A TALE OF TWO REALITIES
Just the other day I had a not too pleasant discussion with a friend about the state of the world today. Eventually, the exchange degenerated (as it is wont to do in Ann Arbor) on his part into the usual Bush bashing and the expression of his passionate belief that the only problem facing this country was the inherent fascism of the Bush Administration and the imminent implementation of a Christian theocracy in the US. He has been saying this for approximately 6 years now.
"Spare me the hysterics," I responded wearily as I have done many times before in similar situations.
"You know, Pat, you've really changed in a profound way," he said sadly. "Ever since 9/11 there has been no reasoning with you. I just can't talk to you anymore."
For about the millionth time since that day in 2001, it struck me forcibly that one of the more subtle consequences of that terrible event was the creation of two separate realities in which people could live. On The Sanity Squad's most recent podcast, Gagdad Bob mentioned something profound about 9/11 when he suggested that the events of that day didn't just change the course of the future, they changed the perception of the past.
It was the end of history, it was the beginning of history.... Didn't we -- all of us --want to believe that the end of the Cold War was, in Francis Fukayama's words, "the end of history"? That all the trials and tribulations; fears and anxieties of that post-world war time were finally over; and that the nuclear clock had stopped for good and that mankind was saved from himself?
For a few short years, many of us held tightly to that interpretation. But 9/11 made some of us realize that it was, in fact, the beginning of a new, ever-so-much-more frightening and dangerous time. A beginning where not only did the nuclear sword still hang poised above humanity's head, but where reason, logic, and reality itself were now simply theatrical constructs, and could no longer be used to solve disagreements or deal with problems.
Fukayama argued that history is directional and has an evolutionary endpoint; and that endpoint, and the culmination of those forces driving history, inevitably leads to a capitalist, liberal democracy. But Fukayama made one simple mistake.
He did not forsee that the enemies of freedom, as a last-ditch, desperate measure to prevent the "endpoint" from establishing any equilibrium in the world, would resort to the complete abandonment of reason and reality altogether. And, in retrospect, it appears that from a rational and realistic perspective, there was no other course open to them except for complete historical capitulation. In order to stay alive, the enemies of human freedom--in all their various incarnations--had to abandon reason, truth, and reality because they simply could not make their case with those particular human tools.
For me, the profound and most unsettling impact of 9/11 was that I could now understand the previous decade in a context that had been rather obscured and hazy prior to that date; and that the implications of my new historical perspective were breathtakingly horrifying: the technologies of the modern world--both the good and the bad-- were now accessible to and would be used by 21st century savages whose only goals were death, destruction and enslavement.
History did indeed branch off into two parallel threads on that day. One half of the population of this country (and perhaps the world) have been living in one; and I am among the number existing in the other.
But, I have no doubt that it will come to pass that at most, only one of those two threads will ultimately be understood to actually represent objective reality. Another event of critical,and perhaps catastrophic, significance to humanity will eventually transpire that will clarify--one way or the other--which thread, if either, is true.
Though I do not think that my friend's take on current events has any validity whatsoever, I sincerely hope that my own is also incorrect; or that I am simply overreacting to the events of that day. Because my greatest fear is what might have to happen to finally wake people up.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all doing direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. - Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
"Spare me the hysterics," I responded wearily as I have done many times before in similar situations.
"You know, Pat, you've really changed in a profound way," he said sadly. "Ever since 9/11 there has been no reasoning with you. I just can't talk to you anymore."
For about the millionth time since that day in 2001, it struck me forcibly that one of the more subtle consequences of that terrible event was the creation of two separate realities in which people could live. On The Sanity Squad's most recent podcast, Gagdad Bob mentioned something profound about 9/11 when he suggested that the events of that day didn't just change the course of the future, they changed the perception of the past.
It was the end of history, it was the beginning of history.... Didn't we -- all of us --want to believe that the end of the Cold War was, in Francis Fukayama's words, "the end of history"? That all the trials and tribulations; fears and anxieties of that post-world war time were finally over; and that the nuclear clock had stopped for good and that mankind was saved from himself?
For a few short years, many of us held tightly to that interpretation. But 9/11 made some of us realize that it was, in fact, the beginning of a new, ever-so-much-more frightening and dangerous time. A beginning where not only did the nuclear sword still hang poised above humanity's head, but where reason, logic, and reality itself were now simply theatrical constructs, and could no longer be used to solve disagreements or deal with problems.
Fukayama argued that history is directional and has an evolutionary endpoint; and that endpoint, and the culmination of those forces driving history, inevitably leads to a capitalist, liberal democracy. But Fukayama made one simple mistake.
He did not forsee that the enemies of freedom, as a last-ditch, desperate measure to prevent the "endpoint" from establishing any equilibrium in the world, would resort to the complete abandonment of reason and reality altogether. And, in retrospect, it appears that from a rational and realistic perspective, there was no other course open to them except for complete historical capitulation. In order to stay alive, the enemies of human freedom--in all their various incarnations--had to abandon reason, truth, and reality because they simply could not make their case with those particular human tools.
For me, the profound and most unsettling impact of 9/11 was that I could now understand the previous decade in a context that had been rather obscured and hazy prior to that date; and that the implications of my new historical perspective were breathtakingly horrifying: the technologies of the modern world--both the good and the bad-- were now accessible to and would be used by 21st century savages whose only goals were death, destruction and enslavement.
History did indeed branch off into two parallel threads on that day. One half of the population of this country (and perhaps the world) have been living in one; and I am among the number existing in the other.
But, I have no doubt that it will come to pass that at most, only one of those two threads will ultimately be understood to actually represent objective reality. Another event of critical,and perhaps catastrophic, significance to humanity will eventually transpire that will clarify--one way or the other--which thread, if either, is true.
Though I do not think that my friend's take on current events has any validity whatsoever, I sincerely hope that my own is also incorrect; or that I am simply overreacting to the events of that day. Because my greatest fear is what might have to happen to finally wake people up.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all doing direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. - Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
posted by Dr. Sanity at 5:21 AM
3 Comments:
The world needs true wisdom and an end to all religions
Hello Doc Sanity and all,
Very good article. My reply may seem a little off topic at first, but be patient and wait for the suprise...
The fact that religious leaders claim to be preaching truth and wisdom when they consistently prove they are unable to understand what either of those two concepts means is highly instructive. While bedeviling us all with their holier-than-thou pretenses, they consistently support and/or perform blatant evil. It is very sad to see people who are trying to do or be good duped into providing material and political support to obviously duplicitous scoundrels. A very long list of authors and researchers have proven, beyond any reasonable doubt, that Christianity and Jesus Christ are purposeful deceptions fabricated by the Roman Empire and imposed by the Vatican and its cohorts. Two millennia of history have presented us with an amazingly long list of Vatican deceptions and blatant evils as stark and undeniable proof of who and what they really are, despite what they say.
What the world needs is verifiable wisdom, not to be duped down the path of faith and religion again while hoping that religious leaders are telling the truth.
Doctrine of Two Spirits
The context and meaning of many ancient texts and concepts have long been been confounded and thereby lost on those deceived and/or deluded by the assertions of religious leaders, founders, and others. Over the millennia, ancient wisdom was purposely recast and obfuscated into religion and mysticism to serve the greed and ambitions of monetary, political, and religious leaders who sought to hide pivotal knowledge from subjects and enemies alike. Consequently, the interpretations presented about the sources and meaning of these texts and the philosophy and cosmology of ancient Hebrew sages is completely wrong. Before you scoff and write me off, you should understand that I speak from personal knowledge and experience and have published overwhelming proof of these assertions.
Many Christians speak of the straight and narrow gates, doors, or paths without comprehending the true meaning of this symbolism. Thanks to historical and doctrinal errors resulting in confusing language in the New Testament and other sources, the true meaning of these verses and other philosophical discussions of dualism are so poorly and vaguely presented that people have been forced to rely on the interpretations of religious leaders, that have unfortunately been the primary sources and perpetuators of confusion.
The "Doctrine of Two Spirits" is the refinement of pivotal ancient wisdom that is the basis for truly understanding morality, dualism, and karma. It is likewise the refinement of the precept from the Dead Sea Scrolls “Community Rule” defining human character and behaviors and the foundations of ancient wisdom symbology. The Two Spirits (ways, paths, inspirations) symbolize Good and Evil. Each is further divided into seven sub-spirits (qualities and behaviors). This maxim unequivocally reveals the Creator’s true nature and Her “judgments” of humanity prophesied to be delivered by Melchizedek.
Read More...
Doctrine of Two Spirits
Dr. Sanity, please help with understanding you sanity. It is important to all of us to realize where we are coming from withour words. you seem to put all the people in two groups, the black and the white. (I dont mean ethnic or race.) (I mean two diametriclly opposin sides.) so how can we find the middle ground you siad you hope is true reality, not your opinion not your freind opinion, if and when we so NO! just two. this has got to stop if we say only two ways of seeing things. we are giving up all the other numbers that are greater than two. how can we say that two is the only one when we say at the end of your article that you hope its the third way, neither you or your friend are right. I think the best way for therapy is a fun way of finding techniques for the patient to talk through word games, for example, and his doctor to help him (or her) to find his problem. do not be so frightened every day, it's gonna be all ight.
I find myself in complete agreement with this post. And I don't usually post to say, "I agree." Usually blog discussions are more about disagreement.
I also have friends who have chosen the other path, for some incomprehensible reason.
The path they have chosen is the opposite of sanity - it's wrapped in Bush-derangement syndrome and fear.
I think the reason they choose to be afraid of our own side, to hate Bush) is that they cannot bear to look at the true enemy, the true horror, the true reality of what could be. Our beautiful little experiment is a very fragile veneer. It will take all of us to protect it. And it is worth protecting. even from our friends.
Post a Comment
<< Home