Letting Go

“The best way to live is to be like water, for water benefits all things and goes against none of them.”

~ Verse 8 of the Tao Te Ching

 

The events of today have made me realize that I am still very much attached to my beliefs.  When they are questioned, I rationalize them.  When they are challenged, I defend them.  When they are ignored, I cling to them all the more.  When someone does not believe as I do, I attribute it to ignorance or folly.  And I do so without ever seeing my own pride.

 

So it struck me as rather hypocritical to claim to have an open mind and yet be judgmental towards those who do not have an open mind in the same way that I do.  Who am I to judge?  I claim to be open-minded and yet reserve my judgment for those who do not question the source of their beliefs, or who disregard the poor and needy, or who are drawn to materialism and the race to have the next best gadget on the market.  And yet these same people are more than these things; they may have valid opinions and beliefs that I can learn from, ideas that will broaden my own worldview…  but I write them off because their attitudes do not match my own.

 

When did I become so arrogant?

 

The Tao says, “The Sage puts his own views behind, so ends up ahead.”  In order to accept all people – to be truly and genuinely open-minded – I need to let go of my beliefs and all those things that I use to define myself, to make myself appear different from everyone else.  I have fallen into the trap of seeking identity in division; I have become so enamored with the idea of social revolution that I view anyone who opposes me with contempt; I have been attempting to impose my will on the universe even as I speak of embracing the uncertainty of nature and destiny.

 

So now I need to unlearn my beliefs – or what I believe are my beliefs.  I have to let go of my preconceived notions of what I think is Truth.  I have to let go of the very concept of my self, so that there can be no attachments and nothing to attain – only clear sight and a life lived in accordance with the nature of things, moving in harmony with the present moment, always knowing the truth of just what to do.

 

There must be no I.  Only that which is.

The New Patriots

“All machines have their friction…  but when the friction comes to have its machine, and oppression and robbery are organized, I say, let us not have such a machine any longer.”

~ Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience

 

Who decided that rule by the majority is the best system of government?  When did this become a tradition?  After all, when power rests in the hands of the majority, it’s not because it seems the fairest to the minority or because the majority is most likely to be right – Copernicus and Galileo could attest to that.  It’s simply because the majority is the strongest.

 

Justice cannot be served by a system based on majority rule, but by people of conscience.  You might argue that a government has no conscience, and you would be right; but a government made of conscientious people is a government with a conscience.  And this means cultivating a sense of respect not for the law, but for the right – laws never made people any more just, and those who respect the law most can be easily made into agents of injustice when the system itself is unjust.

 

Even the idea of voting for change is suspect – another way of sustaining the tradition.  Voting is like gambling with a slight moral tinge to it; we vote for what we think is right and against what we think is wrong, but the moment we consign our consciences to the majority we have given up genuinely caring about what we believe.  We cast our votes, hoping that the right will prevail, and we grumble about it when it does not…  but we are, essentially, willing to leave it to the majority.  So it turns out that voting for what is right is still doing nothing for it.

 

But it sure makes a lot of people feel good that at least they expressed their good intentions in public.

 

I can’t say that I’m content to leave these decisions to the mercy of chance, or entertain the feeble fancy that the right will prevail through the power of the majority.  I can’t say that I have a lot of faith in humanity – there’s not much virtue to the found in the action of the masses, because far too many people are content to simply perpetuate a system that they’re comfortable with, serving their country not as people, but as machines.  If only the majority of people were also people of conscience…  but they’re not.  Not yet.

 

It’s ironic, really…  I’ve never been proud of this country.  I’ve never really felt an attachment to any one place – maybe a lifetime of traveling and wandering the globe has given me a different perspective on things, a sense of belonging not to a single country but to the Earth as a whole.  That’s part of what motivates me now.

 

Wherever I've gone, I've seen problems.  We live on a fractured and damaged planet that needs one country to stand out as a shining example of What Could Be; one place to set their own affairs in order and show the rest of the planet a better way.  To change the world, we must change a country.  To change a country, we must change the system that controls – or, in this case, hinders – that country. 

 

As for what country undergoes this revolution, that’s entirely irrelevant – except that I live in this particular one at this particular time, so I see no reason why I shouldn’t just start with this one.

 

I don’t really know where that leaves me, though.  I believe that this country can become one based not on prejudice and materialism, but on interdependence and unity.  I believe that a true patriot is one who is committed to building his or her country into as perfect a place as it can become, and who resists any government or system that hinders this social evolution.  I believe that the best government is that which governs not at all.

 

It’s a bold vision, and I’m willing to work for it.

 

But first I need to find others who believe as I do, to awaken New Patriots who aren’t willing to let the majority or the government stop us from making this country into what it could become.  If we are to serve the country best, we must resist any force that tries to stop us from making change for the better.  To do what’s right, we must break the laws that support injustice.

 

It’s a sentiment best expressed in the words of Captain Malcolm Reynolds from the movie Serenity…

 

I aim to misbehave.

Handlebars

It’s rare for a music video to inspire me.  So when I discover one that does, it’s an event that requires comment.

 

The video in this case is for the song Handlebars by the Flobots.  Even if the music isn’t quite your style, the video itself is a powerful and poignant work of art that speaks of the state of society and the human condition.  It is saddening, and yet inspiring.

 

When the day comes that my government finally goes too far, I hope that I have the fortitude and depth of faith to stand up for what I believe, to defy the powers that be no matter how damning the odds, to raise my fist to the sky and cry out for freedom.