Martin Luther King's Dream

"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood." Martin Luther King Jr.  Delivered in Washington August 28, 1963.


https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-resources/document-research-requests

I wanted to print the whole speech on this platform but it would violate the copyright law.

I understand the reluctance to allow it into the commons because of the terrible abuse that has been directed to MLK and his family. There is so much evidence of corrupting history for the sake of white power. So here is an example of what happens when White Supremacy rules over others.

Let us weep.

They Are Us

There is a sense of dread - not for me personally - but for the social and mental health of Canada. Voting for a leader who does not present a platform, who does not reveal ideas about how he will change Ontario for the better -   apart from an echo from his brother who went in with a sledge hammer under the banner of stopping the gravy train, there was nothing concrete in Doug Ford's campaign. But he was elected with 40% of the vote. Both of these men portray an image of thugs we should be afraid of and I wonder how voters translate that power into serving a civil society.

However it's not us or them because they are us.

They are humans who have feelings, judgements, vulnerability and doubts - but one of our most tragic flaws is projection - what we don't like in ourselves we project onto others. So said Carl Jung back in the earlier days of the twentieth century. They, them, us or me - mostly blame others for what goes wrong, and as long as our feelings are echoed,  or supported by "experts", we are happy to vote for the politicians who promote them.

Understanding politics, media, finance and civil society is complex and a leader who is tuned in is likely to be too nuanced for the braying crowd in the circus tent.  It's easy to feel elevated when our hatred is handed back to us from the halls of power. So we'd rather have a leader with a small vocabulary than a responsible leader whose intentions we don't understand.

Justice is not something that makes us feel good if we don't benefit from it.  Neither is there much satisfaction from great minds when they explain how something works if we don't see the immediate benefit.

How do I know this? I am human and have fallen into these habits without reflecting upon them until later.

No matter how smart I try to be  my opinions will not be gratefully received if they don't comfort the ones I am addressing.  Democracy  is abrasive when it's working, when it calls us out of the comfortable pew.

What has been revealed is that my inability to face and take responsibility for the politics of this world allows bad actors to create bigger problems for my family.

Humanity - a Post Mortem Audit?

"The immersive and inescapable way children and teens are exposed to violence in their "media diet" on social media apps, video games and movies can make them more aggressive and fearful, the American Academy of Pediatrics says in a new policy statement." CBC.CA 

There is no doubt in my mind that a diet of violent entertainment disturbs my equilibrium. Even though I am a senior and have many years experience of living in a reciprocal community, TV dramas make me feel insecure on a vague, semi-conscious level. 

Children and teens have not yet developed their own survival skills and independence, so they are vulnerable to  messages wherever they come from.  

Also there is very little in the media that doesn't "bleed" and there are very few examples of people solving real problems. 

Have we become unconscious of how we internalize the messages that we know intellectually are fiction? The fast moving narrative of violence everywhere? After the music, images and high drama does it make hope of any kind seem naive?

I have just watched a brief interview of a gun toting white man (CBC.ca) who will vote for Donald Trump because he believes the government is corrupt.  He sees his role as protecting the innocent. Has he got his worldview from television where the dots are rarely connected, and facts don't count?  

How will Trump make things better? What would he contribute to society? According to reports, he prides himself on not paying taxes because he feels that government is a waste of money. He has power and influence because his father had good connections, lots of money and was able to influence officials.  He has the key of wealth and celebrity, and that's where (we have been lead to believe) power lies.  

The first and most dangerous violence is the notion we are isolated egos, which means we have no agency within a conscious society and makes us slaves to whatever ideology has the most funding. 

We have elected through cynicism and intellectual laziness to let the chips fall where they may.  We are losing our sanity, our integrity and our civil society. What creature will outlive us if we forget what it means to be human?

WHO World Cancer Day

A few days ago I received an email asking that I say a small prayer "Dear God - I pray for a cure for cancer. Amen" and then to forward to all my friends.

Since I don't do chain letters I thought I would write this blog post as a prayer to the universal mind for a cure for cancer and by finding the causes of cancer. Not just the many small details of toxic substances, but the overall cause of cancer - that resistance towards embracing the whole world and nurturing the best possible health for it through our work, our practices and our goals.

This takes more than looking to others to find magic cures. Sure we need the researchers and medicine, the scientific experts and world leaders to do what is right, but they are not magicians. We are all the stewards and agents of good health for the mind, the body, the community and the work place.  These are all connected.

Cancer is not just a single disease, it is the symptom of a very sick system that promotes oppression and greed through ignorance, fear and hatred for humanity on many levels.  Such a system doesn't care for people - it pays lip service to ideals but seeks only to exploit. It does the talk and punishes those who do the walk.

We are micro-units of that system which only has as much power as we invest in it. May we find a way to reconnect to the healing practices we are capable of by living as though health is profit.