http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/15/opinion/brooks-lets-all-feel-superior.html
“In the 21st century liberal utopias are showing theirs: belief in deregulation, freedom of the market and the drastic reduction of the place of the state have led our world to the brink of a general disaster that we are still far from sure of having overcome – the financial and economic crisis, and now a political crisis with the ruin of states.” – Yves Charles Zarka - http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/the-meaning-of-utopia/
For sometime now, I have been thinking about my anger at the political right. As a contemplative and advocate of “do no harm”, being angry at the angry is self defeating. Non-the-less, like it or not we each have a part in this outcome. What part will I play? In exploring the nature of the mind, the way we think-feel is at the root of what manifests in our world. What does that have to do with the crisis we find ourselves in globally? Everything.
This brings me to my take on this article from the New York Times. I see the Tea Party as a 21st century liberal Utopia. As a projection by those that are feeling out of control and seeking to get control. It is misguided and I agree with the author, Yves Charles Zarka in the article above:
“Ought we to despair of utopias? I believe so, in as much as utopias aim, in one way or another, at perfection in the form of efficiency, happiness and justice and by calling for a qualitative, anthropological and ontological transformation in order to get there. In this they deny human finiteness – that is, the always imperfect, chaotic, irregular and accidental character of the human condition.”
So, in closing, accepting the character of the human condition is the first step to understanding what can lead to a happier existence.
When it is the most difficult to sit,
is when I need it most.
There is no intimacy in intellect.
Where is intimacy to be found?
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Conscientious objection and the courage to resist.During the first half of the show we speak with Dave Hilsheimer (Vietnam veteran) and Will Rauschenberger (Conscientious objector) John Welch discusses his draft resisting experience.
On the second half of the show we speak Army Private First Class (PFC) Nasser Abdo,he is engaged in a struggle against religious discrimination and for freedom of conscience in the US Army. PFC Abdo is seeking a conscientious objector discharge from the military based on his religious beliefs as a Muslim, but his unit has instead decided to try to force him to deploy to Afghanistan. We are urging all people of conscience around the world to stand in solidarity with Nasser Abdo.