Are we Blind, Afraid, and Conquered?

Voices

We see the images daily.

Angry voices calling out for justice.
Yet, the justice that's called for differs with each voice.

Some call for the end to police killings. They raise banners with pictures of the dead who were silenced by those in control.

Some call out for the police to be more aggressive. To silence those whose voices differ from their own. To end the socialist take over.

We stand aghast at the violence and pain that has no outlet except for violence. Dr. King said that “a riot is the language of the unheard.”
Why do we continue to suppress the voices we disagree with.
Why are we not listening?
Why are we not talking?

Voices on both sides cry loudly with heartfelt belief knowing they are right and the other side wrong. Where has this come from? Why is this happening now? What is wrong with people?

The answer is Fear. Fear is the motivator.

In the Dark…

Over the years, the goal of our political leaders has been to provide a comfortable reality. They pay us lip service while bowing to special interests whose money speaks louder than we do. Their voice is green. Our voice is transparent. As long as they say what we like to hear, we digest it and move on with our lives.
The next tweet.
The next headline.
The next song.
The next post.

We follow blindly. We accept our blindness and shout by saying nothing, knowing that “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.” But the eye we think sees all is blind. We simply stumble along behind them as we walk towards the cliff. They are blind to our actual needs. Blind to our pain.

Those in power divide us as a people to keep us down. They separate us to keep us chained to our perceived happiness and comfort. They keep us apart by saying the poor are less. The rich and beautiful know more. Are More.
They separate us by saying, “Look at that person…
Look how they act, look how scary they are.
They will take what you have.
They will steal your jobs.
They will steal your money.
They will take your life.

Those who see the lies know the opposite is true. Yet, the lifetime of lies and fear ingrained in every voice we have heard precipitates and confirms our worst fears. They are coming for you…

Fear is the fuel of our nightmares.
Fear births fear.
Fear motivates us.
Fear drives us.
Fear lives.

Fear itself is simply a physical manifestation of our perception of danger, real or imagined. Those in power know this. They feed on it. They use it to keep us apart. Fear drives the wedge between who we all are. They fuel these flames by sowing doubt, mistrust, and uncertainty.

Whisper

Above is a man carrying a flag. What do you see? Is he angry for being kept down because of a socio-economic barrier in which he can never even try and achieve the promised dream we all share?

Above is a man carrying a flag. What do you see? Is he marching in anger to protect the land he loves? To keep those in power who think the way he does? Is he angry at the perceived loss of values in our country?

The news and information shared daily from thousands of news outlets across our nation via TV, Radio, newspapers, blogs, video, tweets, posts, Facebook groups, subreddits, and memes lie to us. They shape our thoughts. They cast the molds we live in. We feed on the suspicion and distrust they present and hope it never happens to us.
This is the alternate reality in which we live.
This is America in the 21st century.
This is who we are.

Fear

Frank Herber stated:
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

What we fear is the unknown.
We fear uncertainty.
We fear the lack of control.
We fear those we do not know.
We fear those we think are going to take something from us.
We fear those who think differently than we do.
We fear being outside the crowd.
We fear these things because we are taught to fear.
We are trained from a young age to fit in.
We must not be found outside the bell curve.

No More

Those who see this facade for what it is, speak in a soothing, yet disciplined tones. We calm those we cherish. We speak the truth to those we hold dear.

What conquered fear? Love.
I am not a Christian in the modern sense of the word, but I know truth, is truth. John states in the bible;

“There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear.”

We must eschew our fears. We must be strong, bare our arms, and show our strength. We must unite as one voice, one people, as one world.
Not to take. Not to steal. Not to force compliance. Not to kill.
Not to separate. Not to form a cosmocracy.

To help one another. To show respect for our differences. To understand each other. To help those who fall. To feed those who are hungry. To clothe those who lack. To shelter those who are lost.

Children

It is time we evolve. Move beyond our baseless fear and doubt. Grow into the fully mature individuals we dream and aspire to be. We have endured witless fools who would see us chained to our fear for far too long.

A few have stood and seen that good and right can prevail. Remarkable ones who do not fear the truth. Those who would seek to lead, not to hoard power, but to walk ahead, and show the way.

Lincoln stated;

“…We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

The better angels of our nature can conquer our fears through knowledge, love, and understanding.

(Yes, I know this feels like a rant or manifesto or some such thing, but I write to release the ideas that come to mind. Although it not, pretty, witty, or wise, it's part of who I am and what I believe we can become)