Your Hate Does Not Benefit You

"We saw in the North American free-trade agreement renegotiation and the imposition of steel and aluminum tariffs that the U.S. leader had no patience for facts and enjoyed bullying his allies more than confronting his country’s adversaries, while his acolytes sought to replace the postwar order with a Washington-centred hub-and-spokes system." Paul Heinbecker, Globe and Mail.

I'm not convinced that free trade was good for me or for the workers in factories, but the US President is not on our side either.  He doesn't even seem to be on the American people's side. As for our Prime Minister he seems to be more onside with business than with the citizens even though he made promises and was elected on a campaign to honour the land and sea on which we depend.

What has been lost is a respectable conversation between interests for the sake of the greater good of all.  From somewhere there is the financing of hateful threats to those who have been marginalized, including those who are concerned about climate change.

Meaningful dialogue has been taken out of our domaine and funnelled into the boots and trucks of angry people who have chosen hate as a way out.

A way out of what? A level gaze at all the competing interests who want to take more and give less? 

A way out of owning how our ancestors and nations were complicit in the exploitation of smaller nations, how they colluded in barbaric practices for the sake of dominion over the most land. Not to civilize it but to enslave the people and pollute the land for profit.

In this way, we too have been polluted -- not just broken hearted but corrupted. Ideologies we submit to are often evil because of how they effectively confuse and alienate us from our own mental health.

The best example of this is white supremacy -- and no I am not talking about all the people  who are not brown skinned. I am talking about the movement itself, funded by interests who wish to remain anonymous.  What exactly does white supremacy stand for?

Reading between the lines it stands for hegemony over those who have moved away from the masculine ideology that demands sacrifice on battle fields, absolute obedience in the corporate board room and support for enslavement. I am also talking about the feminine ideology that props up the command that their men must always be strong and never vulnerable, promotes the feminine body as a host for the next generation but not a complete being. The corruption of Christianity for the sake of power-over the people through unexamined obedience.

Some may claim that Christianity was corrupt from the beginning when the teachings of a young rabbi became the foundation of a new religion. Some may claim that religion by its very nature is corrupt as it indoctrinates the innocent for the sake of controlling the masses.

I am saying that corruption is so embedded in our civilization and collective memory, that we need to examine our lives and beliefs enough to figure out the thoughts and values we hold and the way we support the idea of control. Controlling nature, our children, our seniors, our selves.

What is the best use of my power? To hear the voices of others, to support community, to heal my own injuries and to love life. Once I feel compelled to dominate or conquer something I must interrogate that need and ask who benefits?

How The Light Gets In

The story of civilization on this planet is held in Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem”. 

How can I contribute to my society so it sustains and avoids the entropy of corruption, pollution, death and despair?

Cohen's song inspires me. I see our history on this planet as a cautionary tale of cycles, problem solving, good intentions and unintended consequences.

The first stanza of Anthem announces the birds sing at the break of day.  This tells me that I need not look to our human history alone. I can find wisdom and inspiration in all living things. If the birds start the day by singing then I can do something every day. Music is like a prayer urging me to go on, not give up.

Those "little things with feathers” that Emily Dickenson called hope, were taken for granted by us, until Rachel Carson warned of a silent spring. DNT was killing so much of the natural world many of us didn’t notice until Carson pointed it out. It inspired the environmental movement to pressure the monolith of “the economy” to find a way without DNT. It did and “hope" returned in many places.

I am advised not to dwell on the past or “what is yet to be”. Just because an avarice in our human nature is driving our planet to crisis while the innocent "holy dove" is sold and caught and sold again, it doesn't blot out all hope for the future.  Who is the holy dove and who is catching, buying and selling again? What is it that traps her? Is it our need to believe we can own peace and freedom forever? Is it spite? Or is it the will to power?

Humanity invented the market and those who prospered are now enslaved by it. How can I rise above it, change it, make it sustainable?

And what if it isn’t just an economic system? What if its a self interest so deep it only shows when the opportunity arises? What if I am so effectively conditioned to feel powerless that I cannot move forward or know what to do?

The song itself doesn’t get too stuck in the preaching: “Ring the bells that still can ring / forget your perfect offering”. After all I am not the conductor or composer but I am in the orchestra. My agency and problem solving skills are all I have but they come when something cracks and a sliver of light gets in.

It’s easy to fear the light I don’t possess, easy to let conspiracy theories discourage me. This is one of my tragic flaws. To feel incapable of reading the world and responding to it is natural, but only corruption benefits by my fear of being engaged.

If my society descends into fascism and hate, is my birth as a person with imagination and creative problem solving skills betrayed? If a social contract is harnessed beneath rules instead of love is that a “marriage spent” ? And is “the widowhood of every government” a reference to the lack of leadership, the abdication of responsible husbandry when profit is the only motivator?

Who can have faith in a lawless crowd? Injustice, racism, misogyny and greed does not offer a future. Violence has “summoned up a thunder cloud” and the killers need to hear from Leonard and the rest of us. What perfect offering could I ever possess that is more urgent than ringing the bell when the planet we depend on cracks under the weight of our wars and greed?

It is the deepest most difficult questions that let the light in even if my ego does not come out looking pretty.

(You can find the lyrics to Anthem here Leonard Cohen Anthem lyrics)

What You Need to Know about The Anthro-Hyena

The anthro-hyena is a creation of my imagination to explain how political power can be organized to make us, (the general population who breath, bleed, fear), believe what we can or cannot do.

Let us suppose that the anthro-hyena does exist, like satan, or ghosts or highly secret societies.

Let's say the anthro-hyena have been among us since the beginning of organized human societies and they rose to the top initially because of their intellectual abilities. They learned about astronomy, farming, the creation of weapons, the calendar and tracking of the seasons, the running of the state and good orderly direction.

Let's suppose the anthro-hyena is created by design and not born, that he feels no attachment to any tribe or family; his blood is not related to any species because he has no blood. He is the algorithm of greed and self interest developed over centuries of human societies.  The anthro-hyena has triumphed over all addictions except the single-minded determination to be in control. He feels neither love nor hate towards people. His mind is a clean to-do list, quick to strike off whatever has been achieved to get on with the next task.

Let's suppose the anthro-hyena is neither good or evil. Just efficient and willing to win at any cost.

Monarchs, corporations, religions and governments have depended on anthro-hyenas to organize and carry out their campaigns for territory, wealth, and supremacy. But let me be clear. The anthro-hyena is NOT the emperor, king, queen or president of anything or anyone. He is the servant of the corporate board room.

Because of his strategic abilities we cannot live without him. Collectively they are the ether of civilization. They have the focus to create submission and obedience among the masses and then dissemble them. Their art is manipulation and anonymity. They are the shadows without flesh.

Their goal is to cleanse the planet of humanity to reach the pristine view that transcends life - the final solution, a mathematical construct free of any sentimental interference, an everlasting universal peace.

However, you won't find him on the battle field.  You will not hear his voice broadcast from any radio or television. He is the free radical brainwaves that enter the ambitions of men and women. He arouses the desperate, starving, fearful masses to spill blood or build nuclear warheads. He is the quiet dread in our night time dreams.

The ideology of individualism is the work of the anthro-hyena because it interrupts the open communication between men and women. Makes us suspicious of our kin who we dismiss as bogie men in the bushes and beneath our beds.

While we become "experts" on what is wrong with the world, the anthro-hyena becomes embedded in our language.  The strength of words like enemy, discipline, loyalty, masculinity, femininity, white, black, reason, lies, nonsense, infidel, savage, barbaric - attach themselves together to build a wall of silent screams to keep us in and the others out.

Can we save ourselves from the anthro-hyena? Whatever political ideology we create to make a better world will be invaded by memories of the past. History will keep repeating itself because the anthro-hyena will remind us of all that can go wrong, of all who are to blame, and how the shadows grow longer.

When we are in our cups, or vulnerable, in pain, near death, giving birth, or challenging the system - the anthro-hyena will be smiling like Iago as he makes his fool his purse.

The forces that control our world are the call and response between the sponsored message and our fears.

Just because the mind moves in spirals

it doesn’t mean there is no progress

it depends on how far down the spiral goes

the extent of our denial of our part and where

we look for answers

when we accuse, when we judge, when we

lift the other and by doing lift ourselves

and when we fall from the tree

how we roll after gravity has had its way

we are more complex than apples, 
and this is why the spiral

is levitation—collective will whispering

across the prairie, over the pines, across the ocean

the argument between options before the flesh

breaks open filling the rivers with blood

this is the light that opens the window

to breathe beyond our own breath

our own anxieties.

(from Infinite Power, (Ekstasis 2016) Cover painting by Paul Grignon)

That's how the light gets in (Cohen)

These four lines have swirled in my head ever since Leonard Cohen died. I am in awe of these simple words and their depth. How each line works by itself and deepens by the presence of what comes before and what after.

Where does that wisdom come from? A crack in our genes? A mystery in the education? The back drop of a civilization where intelligence is shared through public education? Those who see the light creeping through the cracks?

The English speaking world is vast - there are billions who speak this language and yet some of our political stories get more stupid with each decade.

Media had to undergo a lobotomy in unison to fit the expanding fists of the bullies. Media outlets cannot make a profit. Workers cannot earn enough to build the economy with the things they need let alone the things they would wish for. And we are being told that those who are to blame are those who are tied up and whipped again.

Where will we go from here? Breaking apart what does not reveal the light? It's the cracks we should be looking for now because the structures have shut out the light.

The line in the title comes from Leonard Cohen's Anthem

Delusions and Fantasies

 "And it's not a secret: Les Moonves, the Executive Chairman and CEO of CBS, said, as reported by the Hollywood Reporter about Trump's candidacy: "It may not be good for America, but it's damn good for CBS." He added: “Donald's place in this election is a good thing. … Man, who would have expected the ride we're all having right now? ... The money's rolling in and this is fun... I've never seen anything like this, and this going to be a very good year for us. Sorry. It's a terrible thing to say. But, bring it on, Donald. Keep going.” Thom Hartmann, AlterNet.

The trust in our civilization to represent truth and justice, to find balances, to protect us against the abuse of power, is a delusion.

A society is based on what individuals and groups contribute to it.

1. It depends on our level of education - a recycle of greatness propaganda, or the facts plus a humility to engage with them? 
2. It depends on the kind of vigilance we bring to raising a family, watching children grow and making sure we intervene with guidance and integrity when they appear to be heading down  a destructive path. We will have to care for the family of humankind as we have cared for our own family. 
3. We will need to apply the skills we have learned to build community to the rebuilding of our nation. This is not the nationalism of bragging violence, but a nationalism of concern.
4. We need to listen to others who express ideas we don't agree with and respond with respect to explain why we don't agree.
5. We will need to give up the demand that others see the world as we do.
6. To stretch our awareness and interrogation of our own interests as part of the dialogue. Give up the simplistic divisions and generalizations such as LEFT and RIGHT, MALE and FEMALE, WHITE and BLACK, to include all in our circle.
7. To accept that we are part of the animal kingdom who have evolved in amazing ways - creating music, art, stories, and ideologies. And while our exploration and behaviours have been far from perfect, we can learn from our errors.
8. To see that errors are not failures but signals to redirect our goals.
9. Particularly that economics is not just about profit and wealth for a few. Greed is not an inspiration to create more, it is a collapse of values that diminishes the organic journey to a forced and shallow end.
10. And finally, that the ultimate goal of our existence is not to kill, subdue, and conquer others for our egocentric interests, but to celebrate the mystery and reality of it with a level gaze.

Murray Dobbins - a prophet for our times

I really appreciate the way Murray Dobbins observes and analyses what is happening in Canada.

He reveals how the neo-liberal market ideologies have diminished our democracy through corporate funded think tanks.  We have had " four decades of systematic assaults on the liberal/social democratic state". This began with a series of complaints of an “excess of democracy”.

Now we live in a time of  "democratic deficit" and "a decline and erosion of democracy that should be the most important focus of critics and citizens alike".

A major study sponsored by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre reports that this erosion of democracy "has put western civilization on a track to irreversible collapse. The study focused on population, climate, water, agriculture and energy as the interrelated factors that determine the collapse or survival of civilizations going back 5000 years."

You can find many more on Dobbins blog here: Murray Dobbins' Blog