I've done this rap before, and people were bored by it then, too. :-) But since, given Jung's proj- ection theory, the person I'm preaching to is probably myself, I'm going to give myself a good talking to anyway. Lord knows I need it. :-)
It's about this notion that there are things *wrong* with the world, and that many of them need to be changed. Absolutely *nothing* wrong with this; I tend to resonate with and identify with folks like Gandhi who devoted their lives *to* correcting a few of the things about the world that they thought were wrong. But I tend to identify with the guys *like* Gandhi, who presented new ideas of what is *right*, and didn't spend all their time (and waste all their energy) focusing on the things that are wrong. And it's all about Judo. I studied it for a time when I was young, and even got fairly good at it. And one of the things you learn from Judo is that when you're in a match with someone, what you *long* for is an opponent who spends all of his time and his energy focused on being *against* you. They're the easiest to beat. Why? Because they're off balance. All of their attention is focused on aggressive moves, moves *against* the opponent. And that, almost by defi- nition, throws them off balance. They shove at you, trying to throw you to the mat, and all you have to do is step out of the way and stick your foot out and *they* are the ones on the mat. That's how I view politics and the world of social change. A lot of politicians (and armchair politic- ians) spend most, if not all, of their time talking about what's *wrong* with the world, or with the current system, or with the people who are running it. Whenever I meet one of these people, I tend to say to them, "Yeah, I get that. You're against this and this and this and that. Good on you. Now, what are you *for*?" The answer is usually stony silence. They've never even thought about it. And that's why so many revolutions and movements for social change fail. They're only *against*. They don't know what they're *for*. And so they are in exactly the same position, IMO, as the Judoka who is constantly pushing against the opponent trying to throw him, and in reality is throwing himself off balance and putting himself in a weak position. What happens with revolutions? Historically, the worst thing that could ever happen to them is that they succeed. Almost every one that *has* succeeded has then imploded on itself. The fiery, passionate rebels focus for years on getting rid of the Bad Guys in power, and finally succeed. After a few purges, they get rid of every one of them. And then they look around and think, "What next?" And, because they've never given any *thought* to what comes next, they start looking around for a new enemy, someone else to be *against*. Most often, historically, that is members of their own revolution, who suddenly become the "new enemy," and have to be purged. That's why I write off any politician who is only *against* things, and can never bring himself to talk about any of the things he's *for*. He's weak, and off balance, and very possibly doesn't even *know* what he's for. He's never had to. The voting public are such suckers for righteous anger and blame that they'll vote him into office just on the basis of what he's *against*. But not me. I'm waiting for a politician who is willing to take a stand and tell us what he's *for*. Because if he wins, he might just have some notion of what to do once he's in office. The politicians who are only *against* won't have a clue. That's why things never change. The newly- elected "anti" politicians just become the next generation of Bad Guys. I sorta feel the same way about criticisms of spirit- ual practice and religion. These things are easy targets; much of the world's misery has been caused by them, and much of it still is. But as noble as it is on one level to be *against* some of the lesser practices and beliefs one sees in religions and spiritual traditions -- and as EASY as it is to take that approach and fall into the rut of Flaccid Mind Syndrome and rail against them -- I'm lookin' for the individuals who can suggest a different approach, one that might work better. Those guys and gals might just have a clue, because they've put some thought into what they're *for*. The ones who are only *against* -- give me a break. Flaccid minds the lot of them. So, with the political season upon us in America and everyone and their dog talking about what's wrong with the world, I'm waiting for someone who is some- what more balanced and is willing to tell us what they think might be more right. And in the realm of criticizing religion, I'm equally unimpressed with the Professional Atheists who rail against religion and the ex spiritual junkies who are willing to talk, talk, talk our ears off about everything that's so wrong with things as they are. I'm waiting for someone who is willing to go out on a limb and suggest a few things that they think are right. Maybe, if I keep preaching to myself long enough, I'll be one of them. Maybe not. Maybe I'll sink back into Flaccid Mind Syndrome myself, and just wave around a limp dick while convincing myself it's a hardon. I hope not, but it's a possibility. It's just a possibility I don't relish, so I'm trying to put more thought these days into the things I'm *for* than the things I'm *against*. It's much more difficult. I start thinking about something that might work better than the current ideas, and then I see problems with *it*, too, and I'm right back to the drawing board, with nothing positive to suggest. But ya gotta keep trying, because if you succeed in thinking up some new ideas, they might actually change the world. For a while, anyway. Gandhi did, for a while. May there be more like him, and may I someday be one of them.
