Only two dozen men~those who journeyed to the moon~have seen this view of Earth. You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, "Look at that, you son of a bitch."
~Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 astronaut
~Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 astronaut
Someone posted this picture and quote on Facebook the other day, and I couldn’t help but repost it. Immediately. Because I’m just sick inside, and I honestly don’t think I’m alone.
Perhaps because I live a relatively closed off life, I think I see things differently. I see them just the way this astronaut saw them at that moment – from a place far removed from the turmoil in the trees, perched on a cliff far outside the forest. I see a bigger picture – one divorced from all the divisions among humankind as they proceed to screw up a perfectly good planet.
Understanding that I, too, am one of these humans, I am quite prepared to take responsibility for my part in all this. And since I am, it gives me the right to pose the same question to every one of my fellow humans.
Question one for you to ponder: Are all men created equal, as defined by either your Creator, your religion, your government or your constitution?
Well, no matter what camp you come from, if you are an authentic person, you really have to answer yes. Even an atheist will have to give biological credit to the function of the species. Every human is an amazing work of art; an amazing machine, and has a seeming limitless potential.
Then how is it we can give a mere pitiful glance in the direction of Somali parents having to abandon their dying children in the desert, and express pure outrage over someone wanting to take away your union’s collective bargaining rights?
How is it that we can eat our continental breakfast while reading about the riots in London, but press every panic button on the controls when a hurricane comes ashore and threatens our real estate?
How can we view a few losses to our portfolio as something on par with having no food, no water, no nation to call home?
Obviously, we are affected by what is in the sphere of our influence, the fabric of OUR lives. But the fact is that what we’ve all been trained to do now for the last generation or so in America is to believe that we are somehow more important than other people. Not just us as a nation – no – us individually. And while we are generous to a financial fault at “helping” these third world nations, we are not doing it because we think it’s really all that important, and we certainly don’t do it correctly. Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to send Hitler some money to care for the Jews in the concentration camps, now, does it?
But let’s back up the train. Let me guess that you read this and find yourself exempt. No – not me! I am the epitome of a caring, Christian, loving, person, who cares about the world situation! Yeah…me, too. But honestly, I will be far more freaked out when my cell phone bill arrives with an extra $50 on it than I will be over reading about a widow who left two of her not-quite-dead children under a tree “to their God”, because she only had enough water for the baby on her hip.
This is simply not REAL to me. It’s not happening in my back yard – hell, it’s not even on my continent! If it happened in America, we would tell the bitch she had no excuse and we’d sic Child Social Services on her ass and throw her in jail! Why? Because we have access to things like, oh, food and water. When was the last time YOU were utterly grateful for that?
And now we have…Uh-oh…moral relativism. Is it EVER right to leave your sick, dying children under a tree and keep walking? Think with me now my logical friends: It will depend on the variables within the circumstances! One woman we want to embrace and comfort – the other we want to crucify and see burn in eternal hell. For the same act.
Now this is where I come in. I’m a writer. It’s what I DO. And what I can do within the scope of my art is generate feeling in you. I can write the above story in any setting I want, and I can make you mad as hell, or make you cry your eyes out. I can manipulate the words, the context, the quotes I use…the possibilities are endless to an author.
As such, however, I have to ask myself from time to time, “Am I being honest?” Is what I am writing serving a nobler purpose on the planet? Or am I just fearmongering? Am I spiteful, mean, arrogant, rude? Am I seeking to ruffle feathers or calm a sea? And it goes even further than that. Let me explain.
I spent 15 years separated from the main stream of society. I watched only Packer games on TV (as this was through the 90s, and they were winning). I was living a conservative, Christian, communal, self-sufficient lifestyle. I had a whole bunch of kids. We preached to a whole lot of other Christians. But we remained separate. I have always been a reader, but certain subjects are off-limits to a good, practicing Christian. So for years we dined on a smorgasbord of conservative, Christian literature and recorded media. A steady diet of the Bible and thou shalls and thou-shalt-nots.
Then, for reasons outside the scope of this writing, it fell apart and I found myself on the wrong end of the Christian gun. Imagine my dismay when I found that virtually everything we read, believed and lived was only one side of the picture.
“No excuse for divorce” doesn’t quite roll off the preaching tongue as well when you are the one who tripped and fell over a legitimate reason to end your marriage.
“Never a reason for abortion” comes looking for its validation when it’s YOUR kid that comes home raped and pregnant and says she doesn’t want to carry the child. Suddenly, YOU are the one accosted at the clinic for merely seeking information. It’s quite the mind-fuck to run into your past self on the picket line, let me tell you.
Oh – this list is endless. But you see, I read it, and I believed it. I swallowed it without chewing. I was, in fact, manipulated by the writings of others, owing to the fact that I never set foot in the “other camp”. All I knew about “them” was what I was taught about “them”, whoever “them” may be.
Love the episode of South Park (which, by the way, critical thinkers owe it to themselves to watch a few episodes, despite is crassness) where the neighborhood know-it-all confidently states, “Having never done drugs, I KNOW they are bad!”
I came to a realization that the mindset that shaped my life to that point has been myopic at best, and terribly judgmental and harmful at worst. It propagated an “Us vs. Them” mentality that truly has no place in the human world. We are ALL…US. And I also had to accept that my warped education had everything to do with a steady diet of the same stuff – day in and day out, wrapped in ever-so-humble packages of biased writings with God-credited jimmies sprinkled on top.
So let me ask you…how do you think that made me feel, knowing that I could be so snowed by what I read? What I ended up believing? We believe what we read, and we judge before we have all the facts, don’t we?
Lest you do not think this is true of yourself, let me ask you what your feelings are on the way the President is handling the current financial crisis we face? How about the stock market? How about Lindsay Lohan, or whatever fallen starlet is in the news this week? All I need to do is read some of the feedback on the news feeds to see that we all have developed an opinion, one way or another. But ask yourself – how did I come to this opinion? Do you KNOW Mr. Obama? Have you spoken with him? Did YOU get a chance to sit down and listen to him explain what he is or was thinking at any given time? I doubt it. Do you know if he’s a really upstanding guy with compassion, or an abject asshole? No – you don’t. You know only what you have been told. What you have read. If you read something from a supporting journalist, he’s the new Messiah. If you read something from the right, he’s the antichrist. The fact is, you do not have enough facts to know what his personal motives are for anything.
And the same is true for most of what you see, read, and hear in the media. And you have bought it. And you have sold it – on your Facebook pages, at your kitchen tables, to your children. My kids came home from school outraged about what Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker wanted to do with the unions to trim the budget. But did ANY of them even know how a union functions? Nope. But apparently their teacher did, and she let all of her students know that not only was SHE right, but that Scott Walker was wrong. About what, they weren’t quite sure, but the mood in school that day was dour, and therefore it HAD to be true.
I read another post on Facebook today that had to do with lying: “Lying has to be one of the most destructive and deliberate forms of manipulation there is. It destroys trust. It destroys friendships, families and relationships. It destroys credibility. It shows contempt, disrespect and/or hatred for others.”
I couldn’t agree more – and my next thought, which I elected not to post was, “And my, how our government and media lead the way for us to do it better and better all the time.”
Now bear in mind that I am what I fondly think of as a political atheist. I think (my opinion, here) that career politicians are NOT the ones for ANY job in politics. My solution to so much of what ails this country is for our representatives to serve pro bono. Oh, sure – give them a stipend so they can do their business in Washington, but I’m thinking that means meals catered by Doris’ Chuck Wagon Catering, accommodations at the Super 8 and coach class airline tickets. Then we will see who REALLY wants to represent YOU.
The reality of this is that no one in politics represents you as long as their job represents that by which they maintain their standard of living. Their first priority is to maintain their job. And if they have to suck up to the rich guys who pay for their campaigns to keep their job, then they WILL do this. It’s not like I’m making this up. It’s the nature of the beast.
They will sit and discuss the policies affecting our 1-star citizenry at 5-star restaurants. They are in touch with “the people” alright – when seen from the lofty hills of Washington as a mob – as cattle – as sheep – as that which they must keep happy in order to keep order. They don’t know YOU, your address, your little street, your job, your family. Nope – you are part of the collective crowd. They don’t care about your union or your insurance. They care only about how to keep the member of their contributing sponsors and party leadership happy. Unions contribute to Democrats, so the democratic candidate has to be “pro-union”. It doesn’t matter if half the constituency is working in the private sector. The big business in this country is largely Republican – and thus would rather not have their taxes raised if they are to donate as generously to the republican candidate – and therefore, the pressure to vote against taxation of the “rich” is in their best interest. None of their decisions are necessarily in our best interest.
In fact, the point I am making is that we have ALL been duped and LIED TO. Whatever side of the line you fall on, you’ve been suckered and scammed. You’ve been lead to believe that this nation is on the mend, rebounding, that all this consumerism is a good thing – and just keep on consuming! That we are America and that we will go happily on forever and ever! As if the history of the world has no fallen empires in the story?
When you look at all the wars that we are currently engaged in – and I define war as anywhere you feel you need to put our military muscle – you have to wonder why? Whose idea was that? Did your congressman or Senator send out a little flyer and ask whether or not you were really in favor of sending our troops into yet another country to engage in business that is decidedly NOT ours? Naw – they just served you up another American Idol episode, and you didn’t think about it. No – they are not out of touch with us, people. They know exactly where we will be on any given evening: Glued to the tube, or the news – and force feeding you commercials that will undermine your very person, not to mention your way of life.
Ever wonder why you don’t see commercials for super luxury items? Because the people who buy them aren’t watching TV! They are still at the office at 10 p.m. swinging one more deal, or sleeping because a day in their life starts early. You don’t see John Deere Tractors advertised either. Because farmers who need them and can buy them don’t have time to watch TV either. No – they know the demographic, and if YOU are among the proletariat who is engrossed in the evening news, the nightly television faire, and the commercials therein – might I suggest that it might be time for a little self-examination?
You are being lied to. You are being manipulated. Read the above quote on lying to find out what those who are lying to you are actually doing. And let me ask you…are you okay with that?
In more than one family in this nation, there are across the table a democratic teacher, whose paycheck has been eaten into in unexpected ways, and a republican real estate broker, whose business is down – due to no fault of his own – a full 80%, and whose tax bracket has him strapped to pay his taxes. Both of whom just want to keep food on the table and the kids in decent shoes and clothes. One accuses the other’s party of attempts at sabotaging the other. And so it goes on, as they both spout the rhetoric of the current media bias. And this is where I want to do an astronaut maneuver, grab them both by the scruff and zip them a quarter-million miles away to see what I see: We are all on the same team!! What are you doing by perpetuating the idea that it’s “us” against “them”? There is no them! There is only US.
I will stop short of going on about a conspiratorialist view of history and the future…educate yourself and draw your own conclusions about that. But my original question to you, my fellow human being, what is YOUR responsibility in all of this?
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