Excellent post. What gets me is those who think they are smart yet allow themselves to befriend the bullies. I don't understand why people have become so callous towards whats decent and humane in our society. Dumbing down America is my only answer.
On Nov 23, 11:31 am, Morpheal <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > OVER 30 YEARS OF RISING DESPOTISM IN AMERICA > > A good leader always strives to make it possible for others to exceed > the leader’s own self, to the maximum of their abilities. This is as > true in politics as it is in education. A good teacher always strives > to have the students excel beyond the teacher’s own abilities and > knowledge. > > This is the opposite of despotism. Despotism strives instead to > prevent anyone rising up and exceeding its leadership. Despotism is > often clever in its using isolated instances, examples, that appear to > excel, to evade criticism of what it is itself guilty of. That is the > obstructing of excellence. A very few are chosen and made into > examples, as if anyone can achieve the same, when in fact despotism > stops all others dead in their every effort. That tokenism obscures > the fact of despotism, and that despotism often remains undetected and > unchallenged. > > The dangers of despotism in leadership, particularly prevalent in > insecure leadership uncertain of itself, in any enterprise, in > politics, wherever leadership is necessary, are a continual threat to > real progress. It favors mediocrity, resignation to despair, and > defeatism. It uses the modern psychological tricks represented by > catch phrases such as “let it go”, “finish” with it, and “give it up” > as if that is the healthy choice. The very definition of health, > under despotism, changes from favoring exceptional accomplishment to > one favoring acceptance of defeat. The very meaning of realistic, and > in touch with reality, changes. Wisdom becomes the wisdom of not > trying to excel, and not trying to accomplish the exceptional, > nurturing only the idea that it cannot be done, and that it is foolish > to make the attempt. This becomes a socially engineered pattern, > prevailing in society, under despotism. Psychology, social > engineering, and medicine become the handmaidens of despotism. > > The human potential movement of the 1960s has largely perished, and > what remains of it has been radically, albeit negatively, transformed. > It has been constrained by despotism because it was a movement among > the scientists applying the new psychological and sociological > knowledge in a way that does not favor despotism. Despotism > annihilated that movement as readily as it annihilated most of > political activism and drove it completely underground. Even > demonstrations under a despotic regime differ in character and purpose > to those not constrained and manipulated by despotism, but again token > protests and demonstrations are certainly part of the smoke and > mirrors act that despotism so cleverly conceals itself behind. If you > know the history, and are old enough to remember it, or have studied > its largely discredited and banned writings, you know how it has > changed. Those remaining radicals and activists, who knew the 1960s > and early 1970s in America, know how it has changed and we must > resurrect their voices, wisdom, and experience. Those who knew the > human potential movement then, need to give voice to what happened to > that incredibly insightful and powerful force for positive change. > Those who knew the world of science and invention then, need to come > forward as to how that too has changed, because the changes were not > for the better. Despotism has prevailed in every area, and the truth > has fallen victim to that despotism. Cultural workers, artists, > playwrights, poets in particular, need to be heard as to what > despotism has done to them. > > There is nothing right, moral or true about having the power to make > others fail, to prove yourself right. That too is despotism. That is > as true in the cultural sphere, as it is in the political sphere, and > certainly in the economic sphere. Disguised as normal competition, > despotism remains more often undiscerned and unchallenged. Despotism > uses “competition”, redefining it across a span of time, for its own > purpose. When negative changes come across a longer span of time > people fail to notice, fail to respond, and tend to accept, often > failing to remember how it was. That failure is a tool of despotism. > That is why despotism also favors ageism. The memories, wisdom, > experiences, of elders are discredited in favor of youth. Despotism > triumphs when its handmaidens of psychology and social engineering > enforce ageist principles and destroy respect and consideration among > youth for those who have been in this world long enough to know the > difference between despotism and true human freedoms. Despotism > triumphs among naive ignorance, not among experienced wisdom, but it > knows how to silence and discredit that experience and wisdom. That is > part of its weaponry of attack. > > Creativity , innovation, invention, social, economic, cultural, > political, individual and particularly collective progress cannot > truly and genuinely thrive under despotism. Despotism divides and > conquers against collectivism enforcing a solipsist, narcisist, self > involvement as the primary focus of the individual’s cultural, and > socio-political existence. This is also promoted as a new standard of > health, and reflects in the cultural products and their means of > production, most strongly. Often the problem of money is interposed as > the rational for this phenomenon, but despotism knows how to decrease > the means, increase the cost and put a price tag on everything, to > prevent itself from being challenged by those who are trying to rise > up, and to achieve. Alone they have little, or at best much less, > chance. Collectivism is made too expensive. Cooperation is nearly > unheard of. Only those chosen as examples, as tokens, and having more > fiscal means, can buy that cooperation, and that too is part of the > illusion that despotism hides behind. In the 1960s and early 1970s > that was not how it was. There were far greater chances for > cooperation and collectivism as an alternative without a high price > imposed by despotism. Times have changed and despotism is counting its > triumphs against humanity. > > Despotism also does something else worthy of note. It is often first > to place an irrational idea, an unreasonable principle, that must be > unquestioningly upheld, above all else. It often attempts to vindicate > by a twisted, anxiety producing, highly conflicted, variant of > religion. Its illegitimacy in that regard is scarce questioned because > it requires immense expertise in order to discern the difference and > to challenge what is happening. Despotism uses the powerful concepts > of “spirituality”, “faith”, “belief”, “trust”, “grace”, “salvation”, > and “god” in new ways, for its own political purpose. Despotism would > have been considered the devil, but now it is a pretender to being god > and that blasphemy, if you are religiously minded gradually tends to > hold sway. Those concepts become the irrational justifications for all > manner of despotic oppression, and are increasingly accepted by many, > who lack the discernment. Again the expertise is coopted to being > handmaidens of despotism. Psychology, sociology, social engineering, > medicine, become coopted in support of the redefining of what we might > term the “spiritual” dimension of life. The despotic destruction of > other purposes, goals, achievements, attempts at succeeding, in any > sphere of life become subordinated to a false spirituality, a false > religion, which is made increasingly convincing of its “rightness”. > The very word “right” and “religion” become concatenated under > despotism. The ability to question effectively and to act outside of > that constraint of unquestioning irrational belief as a necessary, > sometimes made into a sufficient, condition for imposed mediocrity to > triumph, becomes completely destroyed under despotism. Even the > experts are silenced on that subject. They are neither promoted, nor > discussed openly. They are pushed down and ignored as being ignorant > themselves, as a result of despotism. > > I myself studied the world’s religions,.and its philosophies, eastern > and western, more than 25 years ago, and I know how it has changed. I > read the radicals, coming a little late, and having been a little too > young in the latter half of the 1960s, but I remember the atmosphere, > and what went on. I remember how things were done. I read the accounts > of others. I know the difference. > Later I witnessed the effects of the worsening Cold War, and the > parallel rise of despotism in America, spilling over its borders, and > changing my own country of Canada, and its socio-political > environment, affecting its differing ideals, manipulating its culture, > simply as the wake, the spillover wash, of an overwhelming flood of > American despotism. We can scarce recognize ourselves, across the > border from America, being so affected by its despotism. We watch the > changes in America across a span of more than 30 years in largely > silenced horror, and most have fallen victim to resigned despair and > socio-political, even cultural, impotency in consequence of the tidal > wave crossing the borders from America and spilling across the whole > world. How much worse the effects of its own despotism, on America > itself. We are the witnesses of that too. We, who have lived through > that time, experienced it, and who remember the difference. > > Despotism has also persisted in using its failed economics, more often > deliberately failed, also becoming a form of social engineering and > manipulation, in shock waves of brutal ups and down cyclical economic > apocalypses, timed to destroy progress, and beak it down, before > anything rises up and establishes against despotism. Tangling people > up in ceaseless and increasing economic struggle for existence > destroys their ability to achieve and destroys their ability to fight > despotism. Another weapon of despotism. I have seen the city destroyed > by repeated attacks from a despotic system, pursuing despotic economic > policies, that are measurable only by their despotic results. > > There is much more to be said about despotism and how it has > increasingly triumphed in America over the past 30 years. Fewer and > fewer remember the difference and despotism is winning due to that > fact. When you cannot remember the difference, and are made to > disbelieve those who remember it, you cannot ever hope to overcome > it. > > Allen Ginsberg, one of America’s venerated Beat Poets, best known from > the 1960s, and known for his association with other great poets of > that era, such as Bob Dylan, wrote: “I have seen the best minds of my > generation destroyed by madness” describing the condition of America > in his day, claiming the effects of despotism upon the youth, the > intellectuals, the artists, the poets, free thinkers, the poor, the > disenfranchised of America. Allen too was a victim, as we can glean > from later works and comments, of an increasing despotism. That > despotism is much worse today, years after his passing away. We can > find how bad it really was by reading the literature that brave > writers, poets, produced in America. We can see something in some of > the art, and documentary, that was created by artists in America. Then > we must remember that it was possible to create and express those > things then, and if we are lucky enough we can find access to those > expressions, somewhere, somehow, because despotism has not completely > done away with that part of its own history. Despotism has not > improved since then. It has become more despotic. > > Despotism has taken over America, taken it over in over the span of > more than 30 years. It has crushed America’s spirit. It has flattened > and driven underground those who would express dissent and opposition > to despotism in America. That despotism is what America has attempted > to export out into the world, and to flood across its borders, > drowning out humanity with despotism disguised as “human freedoms”. > > Read the writings and try to find the words recorded of Philip > Berrigan, and his brother Daniel Berrigan. Read Jack Kerouac. Read > Gregory Corso, another beat poet. Read them for a taste of what they > knew, and experienced in America, so many decades ago. Then wonder, > and most of all wonder where it has all gone. How and why has > despotism crushed America’s spirit so completely and so totally, in > over 30 years of despotism against its own. It is time that those who > remember the tough times, the troubled times, the times of protest, > the times of putting into question Remember the times when it was far > more possible to organize, to express, to create, in disagreement with > despotism. Remember when oppression, suppression, and strictly > enforced repression of self into self, where not as much the rules > that they are now. Remember when disinformation, and misinformation > were not so overwhelming as they are under the increase in despotism > where even a phrase such as “free market” economics, as the world > economy nears to collapse, remains largely a matter of prescribed > faith, dictated from despots. Remember when art did not have to reside > at the extreme poles of more and more abstract, or strictly realist > depiction, severely constrained as to styles and subjects, but could > protest, put into question, reveal, and challenge, despotism. > > When will America put into question its own descent into the hell of > social, political, religious and economic despotism ? > > Robert Morpheal > > Permission is given to copy, reproduce, and distribute this article, > by any means, anywhere, in any form, by anyone, and in fact anyone is > encouraged to do so. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "World-thread" group. To post to this group, send email to world-thread@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/world-thread?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
