CHASING TRUTH

"The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple."  ~Oscar Wilde

"The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off."  ~Gloria Steinem

I decided long ago that blind faith is not where it’s at – that everything is open to investigation and if questions arise, not only should I search out the answers, but more importantly, I should ask the questions – oftentimes, out loud.   I determined that I would allow my discoveries to shine the light on the very essence of my being and allow new truths to upset the apple cart of my fixed beliefs.  I knew I would not fall apart.  And guess what?  I didn't.

However, I've alienated friends and acquaintances over the years. That makes me sad.  I wish it were not that way.   But the truth is throughout history there have been people who took an unpopular stance within their circles.  They changed.  They veered away from the status quo of their groups.  The changes in them made people angry…and perhaps scared.  It is hard to be around someone whose transformations threaten the hub upon which your life is built. 

It is frightening to face the dissolution of a core belief.  And so, even in the face of overwhelming evidence, many people will cling to them because the are the bedrock and center of their lives and their loss is unthinkable.  But I've found that releasing beliefs that don't work or make sense is freedom, albeit frightening at first.  I've been through it.  Once you let go of the fear, the freedom is incredible...the freedom to search out truth.  And that's how we were made.

I've never really become accustomed to the evaporation of relationships.  And though at times with some relationships, I've actually felt relief, I'm mostly just sad.

THINGS THAT ARE

If you’re human, every so often a realization hits you or your paradigm gets shifted.  It happens when a small fissure of light cracks the through a hard surface where a new truth dwells.  When it occurs you have a choice – a split second where you can choose to freefall into that light and explore the new knowledge or rapidly blink it away and then it’s gone.  Nothing has changed and you’re none the worse...or so you think.

I believe it happens time and again to most of us.  Often we avoid the tiny splinter of light because somehow we know it will change us and that can be scary.  And it’s a lot of work too.  We have to examine it and try it on. It may feel tight and restrictive or it may not fit well with the rest of our intellectual wardrobe.  So we let it go and assume that we know enough of the truth to get by. 

As for me, at times I have boldly stepped through and looked at the “thing that is” squarely and honestly and have acknowledged it, allowing the restructure of my perceptions.  It can hurt a bit at first.  And it’s troublesome, illuminating new reality and shining light on the other pieces of my paradigm that are skewed and need to be modified. 

Still, other times I’ve blinked my eyes back into focus on what I already know and believe. I’m comfortable with it and I don’t want the disruption to my reality - one that already sounds good in my head. So sadly, for that time being, it’s gone.

I like to think that I am more the freefall type at least most of the time. I like to think that I become more so as time goes on in my life. I’m open, involved, free-thinking, passionate and compassionate. Yet I’m amazed with the realization that occasionally, I still do the psychological two-step with my rational mind, hanging on to obtuse beliefs and feel-good philosophies regarding peace, love and the brotherhood of man.

I'm not saying that the idea of peace and brotherhood are foolish notions -rather, and obviously, that they are not easily achieved. They require hard work and commitment on the part of men, religions and governments. In the smaller spectrum, they entail listening to others and opening oneself up to different realities.  They involve letting go of everything you think you know to look at reality through another’s eyes.  Most of all, they require plummeting in to the light of truth when it presents itself and exploring with candor and courage the things that are.

IMAGINE

We are a species filled with imagination, resourcefulness and creativity.  We create from what we envision. 

We're sometimes gullible.  We can believe in almost anything.  Different groups, different beliefs -  we place our trust in the government, USDA, FDA,
EPA and the AMA, just to name a few.  We believe in faith healers, televangelists, psychics and mediums. 

Some believe in a "rapture" wherein everyone who is a true "believer" is one day caught up into the heavens to be with God, or that Jesus Christ is coming back on a white horse.  Others believe in 7 virgins for every martyr for their cause.

We swallow info on every fad diet that comes down the pike.  We'll try every miracle vitamin product, wrinkle cream and exercise dodad that finds its way to the market.  We're gullible man!

And yet, we pray for peace and promote war.  Imagination run amuck.  That's not right.  Why can't we create peace....imagine oneness....the brotherhood of man...non-violence.

Well, I think that this is the side God's on........see below.

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

~JOHN LENNON

DICHOTOMY

Reading the news this past week brought serious questions to mind. I’ve been thinking about my concept of this country – our country, the United States of America. The most common model portrays a young upstart, revolutionary country. A land of freedom filled with promise. A land pursued by immigrants who paid for freedom with their blood, sweat and tears. It’s a gritty, magnificent supposition - an inspiring story. We love that story and have built our patriotic self-image upon it. But assuming that our concept is subjective as it surely is, there must be an element of fiction to our narrative that we’ve failed to acknowledge. Voices from outside our circle of wagons call out the incongruities but we ignore them.

I’m no different. For most of 50 years I have been inundated with a paradigm of the United States as the “greatest country in the world.” But frankly, these days I’m baffled. I cannot reconcile that which I’ve heard all my life from the reality that I am seeing in our world…our country in particular. I’m referring to the dichotomy between the image of our young, progressive, innovative, forward thinking, tech savvy, cutting edge nation and the “burn them at the stake” mentality that we also espouse. How in the world do we reconcile this? Fact is…we don’t even try. For the most part, we are totally oblivious to it. What’s more, we don’t really want to know. We have our story and have created our collective self-image. Don’t mess with it and don’t mess with us! It’s much easier to spout the platitudes we’ve heard and accepted without question since we were babes. And God help the person that tries.

It’s been said that the truth shall set you free. I believe that statement with all my heart and I’ve been on a quest for the truth for some time now – maybe my whole life. Still, I’m always taken aback when confronted with the seeming hypocrisy of our collective and egoic image of us as a people and nation. I’m just not satisfied anymore with accepting facile narratives of the American way. And what is the American way? It’s a pretty subjective statement don’t you think? Wikipedia describes it thusly: “The American Way is a term for the way of life in the United States.” It “is an expression that refers to the lifestyle of people living in the United States of America. It is an example of a behavioral modality, developed from the 17th century until today. It refers to a nationalist ethos that purports to adhere to principles of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." It has some connection to the concept of American exceptionalism and the American Dream.” And yet, whose way of life is it expressing? Whom does it represent?  The homeless and indigent? Which way of life are they referring to?

I’ve been thinking a lot about these issues while grappling with my own beliefs and mores in the last few years. What is unmistakable are the inconsistencies in our shared, and again collective national image. How can something that is broken be repaired if one does not concede that it is broken. How can we be evolving while living in the dark ages?

A few of the issues that got me thinking this week were capital punishment, racism, “don’t ask, don’t tell," and war.

In this past week, a woman was executed in California; the first execution in five years in that state. Not really that unusual unless you consider the barbarism of killing someone as a punishment for crime…in this purported “Christian nation.” Other countries decry our bent on this most extreme of punishments and yet, we continue. What is our reason for this? How do we justify the taking a life? Do we use the Old Testament bible – an eye for an eye? Do we use economics? “It’s too expensive to take care of them for life.” In fact, it’s barbaric, archaic and very sad. There is no peace in it. What is the truth about this behavior?  Why do we continue to do it?

Here’s an article you might want to read from Miami Herald journalist Leonard Pitts – Take an eye opening ride on the racial profiling Turnpike. He is reviewing a book authored by Joseph Collum about racial profiling in America – one small demographic and human selection of America specifically. It’s an appalling look at a sad reality for many people of color today . http://www.freep.com/article/20101001/OPINION05/10010325/1322/Take-an-eye-opening-ride-on-the-Racial-Profiling-Turnpike

But that’s just one little slice of our racist culture. While not as overt as it once was, racism still permeates everything from our socially unjust food system on one end of the spectrum, to the veritably insane reaction to the election of a black president. There are excuses on every end of the spectrum as well. It’s so much easier than facing the truth about ourselves. Bigotry lives large in the United States of America.

This past week the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Law repeal failed to get the 60 votes needed in the house for the repeal to go through. This farcical law did nothing for homosexual Americans except allow them to serve in the military under cover. In fact, over 13,000 were kicked out of the military since the law went through. I would say I’m incredulous but this is the same country that still executes criminals. Not only are the civil rights of homosexuals being ignored, they are camouflaging it under the pretense of “preserving the sanctity of marriage. Why?  Because it's an abomination before god?  Kind of like defending slavery using the bible as was done decades ago using what?  the laws in Exodus?  People continue to pick and choose what works for their "Christian" agenda.  Where is the truth? It’s much easier when something makes you uncomfortable to find a way to justify your reaction to it.

We’ve spent years fighting a war that was based on lies. We’re still in Iraq and in active warfare in Afghanistan. No one talks about the lies anymore.  We're fighting a war on terror. Picture Jesus in a helmet and flack jacket carrying an American flag at the front of the battle. That's the basic unspoken but underlying representation of American military action in many circles.  A war backed by God.  Really?  I’m amazed at how our “Christian nation” justifies our imperialistic tendencies. Where is the truth?

We are foaming at the proverbial mouth over illegal immigrants and yet, we are a country of immigrants. We came, we conquered and we exploited the real owners of this country who now live on small parcels of land, impoverished and virtual slaves in the greatest country in the world.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. People are starving to death here in the United States. They are dying for lack of health care. How is this possible?

But that’s not comfortable is it? So, we just fall back on the patriotic jargon that dulls our senses and our hearts.

The American dream…aptly named. Is it possible that we exist in our own fairy tale? I can tell you this; if you’ve been born and bred here, it is a difficult thing to not buy into the rhetoric. It is drummed into you from birth. But, if you look past the patriotic idiom; past the religious oratory; and past the stubborn desire to cling to what may be a dream/fairy tale, you may begin to see truth – if it’s truth you’re looking for. Something needs to change and telling the truth is the only way it will happen. Truth is demanding, but it will set you free.

Food for thought:

“If America wants to stop terrorism, it needs to stop terrorizing the world.” ~Paul J. Balles

"A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices." -- William James

"We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are." - The Talmud