What Have I Become?

Fragmentation, Discord and Polarization

What are we doing? What have we become?

Is there anything that connects any of us, anymore?  I mean….

I don’t need police; until, someone I care for needs a policeman.

I could give less than a moment’s thought, about healthcare; the cost of it, and the quality of care and its disparities… until my loved one’s need insightful knowledge, that resides inside of the healthcare specialties.

I sure as heck, don’t need an attorney and a judge; until the law closes in on the innocence of my only child.

I don’t need anyone boasting of their Ph.D., such as those liberal and narrow, Academic Institutions to define my intelligence and direction.  Until I need strength and resourcefulness, that emanates from the minds and hearts of those who have focused a lifetime on a specialized endeavor.

While at the same time, as an individual, I seek to leverage higher and forward in our advanced society, by climbing upon the 10,000s — of historical shoulders of great philosophers, scientists or sages that seemed to have touched on lasting natural truths.

Perhaps it is chronic and systemic polarization and discord that I have no need?  Collectively, have we become, silver tongues, with  powerful pens, and family linage, that consistently break rules for some, while ruling and dominating with a perception of terror, such as a militarized iron-hand, who’s personal incongruencies are mind blowing and real?  After all, ‘do as I say, not as I do,’ has become our new normal.

Perhaps what is under my skin, is an economic model that has bastardized Capitalism into materialism and consumerism; that blood lets to levels of finally selling my ‘grandmother down the road,’ for a quick return on my investment?  After all, I must continue to attain topline growth; or our high-volume low-cost model, might not deliver upon its promise. Or at minimum I won’t be able to keep myself in the lifestyle I’ve been accustom, or even worse I might have to find a new J.O.B.

Clearly, our newly identified “essential workers” are not interested in something like ‘my lifestyle’, as they have chosen to be relegated to a societal ‘have not’.  Clearly, they do not possess, intelligence or grit, and thus have forgone the insatiable desire, to procure and use what they provide and create.

Or perhaps what is peeving me, resides in the investment markets, that foster an economy so massively leveraged by a few, whose connectedness shields clarity in identifying an intelligent Wallstreet move?

Dammit, maybe I am annoyed because I need a job, with a paycheck.  I mean, money tightly couples my ability to procure my family’s food, clothing, shelter, health, wellbeing and knowledge/education.

Urg! When does my frustration end?  I don’t need the military, and its weapons of mass destruction, do I? Well, no, at least not until fear, uncertainty and doubt become my new normal; that marches with intention of reducing the rights, privacy, safety, security, health, wealth and power of me, my loved ones, and my neighbors. Oh, for “Pete’s sake!”  It greatly appears that I don’t even know my neighbor!

Know Thyself

The rather pathetic realization, that I am leaning towards at this point,  is that… I don’t know myself.  Man, I have to get a grip. I can change.  I can be Real, Authentic, Genuine.  I know I can, but how?

I can look at my own four walls, and gaze to the floor and ceiling of my own limited views, perceptions and perspective that reside within my  mind, body and spirit. And I can contemplate then with pure honesty; catching myself as I buy into my own cloudy and short-sighted bullshit that I would like to be true but just is not.

Intelligence and insight are possible. Just as growth, expansion, and advancement in the direction of good is attainable. Change comes from within us.  More specifically, within  the hearts and minds of each man.  All man.  Man, as individuals, not some contextual label that groups generalities.

Each individual  is what makes families, cultures, societies.  There is a complete connectedness that is seen and unseen, physical and ethereal.  And it all  informs every aspect of each person on this planet and our nation:  Religion, Philosophy, Government, Healthcare, Military, Corporations, and the Police, just to name a few.

Separate from our Creations?

‘We the People’ are not separate from our creations. Our country is 400 years old, if we mark a start date with the arrival of the first slave ships to arrive with many of our original founders and constructors.  And of course, we are a hell-of-a-lot older if you contemplate our Native Peoples.

The thing is…we exist where we are today.  We absolutely cannot change the past.  I can’t change your past and you cannot change mine. My legacy is my legacy, yours is yours.  And I know for each of us, our legacy is undeniably real.  This is evidenced, by how individually and collectively our pasts, are constricting  our hearts and fragmenting our minds.

Our past is like a data-dip, from a personal data repository.  We access it for materials that we believe will help us to form and inform who we are, how we feel, think, act and to aid in rendering insights for what we should or could do. After all, how else could we possibly compare and contrast, judge the near infinite labeling, dissection and sub-setting, of one against the other?

Contemplating the Words

Have you looked at difference and indifference, judgement, comparison, and/or competition? The words are not the thing.  They are massively complex systems that have been pushed into a rather meaningless overused word. My gut says the way forward resides in deeper contemplation of how they have infiltrated our personal and collective existence.

Furthermore, what does your gut say about how we seem to log and tally reasons to hate, oppress and minimize, rather than to simply find interest and beauty even in difference?  After all, in our advanced state of existence, we must realize that our personal ‘historical data’ renders us only a premonition of reality, with a clarity or resolution, not much better than the black and white fuzz on an untuned TV, right?

Otherness, difference and indifference. Is that the new evolutionary human advancement that supports our specie in strength and acumen? Will this make us individually safe, secure, healthy and strong, intelligent and capable? Will this enable us to excel to new heights, or even simply survive and thrive?

Complex Systems Simplified

Is this the system-of-connectedness to Love, brought by knowledge and insight?  There is no way we are locked into a mess we cannot operationalize and mobilize our way out.  Dog-gone-it, we are individually and collectively better than short-sightedness.  We can know and learn more than any time in our collective histories. We are connected beyond measure.

My gut says, we are better than what is meeting the eye.  I really believe that humanity is inherently good. And that we are advanced, and are advancing.  So, let’s make it in the direction of the greatest good. Let’s do the right things, for the right reasons, because we see no other way. Let’s lead ourselves first, and chose to not follow short-sightedness.

Let’s Go.  This is ours to define.

They key to creative innovation is cross-disciplinary collaboration at the confluence of science/tech, philosophy/governance, religion/spiritual, and human experience.  The answer is Demosophy, Wisdom of the People.  Learn more:  Knowledge is power.