

It's not that I'm a pitiless person, far from it. I like to think, and I do try whenever possible, to awaken my own sense of empathy and compassion for anyone who finds him or herself in a inescapable (or perceived inescapable) dilemma. And, I'm especially sensitive and sympathetic toward people who find themselves in dilemmas that are not of their own making. Those are the people I believe we are called to help. We, however, are none of the above.

No, I think I've come to the conclusion that things are just the way we want them. We all know things are "suboptimal", to use a non-word to describe what is really a non-situation. Things don't have to be as they are, but there are precious few of us who want them to be different. And we all know that most folks are only interested in any kind of change if it is a change that provides them some kind of personal advantage: if there's nothing in it for me, why should I be involved at all? Bad question.

What is in it for you is precisely what is in it for everyone else: something different. You get what you ask for, you get what you work for, and you get what you deserve.

If you think things are going to hell in a handbasket, well, don't come crying to me. If things aren't as you like them, there is only one person to blame: yourself.

Yes, in case you missed it: it's all your fault. So, as the Brits like to say, "SOD it."

Education

For those of you who aren't (or aren't yet) out dancing around the May Pole, let me tell you why education is not the same as schooling. It's all very simple actually.

Schooling prepares you for certainty. Schooled people are skilled people. You know what is, therefore you know what to do, for every problem, you know the answer. We always have all the answers. Just listen around. There is no shortage of allegedly smart people who have the answers. And these answers are very often implemented, and nine times out of ten, they fail. Why? Because the issues involved are uncertain, and certainty is no match for uncertainty. Uncertainty wins every time.

Education is all about preparing you for uncertainty. You don't learn answers, you learn how to question. You don't learn facts, you learn to think and analyze, to formulate problems is such a way that possible solutions can be found. You don't know for sure, you know how to try. You know things may not work out as expected, and you're willing to change direction as soon as that becomes clear that it's needed.

Education is about openness, but most importantly it is about wisdom. It is enabling individuals to not only know but learn. To learn from others, to learn from books, to learn from experimentation, to learn from experience. Education is about knowledge, not information. It is about competences, not just skills.

But, education demands courage. Courage to be different. Courage to tolerate difference. Courage to think differently. Courage to accept challenges to one's own thinking. And that's what we have so little of these days. Always take the safe path, make sure you don't rock the boat, conform, don't draw attention to yourself. In short, be afraid ... of the "bad" grade you might get, of your teacher, your boss, anyone in authority, of the police, of the government, or that you might lose your job.

And that's why we don't educate anyone anymore ... we're simply too afraid.

Pride before the fall?

OK, I hated (at least a little bit) to leave that last post hanging, but how much more is there really to say? We've got some unexplained (but not necessarily threatening) natural phenomena going on, and we've got some sensationalist news folks (almost exclusively American) "investigating" it all. And, we've got the fact that some of what has been going on has always been going on (but we haven't written it down), and some of it is truly a bit odd and in need of serious investigation. But, that still leaves us with what I consider to be the most important, and least asked, question of all: so what?

Let's assume the worst-case scenario: 2012 the world comes to an end. The Mayans turn out to be "right" (though we have no idea why their calendar ends or what they were up to, but no matter: we're dealing worst-case here). The Earth is rebelling, the Sun is overreacting, humankind have overstayed their welcome and are destroying Gaia ... it doesn't matter how we describe it, the world is coming to and end. Again, I have to ask, so what?

Why is this such a big deal? If you're a good Gd-fearing, born-again Christian, you can't help but get into rejoicing mode, because you're about to be taken into the bosom of Abraham. If you're a good Allah-fearing Moslem, you can't help but get into rejoicing mode, because He is about to assert his authority. If you're a good, Gd-fearing Jew, you can't help but get into rejoicing mode, because what has begun must also end. If you're a good, observant Buddhist, you can't help but get into rejoicing mode, because the Wheel is turning once more, and there's a good chance we all get off. If you're just a plain, old, everyday atheist, you can't help but not get excited at all: we're just here by chance anyway, so there's a chance at some point we won't be here.

In other words, just about every group I can think of has all their bets covered. And, if that's the case, why is it that the American news media thinks it can increase its sales (at least until the bottom falls out) and make even more money than it already shamefully does? It's quite simple actually: chances are good that nothing is going to end, except for the way that some people currently think. And that, my friends, is what so many folks are afraid of: they might be believing the wrong things? The big, threatening question is always: what if the other guys are right?

My question is, of course, the same as always: so what? All your believing can't change what is. Perhaps it is simply time to step a bit more slowly, to get a bit less insistant, and to become a bit more open to ... well, faith. The degree to which you are afraid, is the degree to which you do not know. The degree to which you are sure, is the degree to which you have no idea. The degree to which you accept, is the degree to which you are actually free. That's what a wise man once said: you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.