“When you call yourself an Indian or a Muslim or a Christian or a European, or anything else, you are being violent. Do you see why it is violent? Because you are separating yourself from the rest of mankind. When you separate yourself by belief, by nationality, by tradition, it breeds violence. So a man who is seeking to understand violence does not belong to any country, to any religion, to any political party or partial system; he is concerned with the total understanding of mankind.” ― Jiddu Krishnamurti I really like this quote, because it covers a topic that I think about obsessively… social divisions. And while it’s not reasonable to think that we can all somehow abandon our religious perspectives, cultural persuasions, nationalistic mentalities, or ideological worldviews, it is easy to recognize these divisions. But is it really violent to call yourself a Democrat, Anarchist, Republican, Socialist, Liberal, Communist, Christian, Muslim, American, European, or any other label? Well, that would depend on your perspective. I don’t think that labeling yourself is in and of it self violent, but rather that it perpetuates violent institutions… and I think a very objective case can be made to support this claim. Our established institutions of power are indisputably violent… and most of us are very aware of this. We know that the politicians are corrupt. We know that they are liars. We know that the financial institutions collude with governments at the expense of the people… we know that mega-corporations draft legislation and bribe politicians in order to enact it. No greater example of violence comes to mind than perpetual war. And anyone who has the courage to think critically about the war on terror KNOWS that it is fraudulent. It is very simple to understand that bombing other countries will create anti-American sentiment that will last for generations, and that this is not a good way to secure our country. Being friendly to other countries is likely the BEST way to increase our security… and the military industrial complex along with the corrupt politicians that vote for war probably know this… but it is highly likely that it has nothing to do with security and much more to do with the fact that every tomahawk missile that is fired represents a twenty-five million dollar sale. Of course there are many other factors that go into why we go to war, but security is likely at the very bottom of the list… if it’s on the list at all. So how does that make a peace loving democratic socialist violent? A self-proclaimed democratic socialist is likely vehemently opposed to the war on terror. So how is it possible that opposition to war through democratic socialism perpetuates war? Simple… DIVISION. For it is not necessarily the opposition towards the oppressive institutions of power that perpetuates the wars, but rather the proposed alternatives to the institutions of power that will continuously fail at gathering a majority consensus. And this is why I refer to “democracy” as more of a SOCIAL LAW than a social structure… a majority consensus will eventually be addressed. (For those that believe that majority opinion shouldn’t affect individual rights… hopefully you can get a majority of people to agree with you.) This is why it is important for the institutions of power (which do not have the support of the majority) to stop any opposing majority consensus from being formed… And what better way of preventing opposing majority consensus could there possibly than to promote conflicting ideological worldviews amongst an ideologically diverse society? None come to mind… So when you strive for a libertarian society, what you are saying is that you have a love for liberty, a love for non-aggression, and respect for property rights… What you are doing is you are alienating yourself from the vast majority within that society. When you strive for a democratic socialist society, what you are saying is that you want a socially just society based on equality and (hopefully) peace and social justice… What you are doing is you are alienating yourself from the vast majority within that society. When you strive for an anarchistic society what you are saying is that government is inherently violent and coercive and that the voluntary interactions of members within that society is the best way towards peace and prosperity… What you are doing is you are alienating yourself from the vast majority within that society. It is our ideological worldviews that keep us divided, and any attempt to promote an ideological worldview is an exercise in futility. Because given the fact that our worldviews are derived from our beliefs and values, along with the recognition that these beliefs and values have been heavily reinforced for years, in addition to the incredibly large amount of conflicting ideological worldviews, it becomes rather easy to see how no single one will ever take root in the minds of a majority of people within the diverse society. This could be referred to as a “conflict of solutions”… and it is the conflict of solutions that perpetuates the oppressive institutions of power. It’s not that we agree with the system… It’s that we cannot agree on a viable alternative solution… As soon as this is realized it becomes apparent. And through the understanding of the conflict of solutions a way to fight back against oppression can be derived… and it is simple… STOP fighting for your ideological worldview STOP proposing solutions AND START UNITING WITH PEOPLE Not for a cause Not for a philosophy Not for a political or ideological mentality And not for an alternative solution But rather… AGAINST Any individual Or group of individuals Or any institution That has ever oppressed Or has sought to oppress Or seeks to oppress ANYONE This requires that you embrace the uncertainty that follows a majority opposition that proposes no alternative solution Furthermore, it requires that you stop striving for your idealistic world. But ask yourself… wouldn’t you prefer a future of uncertainty to one of certain oppression? And don’t worry about abandoning your quest for your idealistic world… you were never going to get there anyway. This method of fighting back will also give something to society that has never been seen in this countries history… UNITY. And a united society is a strong society… I would like to see where it leads. Peace out.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 17:49:27 +0000
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