http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2010/0416/1224268443283.html
The reality underpinning all this misery and confusion, is that people who once felt that they belonged to a system of collective security, shaky though it might be, are now faced with the harsh and unforgiving reality that much of what they were fed was based on dreams and illusion. That illusion was formed by a combination of their basic human need to give and to receive, and the subtle, underhand and little recognised methods of influencing their minds to act according to fear of the loss of a security which, were it truly existent, could never be justified by blind and rote obedience to rigid and unyielding dogma and inflexible authoritarianism.
Human beings need security and justice above all other considerations. These things are not merely wants: they are essential. So what went wrong?
The answers will not come from Rome or from the minds of men who deny reality by promoting “the right to believe”, as such mindset is unable to work out the contradiction of such a statement, which equates to “the right to remain blind”. Take off the blinkers if you want to see around you, instead of blindly following the blind, for this is what has been done, both to us, and by us, as we both lead and are led by example. It’s time to wake up and smell and taste reality…but no, we don’t “believe” we need that, do we? More contradiction.
It’s very sad to see all this misery and confusion, but the fact still remains that nothing will change for the better until the wines of confusion wear off, as the mind, both individual and collective, will not be ready to see clearly until then.
We don’t need more “visions”, as that’s what we blindly followed. We don’t need more blind faith, as that’s what got us here. We don’t need many things that we have already so dearly mortgaged ourselves for, or perhaps I might venture to say, “prostituted” ourselves for, for that is what we have indeed done.
What we do need to do is to clean up our act and behave with some form of reason and self respect, which will not be found either in the bottom of a beer glass or bowing to fanciful and unfathomable tenets, and by the paying of heed to mumblings and mutterings to unseen and unsupportable powers. The Straight and Narrow Path is always there, but you have to understand that it has to be walked upon, and it offers no “forgiveness”, which is another of those platitudinous words that appears all so frequently where the need to make excuses for bad behaviour is required.
Denis McGowan
6th Degree in The Way