Who Are We Waiting For?
I am in the process of reading a fascinating book just now. It is "The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community" penned by David C. Korten. Anything but an easy read, it demands time and concentration from its readers, but if you're willing to meet those demands, you'll get an incredible amount of food for thought in return.
Meant to explore the desperately needed change in society from Empire, the organization of society through hierarchy and violence, to Earth Community, a life-centred, egalitarian, sustainable way of ordering society, it looks into areas of history and social understanding that many a fundamentalist would rather shoot themselves in the foot than acknowledge. To do a single book review of this volume would be an incredible undertaking, since there is so very much material packed into its pages. A single review would need to be more like a major essay in order to do the book justice. I'm not quite ready to tackle such a project. I strongly suspect, as well, that readers willing to read such an essay might not exactly number in the legions. I may therefore make reference now and then to a single passage from here and there in the book as it relates to what us currently transpiring. If my doing so were to pique your interest and send you off the Chapters or the library for a copy, I'd feel good about that.
I was out on my balcony today, soaking up some of Toronto's first strong rays of spring sunshine, making my way through Chapter 15 when a single sentence sprang up off the page and grabbed me. Short and sweet, it says only, "We are the ones we have been waiting for."
Only is the right word to talk about how short and simple the sentence is. It is anything but the right word to use to talk about its significance. Four days after the massacre at Virginia Tech, this sentence is a potential powerhouse of inspiration for those trying to make sense of it all. In the midst of all the brouhaha about global warming and how to save the environment, those nine words are a mother lode of guidance for those trying to figure out their part in it.
The question of what part to play in society, what responsibility to assume for the social good is a quandary for so many. Too many retreat from it, hiding under the comfortable banner of "them and us". This view of the world is lamentably divisive. It's such a convenient way for people to excuse their lack of involvement in worthwhile causes; such a convenient way to lay the blame on someone, anyone else, and walk away from the problem feeling a righteous indignation about "them" and their failure to do the right thing.
Who are we waiting for to take responsibility for societal ills that need addressing? Who exactly are the people we label "them"? Whoever it is, you'll notice they're not doing a very good job of ameliorating the alienation and rage that leads to Virginia Tech or Columbine. Could the reason for that possibly be that there is no "them"? Are we "them"?
I have always believed there is no substitute for involvement and no justification for lack of it. Trying to alleviate loneliness by going shopping is never going to work. It still leaves a hole, a vague awareness of something missing that you can never fill up with purchases. Not even the most expensive labels can put a bandage on the wound that is alienation from the others of your species. You're forced to buy more and more, and it never is quite enough.
How can we fill in that hole? How do we go about taming to beast of rampant consumerism? It must be the fault of "them" and their unjustifiably selfish refusal to fix everything that is wrong with our lives. This gnawing malaise that won't go away no matter how many times you go to the mall is the reason why so many go to church. They are there to look for something with which to fill the hole. They may be seeing it right in front of them, too, in the person of the gentle Christian Jesus, or the wise Buddha, or whatever other benevolent being they turn to. They may be seeing it alright, but if it's couched in terms of giving to others, too many turn away. They will purposely fail to put the answer into practice in their life because it puts the weight of responsibility on their shoulders. It takes away the magic wand-waving propensities of "them" and makes "us" the architects of our own satisfaction with life. Especially for so many raised in the context of a religion that demands their strict obedience to an authoritarian father-god, they can not understand the idea of tackling society's ills themselves. If god does not fix everything, they will leave the status quo alone and simply continue to complain about how bad everything is, while they cruise the malls looking for that must-have purchase that is guaranteed to make them more sexy, more smart, more up to the minute and worthy of the envy of others.
"We are the ones we have been waiting for" and until we, as a whole society see that, nothing will change. There will be another Virginia Tech. You can count on it. There will be a decline in the health of our environment, in the health of us all. The only way to stop the gradual decline of our whole world is for all of us to get involved. Society needs a major overhaul and we are the only ones who can do it.
Meant to explore the desperately needed change in society from Empire, the organization of society through hierarchy and violence, to Earth Community, a life-centred, egalitarian, sustainable way of ordering society, it looks into areas of history and social understanding that many a fundamentalist would rather shoot themselves in the foot than acknowledge. To do a single book review of this volume would be an incredible undertaking, since there is so very much material packed into its pages. A single review would need to be more like a major essay in order to do the book justice. I'm not quite ready to tackle such a project. I strongly suspect, as well, that readers willing to read such an essay might not exactly number in the legions. I may therefore make reference now and then to a single passage from here and there in the book as it relates to what us currently transpiring. If my doing so were to pique your interest and send you off the Chapters or the library for a copy, I'd feel good about that.
I was out on my balcony today, soaking up some of Toronto's first strong rays of spring sunshine, making my way through Chapter 15 when a single sentence sprang up off the page and grabbed me. Short and sweet, it says only, "We are the ones we have been waiting for."
Only is the right word to talk about how short and simple the sentence is. It is anything but the right word to use to talk about its significance. Four days after the massacre at Virginia Tech, this sentence is a potential powerhouse of inspiration for those trying to make sense of it all. In the midst of all the brouhaha about global warming and how to save the environment, those nine words are a mother lode of guidance for those trying to figure out their part in it.
The question of what part to play in society, what responsibility to assume for the social good is a quandary for so many. Too many retreat from it, hiding under the comfortable banner of "them and us". This view of the world is lamentably divisive. It's such a convenient way for people to excuse their lack of involvement in worthwhile causes; such a convenient way to lay the blame on someone, anyone else, and walk away from the problem feeling a righteous indignation about "them" and their failure to do the right thing.
Who are we waiting for to take responsibility for societal ills that need addressing? Who exactly are the people we label "them"? Whoever it is, you'll notice they're not doing a very good job of ameliorating the alienation and rage that leads to Virginia Tech or Columbine. Could the reason for that possibly be that there is no "them"? Are we "them"?
I have always believed there is no substitute for involvement and no justification for lack of it. Trying to alleviate loneliness by going shopping is never going to work. It still leaves a hole, a vague awareness of something missing that you can never fill up with purchases. Not even the most expensive labels can put a bandage on the wound that is alienation from the others of your species. You're forced to buy more and more, and it never is quite enough.
How can we fill in that hole? How do we go about taming to beast of rampant consumerism? It must be the fault of "them" and their unjustifiably selfish refusal to fix everything that is wrong with our lives. This gnawing malaise that won't go away no matter how many times you go to the mall is the reason why so many go to church. They are there to look for something with which to fill the hole. They may be seeing it right in front of them, too, in the person of the gentle Christian Jesus, or the wise Buddha, or whatever other benevolent being they turn to. They may be seeing it alright, but if it's couched in terms of giving to others, too many turn away. They will purposely fail to put the answer into practice in their life because it puts the weight of responsibility on their shoulders. It takes away the magic wand-waving propensities of "them" and makes "us" the architects of our own satisfaction with life. Especially for so many raised in the context of a religion that demands their strict obedience to an authoritarian father-god, they can not understand the idea of tackling society's ills themselves. If god does not fix everything, they will leave the status quo alone and simply continue to complain about how bad everything is, while they cruise the malls looking for that must-have purchase that is guaranteed to make them more sexy, more smart, more up to the minute and worthy of the envy of others.
"We are the ones we have been waiting for" and until we, as a whole society see that, nothing will change. There will be another Virginia Tech. You can count on it. There will be a decline in the health of our environment, in the health of us all. The only way to stop the gradual decline of our whole world is for all of us to get involved. Society needs a major overhaul and we are the only ones who can do it.
1 Comments:
Well said.
We are the ones we have been waiting for.
That is such a powerful sentence.
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