I have been impressed anew with the colonial emphasis on full, open communications about the issues and considerations of the time leading up to the Revolutionary War. They did not have video equipment of any kind, satellites, internet, or social media, yet they accomplished their purpose.
The documents I have written of and many, many more provided clear discussions, considerations, and opposing viewpoints on the issues of the day. They didn’t use deceit to purposefully subvert citizens, to get them to believe half-truths. I find it incredibly duplicitous and hypocritical for all of the politicians who are screaming “fake news.” They are the biggest producers of such in history, spending who knows how much money on telling half-truths about their opponents. Every little election has degraded into these thirty-second spots, and the unbelievable thing to me is that people believe them. This says to me that we don’t know how to communicate as well as the folks in the colonies in 1776, because communication is a two-way deal with a crucial additional component: understand others, make ourselves understood, and then make meaning of it all. Why all this talk of fake news? You mean we can’t distinguish, can’t respond to and revolt against idiots who seek to manipulate, deceive, and sell us a bill of goods. We can’t put them out of business? You know why? It’s because we have gradually been conditioned to accept and depend on authorities and government to “tell the truth.” I have said it before and will say it again: facts are those things that exist, that are there, and truth is about how we interpret facts. That can be manipulated. And this current administration, including the president and his cabinet picks and advisers, is using this to great advantage, playing on fears and creating paranoia so that no one trusts anyone else. This leaves an opening for him and his associates to be the truth-bearers — of bullshit, of nothingness except skewed perceptions meant to further alienate us, the common people, of the ability to think, discern, and respond. These politicians can’t even handle town hall meetings because they don’t know how to communicate with people who don’t just buy their bullshit on a wholesale level. The danger lies in this: We, the People, are being divested of our authority. The documents I have shared from our founding make it clear that authority derives from us, and even when decisions need to be made, we should know every last single consideration of every bill or issue being debated. I know lines of communication could be established that let our representatives know how they will vote. They have zero authority unless we give it, and we have given them far too much. It’s time to take it back. In the Declaration of Rights, Section 2, we find “That all power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people; that magistrates are their trustees and servants and at all times amenable to them” (124). The fact that this was a major theme clearly communicated at the time is seen in the Declaration of Independence, penned about a month later. In reference to our freedom to live our rights, it says “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of thees ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and institute new Government” (143). And the Constitution begins with “We the People.” We do it. Our elected officials are to answer to us, not only during elections when they shovel the shit our way, but also “at all times” they are to be open to us, to communicate by listening and responding to us. Many complex factors have brought us to this juncture in which we find ourselves, one where we unwittingly have accepted that we just don’t and can’t know everything, that evil lurks around every corner, that we bear little responsibility and we vote for people to do this work. It’s their job. They get paid for it. A quality life is not bound up in who gets paid for what. If we reclaimed our responsibility, we would become more aware, which would make things much safer. We would become more innovative, have more specific ideas to give our representatives. So many things are implied here. And I didn’t even get to the whole idea of voting rights and this ridiculous voter fraud commission. Or giving away other freedoms, freedoms envisioned, promoted, communicated, and won by Heart-energy. The current situation in America is an Ego-produced morass, and we are hurtling towards increasing stupidity of greed, lack of compassion, apathy or inflated mania (a bipolar state on a societal level), and willing slavery. And an elitist, oligarchical power base — democrat or republican — will willingly take advantage of that. We need to grab hold of the power, rights, and freedoms that are ours. Court decisions and laws that have helped to shove us to this point can be reversed. We need to be working individually and corporately to “…secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” We need to learn the basic aspects of communicating in giving, receiving, and making meaning. Blessings!
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I have purposed to finish my thoughts on George Mason’s “Declaration of Rights” coming out of the Virginia Colony on May 15, 1776 and adopted on June 12, just about three weeks before the Declaration of Independence.
I get excited and care about this part of history because the documents reveal to me, through my metaphysical lens, that the general spirit of that time was one energized by Heart. I don’t believe this has happened very much throughout history, and Ego, which plays strongly in us and in the masses many times, will fight to keep us conformed and safe. Even though Ego was operative in the men making the decisions in regards to women and minorities, they chose Heart as their primary operating system. The Declaration of Rights shows this to me, as well as the harmonic resonance of the many other writings at that crucial moment in history. I have enjoyed examining this document because of the elements of it appropriated for the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States. I debated if I should summarize the remaining thirteen sections of it; I already examined the first three. I won’t be doing that, but I think it would be good if you, my friend, looked it up and read it. It’s only three pages to read, but 241 years long. Let me skip way ahead to Section 15 because it applies directly to reading this: “That no free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people, but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles (my emphasis)” (126). If we want to remain free in the brand of Heart-principled liberty we have the opportunity to experience, we should know and apply these works, to some extent. Our freedom depends on us, not the government. In fact, one of my good friends, a history scholar, has made the point over and over that has been borne out every time: people vote and support based on the best deal they can get personally. The parties have created their own tribes based on Ego, pandering to masses motivated by Ego to just get the most they can and stay the hell out of everything else. And the parties manipulate, control, and seek wealth at our expense — pure, unadulterated Ego. Part of my analysis of the spirit behind that time involves this very idea: the colonists, especially the leaders, were willing to give up everything; they were not greedy, grasping, profit-motivated people who thought the “American dream” was all about making as much money as possible and designing the government based on that principle. That is not, has nothing to do with, the greatness of America. It runs much deeper than that; in fact, the image of America as portrayed in these documents by these men runs antithetical to that. It’s not sacrifice, totally, but it is a the willingness to release, sacrifice Ego-self for Heart-truth of rights, freedom, and liberty. (Example: Don’t make policy about immigrants based on how much money and jobs they might cost us.) Living liberty is based on honesty, and we need to thoughtfully know what the nation is about, and it’s not focused on cash flow or no cash flow. We should base our political and governmental decisions on these “fundamental principles” (126). Section 15 makes it clear that a deep spiritual dynamic is what drove the founding of America, and should attend its evolution, if we want to remain free. That brings me to Section 12, because if we wish to stay in touch with the spirit of those days, we need to have knowledge of what is going on in order to evaluate, and the press, a free press, is of great value for that: “That the freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty and can never be restrained but by despotic governments” (126). That’s the whole thing. The right of the press is freedom from government influence or hindrance. The colonists evolving into revolutionaries in those days viewed a free press as another check on possible abuses by authorities of the other freedoms they appropriated for themselves. The authors of these early writings did not expect their work would end up enshrined somewhere; the implication was they were living documents to be distributed and used, documents to help inform and supply means to evaluate, draw conclusions, and take action. We should use them accordingly. My use of this Declaration of Rights leads me to draw a conclusion. This current president of America has attempted from his campaign to now the sixth month of his term to undermine the free press. I have no sympathy for his views, nor do I even have a courteous disagreement. He is not fit to reign, and reign is exactly what he is attempting to do. His assault to silence the outlets of the press that he does not like is truly part of a “despotic government.” The press was held nearly sacred as a primary element in preserving a democracy. Do we really get that? It’s part of our democracy — not a job, not a career, but an integral component of the functioning of this nation. Amendment 1 of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution: “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…” No, congress is not currently making laws, but just in case some do not see it, the stage is being set. Belittling an institution held as necessary for the successful functioning of the government has been purposefully intended to nullify the press and inure citizens to the idea that since the press is fake, then they are unnecessary and restrictions need to be placed on them. I will not even dignify the man called president with an evaluation of his egoic, infantile actions. And I would equally condemn every politician who jumps on the bandwagon of “fake news,” like the governor of Missouri, as ones who little understand what this great America is all about. It’s not about power and law and order. It’s about preserving, protecting, and projecting freedom to live Heart-truth. By the way, the executive orders that have been so sternly stated that suspend laws and judicial precedents of the past, orders that are not voted on by representatives at the national or state levels, are not in concert with the nature of America: “That all power of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any authority, without consent of the representative of the people, is injurious to there rights and ought not to be exercised” (125). I bring this up because I would not be shocked to start hearing decrees about the press. One further note about this is if any outlet or individual in journalism purposefully and willfully leads the public astray, the public should destroy them via complete disassociation, i.e., boycott them. Individual journalists and consenting editors should be fired immediately, as has happened in some cases, but judgments should be based on investigation and due process that the business or industry sets. It’s that special. Let’s get better acquainted with the Heart-energy that formed the basis and drive to establish a country like America, one that could easily embrace a much more global relationship because the most essential right of equality of everyone forms the freedom we enjoy. We should remember that government exists primarily to ensure that. Fashioning agendas and political parties to establish and maintain power are not legitimate governmental functions or even political ones, and that is what we have devolved into in this nation. The best course of action for any of us is to discover Self, create Purpose, and live it — the essence of enjoying life and liberty. This nation was set up for such experiences. Blessings! (All quotes from Miller, Joel J. and Parrish, Kristen, eds. The Patriot’s Reference. Nashville, TN: Nelson Books, 2014. Print.) I want to preface my short post tonight with a few balancing thoughts, and I will mention them again at the end. The thoughts? We all act according to the contraries of Ego and Heart, either of which works on our mind and soul, thoughts and emotions. They power the way we interpret, filter, act, and react to life — the way we live it. Heart-energy does not necessarily make life easier; it does, however, help us to experience, feel, and know achievement, joy, significance, freedom, and happiness — much more so than the limited, isolating work of Ego.
On this Independence Day in America, I feel it’s important to recognize Heart-energy invested by the founders of this nation. If you have read any of my posts, you know I do not condone rabid nationalism, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. The documents and corporate spirit, zeitgeist, that attended the inhabitants of those thirteen colonies was a product of many people awakening to their Heart-energy, and that was NOT just “founding fathers.” I am quite sure of that. And this brings me to my prefacing thoughts. Yes, white, elite males ran things, wrote the documents, and all of that. Yes, cultural limits were placed on women, Native Americans, and the enslaved Africans. All of that was Ego-energy. However, I do not dismiss the Heart-energy that operated to form a nation which can today countenance and champion not only the widest, most diverse population in the world, but also it was so conceived (those words just slipped out!) that it could handle, if it wanted to, evolving into global relationships on the scale of forming a true global community — not belonging to only America. Even though Ego-limitations existed in colonial America, without souls who awakened to Heart in large numbers, the current ability to legally and morally include minorities in all of the promised possibilities that are Heart-possibilities would not exist. This country would not exist today. You know, Heart possibilities as outlined in these words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these , Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers form the consent of the governed…” (Miller and Parrish 143). For the governed to give consent, means the ideas, the drive, the concerns must originate with them — not be told what we need to know and choose between options. We need to be the ones giving the options. And in those years, months, and weeks leading to the Declaration of Independence, that is exactly what happened. One instance among many came from the people of Virginia.Thomas Jefferson in his notes on the debate for independence in the Second Continental Congress made it clear that representatives were doing the bidding of their constituents: “That some of them had expressly forbidden their delegates to consent to such a declaration…” (Miller and Parrish 130). To what was the Heart-energy lending focus? Freedom, one of the most basic drives of a human being, because Heart-energy drives us to that, to be free to live core Self and our own created Purpose — which is embodied in those “certain unalienable rights.” The desire for freedom to live Self permeated not only the zeitgeist of the colonies but also the numerous resolutions and declarations which expressed this spirit. On May 15, 1776, one of Jefferson’s colleagues, George Mason of Virginia, wrote and presented to the assembly of Virginians the “Declaration of Rights,” which directly influenced the Declaration of Independence and ultimately the Bill of Rights over a decade later. I apologize, but it is really late, and I don’t want to short shrift the thoughts about this. I will make a few final points here during these last few minutes of July 4, 2017. The colonists had been yearning for freedom to live Heart-truth, whether they knew that term or not. Yes, the cultural and societal Ego worked to oppress some, and individual Ego in turn influenced negative treatment of others in a long-established egoic pattern of men in control. In Europe and America, white male landowners had become the elite rule-makers, and they were, in effect, oppressors of women, Native Americans, enslaved Africans. Yet they, too, longed for a freedom that somehow — Heart and Spirit energy — embraced all of those oppressed, for without the freedom to live Self and Purpose, we are, indeed, oppressed. It all began with this desire for freedom to live Heart, expressed in those historic documents. At times, when people begin awakening to a desire to express Self in freedom, they are lead to a need to gain freedom from those forces, whether a nation or our own Ego-energized lives, that would hold us back. Hence, a major revolution occurs. Blessings in your revolution to be free from Ego hindrances as you live your Heart-freedom! (Work Cited: Miller, Joel J. and Parrish, Kristen, eds. The Patriot’s Reference. Nashville, TN: Nelson Books, 2014. Print.) The complexity of human beings amazes me. It also causes me a degree of confusion at times. The root of our complexity abides within each of us, created by the interplay of Ego and Heart. Those are the two dynamics that work within and upon our total being as we engage in discovering who we are, the roles we perceive ourselves to fill and the way others perceive us, in addition to the way we process life, information, our family, relationships, and history…. Life truly is complex; however, it is not indecipherable for us as individuals.
We get to choose how to connect with everything and everyone, how we want to think and feel, what we do, where we go. Many of us at different times claim we don’t have a choice, and usually what is meant by that is there does not appear to be a realistic choice. All of these choices and perceptions about them, all of them, depend on how we are interacting with either Ego or Heart. The working of those two forces in individuals and the energy produced by individuals that can grow into an aggregate prevailing energy or spirit (a social/cultural zeitgeist) provide my means of analysis of particular topics I examine day by day. At this time of year, as an American, I have for as long as I can remember thought about the history of this nation. It just interests me to imagine what life must have been like back then, how people took the news events of the day especially when it wasn’t instantaneous. When the spirit of the original thirteen colonies leaned to declare independence from England, it appears to me that to some extent, at least, those referred to as our Founders had to be operating in some significant arenas at Heart level. I honestly cannot judge, but understanding the operations of Ego and Heart energy, in general, allows me to draw some conclusions. Tonight, I’m thinking of Thomas Jefferson. He has been severely criticized for years because of his relationship with one of his slaves, Sally Hemings, with whom he may have had six children or only one or maybe no relationship or children at all; however, the evidence taken all together makes it probable. The issue becomes this: Thomas Jefferson wrote the immortal words “…all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” All, every single one. Not every single one like us, but human beings. Now, “good christians” often like to redefine or qualify people based on how different they are from themselves, and during Jefferson’s time, christianity was absolutely the predominant religion of the colonies. But that didn’t matter to Jefferson. What many people do not know are the parts of the Declaration of Independence that other representatives at the Second Continental Congress in 1776 redacted were significant, especially about slavery. Here is that paragraph Thomas Jefferson wrote and vehemently defended against southern delegates and even northern ones who had profited from the slave trade. Jefferson refers to King Geo. III of England: “He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither. This piratical warfare, the opprobrium of infidel powers, is the warfare of the Christian King of Great Britain. Determined to keep open a market where Men should be bought & sold, he has prostituted his negative for suppressing every legislative attempt to prohibit or restrain this execrable commerce. And that this assemblage of horrors might want no fact of distinguished die, he is now exciting those very people to rise in arms among us, and to purchase that liberty of which he has deprived them, by murdering the people on whom he has obtruded them: thus paying off former crimes committed again the Liberties of one people, with crimes which he urges them to commit against the lives of another” (http://www.blackpast.org/primary/declaration-independence-and-debate-over-slavery). Jefferson sees the complexities and seeks to deal with them. His words at the beginning of the Declaration taken along with this show me that he understood that Heart creates unity among all. When Jefferson recounts the passing of the Declaration, his intent on condemning slavery is clear: “The clause too, reprobating the enslaving the inhabitants of Africa, was struck out in complaisance to South Carolina and Georgia…” (Miller and Parrish 166). He condemned, reprobated, slavery. Heart energy is strong there, and the fact that high life energies attended that convention is seen in his opening words remaining intact. Was he a hypocrite, then, in terms of owning slaves and having intimate relations with one? Yeah, probably so. But let me present a consideration here. I am vehemently opposed to the Dakota Access Pipeline and other such projects that steal land and dignity from Native Americans for oil reserves, but I have not seen my way clear to stop driving gas-powered vehicles. Am I a hypocrite? Maybe, but my Heart works towards this big societal issue by writing about it, speaking about it, and gradually heading towards alternative energy cars. Like I said, it’s complex. Sometimes, wealth can make a difference. Like Washington, who if anything I feel was more hypocritical than Jefferson, Jefferson’s personal wealth was involved. What other considerations were there? Did the African slaves want to be released — (controversy about some, which in no way justifies the practice)? What rationale ran through Jefferson’s mind about not immediately releasing all his slaves? I don’t know those answers, but I do believe the spirit of Heart-energy was captured and preserved in the Declaration. The fact that Lincoln used that in his great Gettysburg address is Heart speaking to Heart over the span of eighty-plus years. I know the words and Heart-actions of such people speak to me today. So do their lack of initiative and action based on Ego in caving to society. The same is true of me in ways. Those who know Self and create and live purpose will always feel this Ego-Heart dynamic operating within them. The sobering fact is that those who choose Ego over Heart by not responding to that still small voice, those whispers of “conscience,” those flashes of “inspiration,” all of those things that are Heart-impulses, rarely even feel the conflict in these big issues of life. It’s a widespread spirit now in America to act as if all persons are not created equal, that discrimination by some euphemism or another is not only tolerated but also encouraged and legislated — if not for the system of checks and balances that those founders included in the constitution of this nation. Once again, when people blindly support the sorts of excesses that drove the Colonies to separate from England and were recounted in the Declaration of Independence, then I know Ego-energy is operating. When under the guise of patriotism to “make America great again” this tyrannical-leaning president is supported unconditionally, then I know Ego-energy is operating. And it threatens our nation and peace and stability in this world. Because of the evolution of societies in our communication and common concerns, we cannot afford to wield some sort of superior authority in unmitigated arrogance as is being projected from the executive branch today. This is the very sort of thing, along with many others I have written about, that has motivated me to write of Ego, Heart, and understanding the basic nature of humanity. When I roll out “Discovering Self and Creating Purpose,” I hope at least some folks will read it in such a condensed form and rally to their own Heart for their own blessing to offer the wealth of who they are to one another. It’s what I do here; it’s what Thomas Jefferson did; it’s what we all can do, and there is great hope in that. Blessings in celebrating not only freedom of a nation but also for citizens of all nations in celebrating Self. I welcome the fellowship of the Heart from the global community. (Work Cited: Miller, Joel J. and Parrish, Kristen, eds. The Patriot’s Reference. Nashville, TN: Nelson Books, 2014. Print.) |
Questions to consider:How many times have you asked yourself or simply thought about the following questions?
Who am I, really? What is my truth? How do my actions reveal what I really feel and believe? What would I do with my life if I could do anything? What is my passion? Why am I here? How can I discover answers to any of these questions? If you have considered any of these questions, I hope that my experiences and writing will give you some guidance. Please read my blog and comment and share your thoughts. I would love to hear from you! Archives
December 2019
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