Birthright

Knowledge is power. Lack of information, or the wrong information diminishes our real power as it increases our sense of helplessness and desperation, makes us angry until it seems our feelings are the only force we have to defend ourselves. This desperate anger is the fuel of mobs, it is the madness of violence as an imitation of control. It is disastrous to trust only our feelings untempered by reason and knowledge.

Long ago humanity chose intellect over instinct, to be responsible for our own lives and well-being, to make our own decisions and choices, right or wrong: We opted for adulthood. We chose to use thinking, logic, experiment, deduction to guide our way through a world of mysteries. 

But within every adult is still the intuitive, the impulsive, the impatient child. It is the balance of ‘adult’ and ‘child’ that makes us human beings. And that, right there, is our birthright.

“Trust me… I’m from the Government.”

Part of the anti-vax problem stems from lack of trust in authority and claimed expertise. It is part of the American Dysfunction, that we expect to be lied to, gas-lighted, taken advantage of by those who are meant to protect and serve. We have witnessed and suffered too much corruption, too much plain incompetence and malfeasance. These are not necessarily under-educated or stupid people. They simply and passionately do not trust what they’re being told by authority.

This is also a reason why people don’t vote, why they resist education and deny science. These are people whose choice as they perceive it, is to collude with those who abuse them, or refuse to lie down and take it: to be dumb suckers or weak victims, or courageous rebels. 

I am not saying these ‘solutions’ are justified, I am pointing out the repercussions of authority consistently abusing its power; of out-of-control capitalism cynically shaping what we think we should want and have; of corporate profit-over-people strategies of withholding information and outright lying to take advantage of our ignorance; of power-institutions whose first purpose is to build and protect the institution and create pliability in the people whose money will fund the perpetuation of the institution, whether it is governmental or religious or educational.

The solutions lie in our own power to question, to learn, to be aware. We have to ask the right questions, we need to diligently seek answers and sources of information that are free of corruption. We need to critically assess what we’re told, to consider well the credentials of our sources, and their true interests.

We need to know where to go to educate ourselves when the government-managed educational system lets us down. We need to read, to do our own math, to do our own research, to find and recognize reliable sources so we can check up on who is telling us to give them our energy, our money, our support, our trust. Understanding the basics of scientific method, we can see where the ‘scientific authorities’ go off the rails, to catch the misinformation whether it stems from incompetence or design. We need to use our distrust, to drive us rather than to shut us down. We need to make sure our children also know.

Fourth of July, 2019

I have mixed feelings this Fourth.

You who read me here, you know I am a practical progressive, believe in compassion and justice, and utterly deplore the current administration’s  delusional justifications for its program of malicious mischief. With the anti-Americanism rampant throughout Trump’s cabinet and appointees, it is embarrassing to be an American, these days.

It is shameful that more rational and humane voices are drowned out in the mob’s chorus of nationalistic fervor. These years will be named in history as the era of White Supremacy empowered by massive ignorance and greed. It is the era of toxic capitalism, as evil a thing as the toxic socialism: they both create chaos in their extremes, in which there is nothing but growing desperation for the majority of American citizens; and desperation is a root cause of rising suicide statistics, of escapist entertainments and distractions, of losing our grip on civilization. 

But that’s not the whole story.

We are in a time of wakening, of growing awareness of the beliefs that have bound us to tribal thinking, and every day thinking, caring, and the acceptance of responisbility move us towards a higher level of civilization than technology has ever achieved on its own. 

I read a quote yesterday, an assertion that America’s true greatness lies in our ability to see and correct our faults. Adding that, however far from them we are at a given moment, this nation strives towards the ideals stated in the Pledge of Allegiance, the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, I agree.

I believe that this mad era will pop like a noxious swamp bubble, that we will claw back our humanity and wisdom; for another generation or two, the best of what we are will override the worst, until our children’s children’s children have forgotten what we are remembering now: that it is our responsibility as adults and as citizens to keep an eye on the flow of power and to keep it from bursting its boundaries and flooding catastrophically again. That will no doubt happen again, because there is nothing like success and well-being to fuel complacence, and the taking-for-granted of blessing earlier generations bled for.  

After all, we have been here, exactly here, before. If you doubt it, do some research on The Gilded Age. There are some excellent documentaries on Amazon Prime.

So today, the 4th of July, 2019, I will be figuratively and literally be turning my back on Trump and his imitation of power, his imitation of the authoritarians he looks to as role models. I keep faith with those who think and careand take on the responsibility to rise above the swamp sucking at our feet. Every day, more of us awaken to the atrocities this administration perpetrates, and there are more of us than of them: all we have to do is vote, and vote smart. 

That’s what this day will be about for me, today, and tonight, every fireburst in the sky will be light blasting away the darkness.

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Defenseless under the night
Our world in stupor lies;
Yet, dotted everywhere,
Ironic points of light
Flash out wherever the Just
Exchange their messages:
May I, composed like them
Of Eros and of dust,
Beleaguered by the same
Negation and despair,
Show an affirming flame.

****************************

(excerpt from WH Auden’s SEPT 1, 1939)


HELLO!

After several years of blogging on a paid site–http://blogit.com–and a few years editorializing on Facebook, it’s time to go beyond those limited landscapes and head cross-country.

What I publish here will reflect my own considered opinions, beliefs, and philosophies derived from a lifetime of experience and observation. My intent to stimulate reconsideration of cherished old beliefs–whether to update or confirm–in myself and in my readers. I am happy to discuss, clarify, explain my ideas with courtesy and respect to anyone who approaches with courtesy and respect. That we agree is not required, but civility is.

If you are inspired to post manifesto-style comments, please get your own blog, and only summarize your point(s) on mine.

If you are moved to share excerpts of my writing, please ask first.

CIEL