How true these statements are does not yet register in the consciousness of most men.  To most, this reality is like a fairy-tale that is taking place in some imaginary "other-land"... a land of "Oz".  In truth, however, they are all totally immersed in this vast global tragi-drama that is insidiously and increasingly enfolding them each and every day of their lives.

If it is so, and it is once discovered, might there be any escape from this ubiquitous onslaught?  Is there any hope of re-writing the script?  Is there any reason to?  Is man's destiny written in stone, or does he have a choice?  Must we abandon our roles in life, exit the stage and depart the theater in which these Puppet-Masters have so effectively confined us within our own bewilderment?

Or, is it time that we begin to teach ourselves, and each other, new lines, new roles... begin to ad lib a little here... choose a more dramatic pose there?  Is this not what the idea of independence and liberty was meant to inspire in us?  Is the spirit of freedom in man so dead and gone that we cannot recognize that we have become imprisoned within our own self-imposed feelings of insecurity... fears we are "encouraged" to maintain, of course, by the "strings" that our treacherous Puppet-Masters and their "communicators" hold over us.

How do they do this?  It's quite simple really... we allow them to.  Perhaps we have lost the capacity to see how insidiously evil the actions of these Puppet-Masters are.  Thus, we may be equally incapable of recognizing how our own actions, attitudes and behavior supports and encourages the evil that they inspire in the world.  We must learn to recognize that much of what we are deceived into believing is "good" is, in truth, simply evil in disguise.  We have perhaps become complacent within the idea that "good" is anything which brings us comfort and a sense of security... comfort and security which, in actuality, may serve only to lull us to sleep and distance us from our real responsibilities to life and to the work of pursuing our true destiny.

Avoidance and denial becomes the norm and conflict, anguish and suffering are the inevitably recurring result.  True good is omni-potent and omni-present.  It has no need to "battle" with evil for supremacy.  Evil cannot exist where true good prevails anymore than darkness can co-exist in the bright light of the Sun. There are forces that persistently and temporarily attempt to eclipse the Light and keep us all in the shadows, however, eventually the Light manages to shine through and displaces the darkness.  History proves this to us time and again.  We will never escape this process unless each of us individually and all of us en masse, makes a conscious effort to become more vigilant, more aware of our real circumstances.

Examine where we are once again, friends and neighbors.  In our complacency and ignorance we are once again courting yet another horrific and historic siege of conflict, anguish and suffering upon ourselves and our fellowmen and women.  It is our present responsibility to recognize that much of that which we are persuaded to believe is good is, in truth, an illusion.  Often the first thing to reach our perceptions, like a "costume" (in a puppet show) is something else in disguise.  We are reminded here of a speech made by Patrick Henry before the Richmond, Virginia Convention in 1775.

Why is it ignorant?  Because we all know in our heart of hearts that in order to avoid the inevitable, we must each change something in ourselves, and we refuse to.  Why is it avoidable?  Because, if we were to choose to change, we could escape this continuing pattern of victimization and self-inflicted "enslavement" to wrong perceptions and hence, a wrong idea about things... a "bad" idea which has been successfully super-imposed and inflicted upon a "good" idea in such a way that we can no longer tell the difference.  It is avoidable if each of us chooses to examine this "idea" (the costume) more closely and discerningly so as to reveal the "actor" (the role) within.

You might ask, how shall we change... how shall we regain an appropriate perspective on what it is we are presently being guided into... what must we give up?  The truth is that it is so simple (NOTE: The term is "simple", not "easy") that the essence of its truth will no doubt again be over-looked by most who are informed of it.  How can this be?  The fact is, "change" requires a CHOICE.  What must be sacrificed?  Very little, really!  For those who are able to take the simple guidelines that follow to heart and actually put them into practice, there is hope.  For those who cannot, there will be nothing but "weeping and gnashing of teeth".  We are, as individuals, as a nation, and the world, presently at the frontier of choosing.

A family, a community, a nation, a world can, by way of mutual commitment, successfully govern and guide itself to a higher ideal and purpose if the CHOICE is made at each of the levels mentioned previously.  The guidelines are offered in the form of three simple covenants or precepts by which to live and they are as follows:

• Ever encourage the Highest Good in all your associations!
• Never indulge in activities that may be harmful to another!
• Always cultivate the "Live, and Let Live" attitude!

                                                                          William Makepeace Thackeray

                                                                          Vanity Fair,  1811 - 1863

 

RHB - October, 2001