Common Sense Revisited

Philosophy Forums Society, Government, and Economics
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[i]Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following pages, are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favor; a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom. But tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason.

The cause of America is, in a great measure, the cause of all mankind. Many circumstances have, and will arise, which are not local, but universal, and through which the principles of all lovers of mankind are affected, and in the event of which, their affections are interested.

-Thomas Paine
Philadelphia, Feb. 14th, 1776.[/i]

[size=117]American World Leadership [/size]

The reason why America is an international pariah
Plans for a mass change of American consciousness
and the mindset required for World leadership

The Redundant American Dream
The American Dream, which has served to draw millions from around the world to our shores, has fallen into general international disrepute. The ostentatious nature of the wealth amassed by one nation over the past three centuries, and the seemingly vulgar appearance of a nationalistic ideal that encourages each of its citizens to aspire after millions, despite the obvious signs of environmental distress, while billions suffer from hunger, war and disease in the Third World, is viewed by the rest of the world with an unhealthy mix of envy and distaste. Our materialistic lack of self-restraint has poisoned the minds and hearts of thousands of idealistic young people in the Middle East who are committing desperate acts of suicide in an effort to halt the tide of America’s expanding global influence.

Universal condemnation of a once laudable ideal raises questions of how the American Dream differs from that of other nations and what its significance has been in the larger field of global development. A short investigation into an obscure point in America’s developmental history might bring to light an interpretation of the Dream that has not perhaps been fully evaluated.

The Influence of Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine’s denouement of the divine nature of royal appointment was a crucial aspect of his pamphlet on Common Sense. It helped to break the Iron Age spell of superstitious loyalty to the crown (which had originally evolved during the Bronze Age of totemic worship and ancestral reverence) and galvanize the colonists into war.

Not enough emphasis has been placed on the positive/negative dynamic of how that radical break from class-conscious thinking initiated, in itself, the mass change of the common man’s mind-set that has so radically altered the course of mankind’s cultural development.

The Positive Dynamic
With equal rights to accumulate kingly wealth decreed to be the entitlement of every man, Paine was directly instrumental in inspiring an entire nation of commoners to let go of their former social taboos, which had made it culturally unseemly for the common man to aspire to the power and privilege of the nobility – to go ahead and dream the dream of kings and unrestricted wealth – without an inhibiting sense of disloyalty to one’s birth rite. This surge towards a new level of mass consciousness set millions of Americans on the road to become the world’s economic super-power.

The Negative Dynamic
Unfortunately, exposed only to the negative aspects of the nobility, Paine left out a vital leavening ingredient in his socio-economic equation. Never directly aware of the finer cultural points of sophisticated self-restraint, together with and sense of compassionate respect for the hard life of the under-class, which defines the essential spirituality and evolutionary purpose of creating a noble class of leadership, which is designed to set a standard of the finer aspirations of life, in his denouement of the King and the House of Lords, Paine cut the umbilical chord of America’s direct connection to its cultivated lineage of noble example.

The International Result
Consequently, in the great rush towards prosperity that Americans have enjoyed, which has created over the past two centuries some three million super rich families, and some twenty million more who are very rich, and who all may be as wealthy as any king ever was, they are for the most part, devoid of a cultivated sense of nobility and the larger social responsibilities such privilege status entails… Thus an essential in-bred sense of self-restraint and cultural influence that vast wealth and social status is supposed to exercise over the nation, is not a significant factor in governing the commercial behavior of the American psyche or in its political expression.

It is this brash rudeness that the more cultivated Old World is sensitive towards and which undermines its admiration for the power we have developed.

And so the unrefined rough and tumble wealthy young nation of America finds itself today in much the same place as young European nations once did. It is dominated by rudely ambitious baronial Corporations, each fiercely defending its territory against rival takeover wars, with their eyes on international (imperial) expansion at any expense. The commoners who work the mass production lines have to pay through the nose to rent or buy tiny plots of God’s Earth just to build a house and raise a family. As the inevitable gap between the 6% rich and the 94% poor widens, the working man has to deal with tax collectors, corrupted politicians and zealous religious ministers, while supporting a vast, heavily-policed, government bureaucracy and is left wondering and puzzled why he is viewed as an international pariah.

American World Leadership
For good or bad, America is the acknowledged super-power on the planet. It is in the position of supreme dictator. In order to initiate a global concert of efficient planet management, the world desperately needs strong and focused leadership. The congregation of all the cultures of the world in America, is an evolutionary rite of world leadership.

Nobility is in deed - not in title.
What America needs now, in order for such a dictatorship to be benevolent and all-inclusive, is to inculcate a noble outlook in its next generation of young people and educate them to see not just America, but the whole globe as a single estate under the stewardship of the entire human family…

The New American Consciousness
In this new atmosphere, is it common sense to suggest that America is ready for a refinement of its National Dream? Is it ready for a new revolution? Is ready to break its atavistic hold on a redundant Constitution? Is it ready to disband the petty partisanship of an ineffectual Congress? Is America ready to set higher standards for the selection of an equal gender Senate. Is it ready to dismantle an out-dated education system? Is it ready to refocus its short sighted, short-term corporate business practices? Is America ready to initiate a whole new consciousness of the collective Self and learn the business of planet management?

In the coming days, weeks and months, this communication will attempt to give some idea of what ideals and practicalities the new dream should be focused on.

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[size=109]The Cost of Ignoring the Noble Impulse[/size][size=109]

The social imperative for cultivating a permanent class of higher ethical conduct as a standard example of good national behavior.[/size]

Mankind is intrinsically good, and if shown the Good, will do good. Despite cynical arguments to the contrary, this has been the belief and teaching of Pythagorus, Socrates, Plato, Loa Tse, Buddha, Confucius, Christ and Mohammed. It is the central spiritual principle upon which the cultural foundation of modern civilization has been built over the past two and a half millennia…

Dis-Honor at the U.S. Open

Several nights ago millions watched on TV as Andre Agassi played a tennis match in the U.S. Open against a Greek Cyprian, named Bahgdatis. It turned out to be a closely fought contest. In the fifth set Bahgdatis was floored by a painful case of cramps. According to the rules he was not allowed to be treated. The pro-Agassi crowd screamed for their hero to finish the unfortunate man off. Several grotesque minutes followed as an inwardly confused Agassi repeatedly failed to deliver the coup de grace to his staggering opponent, who limped, and gasped and grimaced as he fought bravely to stay in the game. To the delight of the crowd and the millions watching, Agassi eventually won the match - and in the process, via succumbing to an act of poor sportsmanship, no matter who wrote the rules, it under-lined the failure of Americans, who place so much store in winning at any cost, to understand the subtle meaning of nobility and how important it is to all of us to make sure it is especially present when on public display.

As a reverse example that illustrates this reality, if it had been Agassi who had cramped up and Bahgdatis who took advantage, it is almost certain that the Cypriot would have been booed by an outraged crowd from start to finish. If Agassi had found it within himself to heed his inner impulse, ignore the rule-book and cries for blood from the crowd and act like a true sportsman, win or lose, America and the world would have been clearly reminded of the fair spirit of nobility that dwells in all of us. The basic fact is that there is no material prize on the planet worth the tarnishing of one’s inner sense of the good. When an entire nation loses that inner spiritual sight for want of good examples, we are in for a world of trouble.

Noble Characteristics

The nobleman is neat and tidy in his person. He rises early, eats moderately and keeps both body and mind fit and ready for any emergency. He has a sound work ethic and is polite and courteous at all times. He is profoundly reverent of his ancestral lineage. He is concerned with the upkeep and improvement of his family estate. He is expected fight for the honor and security of his nation and display an in-bred sense of bravery on the battle field. He sets an example of fair play and of fair dealing. No material bribe can sway him from any act that is not right and honorable. He is a connoisseur of fine art and a preservationist of all that is valuable in both nature and manufacture. He is aware that his privileged position rests on the shoulders of the working class and has a profound sense of affection for them and the hard effort they put into life. He is deeply conscious of his obligation to represent and display all that is godly and honorable in all men.

A new generation of American children can be trained to tread that noble path and the world will be richer for it. All we have to do is refine our dream.

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[size=109]How the United States ended up with a lop-sided Foreign Policy and is playing a losing game. [/size]

[size=109]Contributing towards the well-being of one’s neighbors ensures domestic security. International goodwill is vital.[/size]

America has been forced to look inward and attend to her own domestic policy ever since the revolution. The business of building a national consciousness and extending civilization ever further into the New World wilderness, while catering to an endless influx of the world’s immigrants, is the natural cause of that inward sight. The bloody Civil War and the painful generation that licked its wounds afterwards, allowed the country to resolve a host of internal issues. The resultant sense of national unity allowed America to view itself as a global power.

If Europe and Asia had gotten over their selfish imperial squabbles by the start of the 20th Century, America may well have ventured out into the larger world with a keener sense of respect for other nations and the delicate diplomacy needed to establish lasting good foreign relations. But everywhere America looked the globe was in turmoil - leading Uncle Teddy to simplistically believe that a big American stick could dominate and police international order. This simplistic view of world diplomacy was reinforced by the disgrace of two World Wars. In both wars America was dragged into international conflicts against its will and forced to take sides. Since then America’s disparaging view of foreign powers, as expressed in the United Nations Organization, has worsened, culminating in the present administration’s refusal to sign a number of vital international agreements. The administration further alienated the international community by reserving America’s right to use pre-emptive force when-ever and where-ever Uncle Sam deemed it necessary.

The reactionary result of this bully-boy foreign policy, as we are all painfully aware, is that America has bared its vulnerable under-belly to international terrorism.

Historically, once there is a general sense that that the powers that be are in-sensitive to the needs of the masses, and no serious attempt is made to address it, no nation has ever been able to halt and contain the growth of internal resistance movements by force and avoid a revolution. What is not fully appreciated about the current revolt from the Middle East is that this is not a foreign affair that can be settled by a military invasion and forced occupation. The world has shrunk and at the same time become more over-crowded. The shortage or glut of essential commodities is a global phenomenon that affects every-one almost immediately. Communication and transportation is almost instantaneous. Ethnic groups of every political and religious outlook are spread across the globe. The grievances of once-far-off relatives are now made real and immediate via the internet. Cells of dissidents are lodged in every nook and cranny of developed countries. In effect all and any resistance to insensitive government anywhere on the planet becomes internal everywhere.

We are in a whole new global-sized ball game and America is playing via self-centered nationalistic rules that no longer apply in a global milieu. Unless we make a serious attempt to address international distress signals which are in effect internal, history informs us that resistance movements will grow in power and eventually engage us all in a violent global revolution.

We need to re-examine our foreign policy and consider an extreme make-over. If there is to be a global revolution, as all signs indicate, America has the power and resources to make it a peaceful one

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And this coming from a 62 year-old man living on the government dole??? It is late for me, but I will have fun dissecting your claims.

We are not a nobility type folk, actually, we may think the world of many nobles, but disdain the idea that we have nobility. A person often rises to their worth, not the status they are born with. Sure, some are born with silver spoons, but are they noble characters? Some are born poor, gain wealth, and die very young, a shooting star so to speak.

Funny, how you actually believe nobility really cared about the people. The reality is that they only did so to quell the numerous revolts.

Chuckle, you do realize that the nobles come from warrior stock, not the farmer, educated, or cleric stock??? Right.

LMFAO.

Humanity is… well, I will let this go until the morrow. :laughing:

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Magnet,

I enjoyed reading that.

I will comment.

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Actually I am 65. The research for the commentary published in this thread is distilled from 70 international documentary films produced by myself between 1966 and 1988. The programs explored the social and spiritual customs of every major culture on the planet. The total production cost was over 7 million dollars. All of which was generated by myself.

Nobleness in the context of this discourse is equated with character. As previously stated all humans are intrinsically endowed with goodness - or God, as I prefere to think. Thus we are all are innately noble and only need to be reminded of that fact via go(o)d example. Peer group pressure leads us astray.

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[quote=“MagnetMan”

Yes, freedom to create a successful or unsuccessful life. “. Paine discovered that his contributions to the American Revolution had been all but eradicated due to his religious views. Derided by the public and abandoned by his friends, he died on June 8, 1809 at the age of 72 in New York City.”

Hilarious. You clump all U.S. citizens into one bag. Not all citizens aspire after millions, and many are economically self-restrained. and since you claim to live here you should know that. Billions are suffering not because of what the U.S. does, but because of what their leaders do and the deals made with international corporations, not just U.S. corporations. Also, much has been done to clean-up the environment. In SoCal there were daily smog alerts during the 1960’s summers.

The problems in the Middle-East started a very long time ago, and is not nearly as simplistic as you make it. The poor are being roused into hating the U.S.A. and Israel to divert attention from the government’s numerous failures. They are also pissed because we support Israel.

The taxes without representation were the trigger. It has little to do with your lofty ideals. Again, TAXES were the trigger, and from I see in your posts, you call for more taxes to care for the entire world. How about going after the corrupt leaders who keep their people in poverty to control them. How about the resource rich Mexico rid itself of its corruption. How about the oil rich Middle-East ante up a few coins to help the people. Why do you always expect the U.S. taxpayer to foot the bill?

Chuckle, this started a long time before the U.S. Revolution. The nobility lost a great deal in prestige during the battle of Crissy and Agincourt. The French nobility took a major beating by the commoner using pikes, bows and arrows. The nobility were also economically hammered as the merchant class arose and gained influence.

LOL, we had no choice but to practice self-restrait, our early colonists struggled, and during the time of the American Revolution, similar the current situation, we had a few very rich, the middle-class, labor-class, and the poor. As far as European nobility are concerned, read regarding Lord Rochester, Lord Byron, and many others. There is a somwhat inaccurate movie The Libertine regarding Rochester. Did you know the Churchill’s father died of syphilis, and his American mother had an affair with the king of England. Come on, brush up on some history and try to be a realist regarding your lofty, communist ideals.

You claim to live in Nevada, there is a Gugenheim you can visit. Ever been to the Smithsonian? The east coast has much more culture than the west, or the midwest, but we do have culture, and our universities are considered the best in the world as we are more creative. Many U.S. tourists travel the world and are frequently exposed to culture. Hell, even though I am from a working class family, mum often took me to plays, museums, and both my parents took the family to Europe several times. I even sailed on the QEI, and Queen Mary when 10. Sure, we have many poor who are not exposed to much culture, but schools often provide field trips to plays, museums, recitals, all at taxpayer expense. The kid has been to Europe many times.

We are known to be very blunt, and often do not play the PC game, a game intensely disliked by many.

The U.S. common person is far better off than many in Europe. Many made bad choices, threw away many opportunities, choose gangs, etc. Is this our fault.

You discuss taxes, yet you call for more taxes.

Right, our taxes pay for the world? We are not a dictatorship.

Communism and Socialism do not make for super prosperity.

Try reading a few economic texts for insight. Try Friendman’s many books regarding economic trends.

:unamused: #-o

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One can appreciate the sentiments of those who rush to defend all that is good. wise, honorable in America. For that reality, among the majority of people, is true. Of all the counties in the world, I chose this one to spend the rest of my life in. It is where my chidren are born and so, I hope will their children. This country is the refuge of all who seek hope and a new life. Much of thre world finest have been attracted to these shores. America has evolved as the natural leader of a world that sorely needs inspired leadership. I believe this implicitly.

This thread is devoted to a discussion on America’s roll as a world leader.
There is an ugly international perception regarding America and the America national psyche. In a world of information still dominated by the mass media, perception is everything. We have to deal with that reality and find a way to alter it, no matter how distorted it may be. We cannot ignore it, for the world has become a dangerous breeding ground for groups who feed off misconceptions.

There are many issues in foreign relations that America can improve on. There are also a number of serious domestic and international problems that we are handling ineffectually, perhaps even dangerously. The object of this thread is not to pat ourselves on the back, but get to know what it is that we need to know about our imperfections and how to improve our performance at home and on the world stage.

As one who has observed this country both from within and from without for six decades, and who has been exposed to every kind of racial and ethinic viewpoint imaginable, I believe I have some valuable global input to share.

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Magnet, again you are dumping the world’s problems on the US’s shoulders. We simply cannot care for the world, and have enough trouble taking care of ourselves. Do you know anything about economics? It appears not. You are way too idealist, try to be a bit more pragmatic regarding the issue. Also, we spend a big chunk of change to help the Third World, our poor, and many of our very rich do as well. :sunglasses:

Try to yell about the corruption in the Third World first, then yell about the USA.

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[size=109]America, as seen through Islamic Eyes[/size]

Most Moslems are exceptionally devout religionists – significantly more so than the average Christian. . They share the Old Testament with us and pray to the same God their ancestor, Abraham, did. They do so for up to five times a day. They revere the teachings of Mohammed as expressed in the Koran. Mohammed helped to wash away the shame of Hagar and Ishmael’s deception and restore their pride in self. They see Jesus as a fellow Semite and most study and admire his prophecy and his teaching. Most Moslems fast on Rhamadan. Millions try to make at least one difficult pilgrimage to Mecca before they die. Traditionally Arabian scholarship has always been of a high order. Millions of their youth are expected to memorize whole sections of the Koran by puberty. Their literature is exquisite. Their calligraphy is perhaps the most beautiful in existence. Their mathematics revolutionized the Roman system. At one time they ruled most of the civilized world.

I am personally intimate with Islam. I have traveled and lived in the Middle East. I have bowed my Christian back many a time inside a Mosque and knelt shoulder to shoulder with up to three thousand men inside a single hall and have felt both the brotherhood as well as the surge of spiritual power that comes from taking part in a mass Islamic observance of Almighty God.

For the past twenty years I have been married to a Middle Easterner who was born in Baghdad. She is the mother of four of my children. She is easily as intelligent as any American and I can vouch for her sense of personal honor and integrity. She is also an American citizen. I have insisted that our family honor her ancient culture by having at least one of our children inducted into Islam. He is now 18.

Since 9/11, millions of Americans have come to see Islam as an evil force. Most of us do not understand why Middle Easterners in general, have grown to dislike us, or why so many of then even hate America.

This is why.

Christian hypocrisy.

Moslems traditionally engage in Holy Wars and see no religious hypocrisy in engaging with infidels to the death. At the same time they are well aware that the fundamental tenet of Christian teaching is based on love for one’s neighbor. We trumpet that our God is the one and only God and he is enthroned in heaven as the Prince of Peace. Jesus urged us, even as he suffered on the cross, to forgive trespasses and turn the other cheek. Yet Christian crusades, civil wars, world wars, holocausts, pograms and religious persecutions have killed more than a hundred fold of God’s children in the name of Christ, than all the Islamic Jihads put together. Even our policy in the Middle East is based on war. Thus, in Islam’s eyes, Christians are outright religious hypocrites who pray for peace on Sunday, go to war on Monday and in the execution of those double standards, show no reverence for the teaching of their prophet.

Sodom
The whole of Islam is aware of America’s debate on homo-sexuality and the ever-increasing leniency of our laws towards it. To Islam the Old Testament explicitly forbids sodomy and God destroyed the city of Sodom because of it. It is natural for many to see AIDS as God’s judgment on sodomites

Gomorrah
In Gomorrah the Golden Calf, Baal, is God. Islam sees America prostrate before the almighty dollar. We walk reverently in corporate cathedrals. Almost every American intercourse is underpinned and calculated by the value we place on money. God is forgot in our mighty trade centers. We gamble with stocks and bonds on the temple floor of the Holy Estate. We are robbing them of their oil. Thus, in Islam’s eyes, the incredible sight of the Twin Towers of Gomorrah literally crumbling to dust in front of the whole world’s eyes, was both a biblical as well an Osama Bin Laden prophecy fulfilled.

Revising Middle East Policy

There are over one billion Moslems devoted to Islam sharing this planet with us. They comprise one sixth of the human race. They are a vital and integral part of the global equation, As such, for all of us who believe that mankind can and must learn to live in peace, and steward this planet as a single family estate, their good will is unquestionably essential to all of us.

If we do not like their view of us, what can we do to show them that they have got us wrong?
Send more troops to Iraq?
Nuke Iran and North Korea?
Continue to plunder the planet’s finite natural resources, with short-term profits as the prime objective
Burn away the last reserves of the world’s precious fossil oils?
Scorn the United Nations?
Refuse to sign the Kyoto protocols?
Ignore the World Court?
Deny Global warming?

Or do we take a reversionary attitude to the way we go about social mores, business, politics and religious observances?

Can educators not realize that by incarcerating children inside classrooms for twelve years and more and concentrating almost entirely on left brain analytical development via rote learning, and not investing an equal amount of time in encouraging exercises in right brain intuitive inspiration, they are not evoking the full ethical and creative potential of the human genius?

Can the homo-sexual community not see the ancient spiritual call to monkhood and nunnery, which those who are born with a transcendent desire beyond basic procreation with the opposite sex have traditionally responded to throughout past Ages, and resist the base temptations of the flesh in order to live an exemplary life of service to God and community? Have not ten thousand celibate saints and mystics attested to ecstatic states that come from religiously-practiced spiritual disciplines that far surpass any produced by the flesh?

Can international businessmen not see the severe limitations that the artificial barrier of money imposes on global development in a new era of globalization – and how the goal of short-term profits keeps two thirds of the world under-employed, even starving, when there is so much environmental clean-up to do, as well as vast new planet-management projects to design and under-take in order to accommodate the exponential needs of our expanding global population, in advanced systems of education, indoor agriculture, vertical city construction, and sustainable energy production?

Can America not see that representative government and jealously-guarded national boundaries in a new era of instant travel and communication, while burdened with a antiquated written constitution that has to be administered and enforced by millions of bureaucrats, has become redundant?

Can Christians not finally realize that the brilliant spiritual insight of Jesus, who stated emphatically, that love and peace, not military might, is the only path to God and is the ultimate answer to world-wide social harmony, challenging as it may be.

Can America not go out into the world with a sincere mission to practice what we preach no matter how reactant the resistance?

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Chuckle, still the idealistic appeaser. You comments regarding Islam is off topic. How about posting it on the Religion site?

How about we make life difficult for fanatics. How about tyrants reform and care for their own people. How about you yell regarding what others do and stop expecting the USA to take care of the entire world.

Again, have you ever read anything regarding economics? #-o

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God knows how uncool it is to keep moralizing on so many issues of both a domestic and foreign nature. Surely a more mature Age must evolve that lies beyond the pseudo-intellectual debates about Church and State and Individual Rights that we are mired in at present, so that we may consciously arrive at a universal consensus about what truly is and what truly is not the right thing to do at all times and places, and thereby get on with the good life that God meant for us with a clear conscience?

The Evolution of Social Complexities that Confuse Moral Issues

Once upon a time, in A Stone Age of family group values, all of us were intuitive Animists, naively aware of the ever-present Spirit of Mother Nature and the need to step carefully over Her thorns and poisonous fangs. Parents instinctively taught their children that it was not a good idea to trespass on a neighbor’s hunting territory. But ever since our evolution into a Bronze Age of clan-based agriculture, mankind has grown up forced to moralize on ever more complex social and spiritual issues. Artificial trespasses were necessary to domesticate Nature and deal with pestilence. A chore based work-ethic had to be introduced at a young age. An Iron Age of national industrialization introduced the moral issues of conscientious craftsmanship and script-based learning. These two New Ages unearthed and permutated a veritable host of seemingly imponderable moral issues. Reliant on the artificial nature and difficulties of script-based communication and interpretation, we gradually lost our intuitive connection with the Good. Shamans and priests had to evolve in order administer to our troubled consciousness. They tried to point out the good from the bad – but they too lost their spiritual insight and became confused and corrupted by the complexity of social intercourse. Consequently, over the millennia, very serious moral issues have never been resolved – not in any of our regional wars – territorial, religious or otherwise.

When we moved on, into a Teen Age of scientific determinism, endless pseudo-intellectual debates began, and the Ages-long evolution of human consciousness got completely out of hand. Tens of millions of words have been scribbled in endless stream of religious scriptures and political manifestos. None of that wisdom has stopped us from engaging in two world wars, or a Cold War, where for forty years two super-powers, both armed with enough WMD to destroy several planets, screamed Capitalist Pigs and Commie Rats at each other. Not a damn thing has been resolved since the godless Soviet Union collapsed.

So we sit today, with half the planet starving to death while the rich continue to argue over the relative merits of our atavistic totem images, our ideas of God and our self-centered political ideologies. Meanwhile a whole new generation of 3rd World teenagers have grown up, prepared to blow themselves and the whole planet to kingdom come.

The Moral Reality

When all of us know, virtually at first hand, that some four billion fellow human beings are right at the bottom of the pile and that a quarter of them are actually living on the extreme edge of starvation and sending their babies hungry and confused to bed most nights, its hard to get laid back, bite into fat Big Mac, and let the cards fall as they are dealt. The grim reality that exposure to the extremes of wealth and poverty forces on one, is in realizing that most of the suffering can be evened out – ‘cause its mostly related to intellectuals engaged in endless pseudo-intellectual masturbations that have no basis in reality, and to a small number of international bankers dealing out the cards.

Evoking a New Era of Common Sense

Nothing is more motivating or creative than living with a clear conscience. That can only happen when one clearly sees the adult nature of giving and the childish nature of exploitation and can appreciate the difference in maturity. America is the sleeping giant that can change the order of business on this planet if it can only wake up to its evolutionary destiny. If the political and religious spin-doctors on the mass media can shut up for a while and if the fat cats in this country can only be shown what real profits can be like if everybody on this planet is fully employed, a world of new opportunities will open up for all of us. .

In the meantime, if anybody reading this post who also feels that a mass change of consciousness at this moment in time is an evolutionary imperative, and who can fill me in with a cooler way to spell out the moral dilemmas and the answers to them than I have presented so far, I will be more than happy to tune in and try a new approach.

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