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.

Courage? Right.

There are a few brave souls out there who will think seriously about thinking critically, but they are a dwindling majority. Most of you are thinking to yourselves, "Yes, what's wrong with those cowards who won't take a stand for tomorrow?", whereby you who are thinking this may be the most to blame. Just how critical is your own thinking? Have you ever really tested it? And if you have, have you done so publicly? I think most likely not. Don't get me wrong: I'm not accusing anyone of cowardice, but I know how most of you are feeling. Yeah, but ... and it's always the "but" that gets you and it's where you end up getting kicked as well.

Take this freak show going under the guise of a presidential campaign: How many of you have already made up your minds? Good. Now how many of you have thought about something substantial in making that decision? Right. Now, for all of you who have made substantial decisions, have you seriously investigated any of Romney's policies? I doubt it, because if you did, you'd find out he really doesn't have any. He campaigns well enough against Obama, but he is as backhanded as they come. Or, for you Obama fans: have you seriously thought about his policies or are you just against Romney? Probably not. Our proud Nobel Prize winner has as much guilt on his conscience as the war-mongers of Bush II & Co. Why is none of this an issue?

It is an insult to the intelligence of any thinking person that the best you can do is put up these two guys and then expect that the world take you seriously. Is that the best you can do? Obviously, because that's who you've got. The only folks who got close to getting it were the Occupy crowd, and we all saw what happened to them. Legitimate dissent will be crushed - literally crushed - by the powers-that-be. Police departments ... yes, police departments ... are buying mid-sized armor and drones, for crying out loud. The police, mind you. Bloomberg even brags about having one of the world's largest armies, and he's talking about NYPD. Tell me that's not downright bizarre.

And every single one of you who found a rationalization for this, everyone who thinks that you have do something before things get out of hand ... well, you guys are not thinking critically. In fact, you're not thinking at all. All that America seems to know anymore, all that America is being seen for anymore, is the amount and intensity of violence they are willing to perpetrate on themselves. We already know they are not overly sensitive to inflicting it also on others.

Might does not make right. Never has, never will. What is right can only be determined by thinking people debating serious ideas, and you can't get to serious ideas without questioning what is. I hear a lot of saying, but as good as no questioning at all.

The courage to educate

Picking up on the theme from the time-before-last, let me just say that school choice is a red herring. All that I can advise any of you is to follow the money. I mean, if you want you children to be a certain way and you find a school that will make them that way, well, then I suppose you are perfectly free to put them there. But it's really just a form of child abuse. Harsh words? Not really. Think about it.

Let's say you're one of those parents who believes the Creationists. It's your right as an adult, but at some point, whether you like it or not, your child has to go out into the world and live on its own, makes his or her own living. You can hide the child away until well into their 20s, maybe even 30s, but then? OK, you're safe if you stay in America where such nonsense is not only tolerated, but promoted, and then? Whether we like it or not, we live in an increasingly globalized world and sooner or later your child is going to have to face the world. What have you done to prepare them for that? Nothing. In fact, you may have lessened the child's real-world survival skills, and why should you get tax dollars for that?

Or, what about you supposedly upward-mobile types. You're betting the bankers and rich folk are going to get away with it in the future like they have in the past. I have the feeling that this isn't where the smart money is. No, those with the money are doing everything they can to ensure that you folks are firmly entrenched between them and the unwashed masses. When it gets down to it, they'll be in the Caymans, you'll be here and your kids ... well, they won't know how to think for themselves or do much of anything for themselves because you've just brainwashed them a different way.

Personally, I think we should give kids a chance, the chance to be themselves, to become what they might be able to be, not what we want. The leading cause of screwed up kids is screwed up parents. Period. But it takes courage to be a real parent, just like it takes courage to be a real teacher, but we're doing everything in our power to ride those types out of town on a rail. If we want to have a chance in the future, and if we want our children to have a chance at all, then we have to have the courage to raise them to be able to survive on their own ... not just physically, not just socially, but mentally as well.

We need to be teaching our children to think, and the most effective way to do that, IMNSHO, is to teach them to question. They need to be able to ask the tough questions that need to be answered if we're going to get anywhere any time soon. But, as the story of Socrates shows us all too well, those who question will question authority, and authority, by and large doesn't like being questioned. This is so because at bottom it knows that it is in place not because it deserves to be but because it exerts enough force to be there. Questioning people tend to unmask force's inadequacies, and we can't be having that, can we?

True parents, true teachers allow their authority to be questioned because they know that the only true authority is that which can withstand the scrutiny of the most penetrating questions. They are not afraid of what might be found. They have the courage to educate.