Tag Archives: social disruption

At What Cost?

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

October 3, 2022- The obviously disgruntled man, having finished his meal, offered his solution to what he viewed as the incompetence of those working in social institutions- in essence, ‘Put them out of their misery’. Of course, he was watching, with a puckish grin, to see if I showed any sign of being shocked. I was not, and did not.

The extreme “solutions” being put forth by certain elements on the fringes of society are given more cachet, by many people who know better, than they will ever deserve. The result, if their impulses are transmuted into action, will be a severe disruption of society-and will make January 6, 2021 seem like a walk in the park. It will also not end in the way they think.

The man in question is not in a position to bring havoc to bear on many people. He is homeless and disabled, and no doubt, those factors contribute to his animus towards people in positions of authority, in business as well as in government. We, on the Monday evening feeding crew, work to at least provide a measure of solace to those who have known nothing but grief, from a good many who are in decision-making situations. Anger, especially among those who are fairly well-educated, but who have been dealt a poor hand, does not spring out of nowhere. The man quoted above knows his Bible, chapter and verse. He also has watched many videos on the Gaia Network, and has made some connections between the two.

Misdirected or misapplied knowledge, from any direction, can bring about changes in society. Yet will the changes result in the betterment of society, or end up costing us all far more than even the perpetrators of those changes bargained.

“The betterment of the world can be accomplished through pure and holy deeds and through commendable and seemly conduct.”-Baha’u’llah

Truth to Power

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Posted by on in collaborating, Education, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Striving

February 23, 2022- A week after Ottawa, the world saw images of Climate Strikers blocking access airports in Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. This time, the focus was on ending food waste, which the group sees as contributing to global warming.

It occurs to me that there is an increase in the number of people engaged in socially disruptive public demonstrations, in many more countries, over the past eleven years. This is, one way or another, a shot across the bow of any authoritarian government, or individual satrap. That is good news for authentically democratic regimes. A little constructive criticism never hurt anyone. It is actually very bad news for those who think demonstrations by conservatives are a stamp of approval for their more blinkered, retrograde policies. There will come a time, should a reactionary or revanchist government come to power in the U.S., that the authorities will step on the toes of the mobs who put them in the driver’s seat.

Then, the parting on the right will turn to parting on the left, again. This was true in France, circa 1795-7. It was true in Spain and Portugal, in the 1970s and was certainly the case in the unraveling Soviet bloc, from 1985-1993. It will be the case again, as hyperactive curbs on individual rights are always the result of a wall being raised between those in power and those on the street.

What is also happening is that the political center, often mischaracterized as “sheep” or “The Silent Majority”, is finding its voice. The recent recall of three socially hyperactive members of the San Francisco School Board was largely effected by those who were neither Right nor Left, but just fed up with some ill-conceived actions or announced plans, such as renaming schools presently bearing the names “Abraham Lincoln” or “Paul Revere”. There will continue to be increased scrutiny and activism, at all points on the spectrum.

I see it as a collision of mindsets: Those who think an elite can do the best job, on behalf of the people, and those who have confidence in the collective judgment of an informed electorate. Keep speaking truth to power. The elitists may actually learn something.