small issues, big issues…

by mnaz

Posted to Poetry and Politics on 2003-08-12 19:55:00

Parent message is 501109
Tackling the smaller issues of how people treat others in everyday life could go a long way toward slowing the “plague”, or reversing it, within large areas/societies. However, such things as borders, geographic separations, cultural/religious differences, language gaps, and economic disparity seem to form barriers to this sort of direct healing. The world is a patchwork of “us” and “them”, and every group has its own symbols and beliefs, and each group knows relatively little about the others, even in this age of (too much) information. And this is why group-wide levels of hatred or fear can escalate so quickly at times, feeding on these gaps in understanding.

So as long as most people (by far) in any group remain slaves to symbols and fear in this way, then they may be manipulated to spread the “plague” across various boundaries in massive, murderous officially-sanctioned bursts, believing they are fighting for their symbol, or way of life…..

This is why I think trying to influence the bigger issues might be important as well as trying to “heal” ourselves and those who are near. You’ve heard the expression: “what if they declared a war and nobody showed up?” A collective shift in consciousness toward the whole over separateness is what’s needed to reduce the “plague” of both large-scale war and indifference or hatred of individuals toward others.

But could the sum of all actions toward “oneness” ever add up to enough to change the big picture?……seems almost statistically impossible….. So I guess you’re right. Start by “healing” the people near you. But maybe also speak out against the bigger issues which would push the “plague” across enormous areas with the false promise “healing” through regularly-scheduled mass-destruction. Easier said than done, I suppose….

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