A return to morality (essay)

[geek2785]

first time trying this out - sharing with strangers. let me know what you think
thanks to all,

From the very beginning of this great nation, these United States have had a “moral” backdrop to all social welfare policy that has. and continues to be, highly influenced by a religious schema of deciding what is “right” and what is “wrong”.

The following paper is not an attack on religion, or of this country. It is a calling out of the people who have turned the ideals of this nation’s foundation towards their own selfish ends.

That so many resources and so much perceived power are held over heads of the growing numbers of our fellow human beings that go without; food, shelter, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, a sense of self and all things intrinsically valued by our nature. That we still to this day struggle with social reform and equality for all people is a terrible tragedy, and I blame those who are responsible.

Be it; education, health care, equal rights for all human beings, we are constantly begging for some scraps to get by from those with perceived power. “Please give us money to feed my children, please give us freedom to be happy, and please give us some hope that our children’s lives will be better than our own.”

Some would argue that the American Dream is unattainable. That we are nothing more than organic pain recording devices plummeting towards oblivion. I say that they are wrong.

It has been proposed by scholars and religious leaders that through either; God, evolution, or creative design we have been given the capacity of self –awareness for a purpose. I say that purpose is not to be controlled, but to choose our destiny.

I say that now is the time to stop asking for what we as human beings need and scream out that; we will not be trampled upon, our sons and daughters will have a better life than us, that our mothers and fathers will be able to be taken care of in their old age, that we as individuals have a divine right to all of these things and more. And that we can choose to make things right.

I speak of divinity, but all around me I see people driven by greed. Driven by the frivolities that those in power have “given” us. Fortune and fame are the amoral drive of so many young men and women that I am often sickened by the delineation from our natural capacity.

That even the separated balancing nature of the our minds; the left being the analytical rational side, and the right being the imaginative side are thrown out in the pursuit of something we don’t have a choice in.
1.Logic and reason are absent in the world I see around me, because a logical person would beg the question of “How can so many stand by while so few dangle some sick notion of “the American dream” in front of our faces?”
2. And what of the imaginative side of our minds? There has been nothing but a lessening of value in the importance of creativity in our culture. The arts, in all forms; enrich life, encourage creative thinking, and make people question why? So why are the arts always the first thing that gets cut from school budgets? Why do the institutions of learning in this country not encourage learning, but rote memory and compliance?

If what our minds are capable of is broken down into; logic and creativity, then how come we live in such an amoral age? Where has morality gone?

Was it ever there?

If you think that we are a moral people then I would say look at what we did as a country to; Native Americans, African American slaves, Hispanic Americans, Asian Immigrants, and what we still do to “out – groups”; women, homosexuals, people of different race, persons with mental and physical disabilities.
How are our actions (and our inactions) not an attack on the basic tenants this country was founded upon, freedom and individuality? How can we have either of these two notions if we do not have equality? I would argue that we can not.

This is not a call for revolution. Revolutions are cyclical and inevitably lead back to the same point where they started. What I am hoping for is an evolution towards morality.

I spoke earlier of the religious schema this country was founded upon, that would be Christianity. I know who and what I believe in, and I sometimes cringe at what I see going on in Christ’s name. And even if you are not a Christian, I know that you too cringe sometimes at what is going on in the world around us.

People are persecuted by their; religion, sexual orientation, gender, physical and mental ability by other people. Does this not strike anyone as insane? Human beings are judging in mind and persecuting in action other human beings, how can this be? What world have I been born into where a man or women are killed because of what?! Because of what they believe? Because of the color of their skin? Because of who they choose to love?

How can this be the world we live in?

Because someone looks, or acts, or believes differently than me, how does that make them different from me? How does that give me the right to judge them? No human being has that right.

At times I blamed “they” or “them” for the horrors I see in the world around me. Those individuals who have twisted the ideals of this great country and played upon good people’s decency to get to their places of perceived power are I have judged as evil. But I was wrong to blame them, because I believe that we are all of us (that includes “them”) born with the capacity for goodness and decency.

And that true evil is not perpetuated by evil people, but by good people who stand by while evil happens…and do nothing.

In truth there is no “us” or “them”, each individual in this country is responsible for the amount of good they do or do not do. Each individual is responsible for their own inaction while evil happens. I try not to judge anyone as being right or wrong; in point of fact I feel nothing but compassion for most people, and that includes you the reader. You are sitting here reading this and the biggest thing standing in the way of you reaching your full potential does not come from the outside world, it comes from fear. Not fear from some corporate CEO, some ill gotten president with delusions of grandeur, or terrorism. Your fear comes from inside of you; it does not come from the outside in. It starts inside of you and because it starts inside of you and is a part of you, I offer you the reader a challenge.

Take ownership of your fear, confront it and master it. If you can do this, you may fail or you may be great, but you chose to be those things and you did not let your fear choose for you. Fear is a part of you and when you let that fear run your life, you give up your freedom of choice to it. You blame it on those with power, or those without.

Some might argue that those with perceived power have manipulated society and that there is nothing that you, the individual can do. I present the following to points as arguments that this argument is invalid.

1. Those in this country with perceived power (the affluent upper class) are more afraid of you the reader than you are of them. The people with perceived power in this country are afraid of the growing numbers of lower class rising up in violence and taking everything. And so the upper class blames the lower class as being lazy and they are angry at us for asking them to give up what they have “earned”. Their anger comes from their fear that someone else besides themselves controls their destiny.

2. Those in the country without power (the lower class) are afraid of all the things I mentioned earlier; poverty, oppression, feeding their families, having their livelihoods in the hands of people who are only looking out for their own selfish interests, working our whole lives at jobs we hate so we can support those we love. And we the lower class blame the upper class and say that they control us and we are angry at them. Our anger comes from our fear that someone else besides ourselves controls our destiny.

Both times I mentioned that “anger comes from a fear that someone other than ourselves our in control of our lives”. Neither of us, the upper class or the lower class is in control. Look at the state of things; war, poverty, unemployment, lack of faith in government all of these things and so much more are a result not of “us” or “them”, but are a result of the fear we (all human beings) feel. We all gave up our freedom to fear willingly, it is through our blaming of others that we relinquish our responsibility to get that freedom back.

I know that somewhere deep within you, part of you knows this and struggles each and every day to do what is right, to live life without regard for fear. And I understand how you feel, that you want to stand in the face of insurmountable opposition and yell,
“FEAR I AM YOUR MASTER AND YOU WILL NOT CONTROL ME!”, but most times you don’t because you are too afraid.

We all walk around each and everyday telling ourselves how free we are. I say that we are not, because if one person is a slave, then we are all slaves. I would say that we are slaves without a master, but that is not true. For so many of my brothers and sisters out there, for me, the master is fear.

Not fear of failure, but fear of how truly great we are. Fear of standing up and being totally alone in doing so and saying to the world, “I am not afraid”. But the world is not what we are afraid of, we are afraid of ourselves. We are afraid of failing and more so, of succeeding. And that fear paralyzes us and makes us want to feel safe. It makes us want to feel connected to one another, so we don’t stand up, we stand down when evil men do evil things to our brothers and sisters. We as a nation have our solidarity, we are all part of something great, and that greatness is our tremendous fear of standing up and making a change.

But I tell you that I am honestly not afraid. Because I know that we are fundamentally the same, you and I, and that if I am capable of greatness, then so are you. And that someday, hopefully soon, the change will start.

It will start when we stop letting our fear, keep us down. It will come when there is an internal return in each in every one of us to morality and compassion for our fellow man. It will come when instead of fear and anger; there is love in our hearts. And it will start with self love, with the ability to look at ourselves in the mirror and say, “I love you for who you are”. This change will not happen over night, it will be gradual. It is my utmost hope that as you read this you start to think, and question, and ask why, and above all else start to explore who you are. We all want the same things; equality, freedom, safety for ourselves and our families, and peace.

Start to face your fears and doubts about what you are capable of. You are capable of so much greatness that….I don’t know what more to say.

Stand my brothers and sisters and be free, or don’t. I and so many others will be waiting here for you with open arms when you are ready. And we will continue to try and show you the way, but I hope you realize that it is you and only you that ultimately has the freedom to choose.