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"It is not enough for you to know that you are well, nor for others to see that you are well; but, if you would encourage other sick folks, you should tell how you got well, and who treated you." Rev. Sylvester C. Richards, Sr.
Responsible Citizenship
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God–what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2
Behind the horrors common in global headlines, we are experiencing a uniquely critical educational crisis, about elevating consciousness, to safeguard human development in general. In response, I contemplate and teach effect principles to magnify my faith in change. And, so long as I continue to observe that universal creativity is stronger than my fear of destruction, I have a basis not just to go on, but to flourish. I say this despite the fact that at any given time, on most sides of most issues, any one of a multitude of narrow perspectives handicaps critical thinking for effective change. Consequently:
-The health of democracy is failing as broad historical customs have progressively undercut critical thinking for comprehensive health, in general human development.
-As citizens in democracies, our privilege as well as our responsibility is to understand conflict-resolution at large. Only on this basis can the public govern the quality of political, economic, and spiritual leadership. Health is not sustainable when in the process of getting elected, the public expects politicians not to hold a mirror up to inadequate preparation, for effective citizenship. The more this is customary, the more there are droves of candidates comfortable to essentially gain support by never daring to rise, above being short-sighted. In the process, as links between limits in public vision and political ties to power and greed increase, truth becomes defined by what unethical leadership dishonestly promotes.
-As unethical leadership capitalizes on varying degrees of inadequate public perceptions, the character of how and what citizens understand becomes subject to the character of how, what, and where leadership is tied to power and greed. All too often then, the character of our nation’s capacities for genuine conflict-resolution is shaped by deceit, selfishness, and defunct moral interest in genuine public service.
-As public leadership fails to positively alter human development as a (W)hole ®, universal principles for sustainable change conflict with inertia in our confusion.
-Consequent to inadequate preparation for timely self-cultivation, detrimental challenges in general human development increase. In response, by means of profound wisdom for global conflict-resolution, human development can expand to the point that the world can be saved, from untimely customs of thought.
Therefore:
-The key educational tools needed are what I call (W)hole®, sage, perspectives; and the key manner of preparation for timely action is contemplation .
-Sage perspectives for The Way to See (W)hole ® are key because:
-Magnifying fundamental creative principles in individual consciousness can effectively compensate for destructive principles in general human development. Consequently:
-To engender “The United States of Mind” needed to orchestrate a concert of character for peace, the general public in a democracy needs timely education, for the key creative way to assist the evolution of local, national, and global change. Thereby:
-In the recorded essay that I call “Silver Lessons” for superior human development, I wrote that “war continues, based on power we fail to assume, for peace we neglect to learn”.
-I encourage the idea that genuine global citizenship is an expression of character, that learns to earn what peace requires. Consequently:
-I once had a message on radio that said something like, “ Dear Citizens…[because] it is not only among our enemies that ignorance can substitute for intelligence,…anger is more commonplace than understanding, prejudice more common than tolerance, and conflict more common than peace. Therefore, [it is]our personal neglect for learning to heal the world with wisdom [that]is reflected in the broken body of every soldier, civilian, ecosystem, and vain argument. And so long as the blood of combat spills from the spirit of antagonism that flows from the concepts we fail to scrutinize, war as the progeny of our habits will continue to defy peace, as the destiny of change…” Moreover, in another radio message I said that “ Because the range of our feelings can narrow the scope of our insights; without diligent efforts for timely change, deficits in perspectives can hide, [even] in [a sincere sense] of innocence. And because every brick in hell is molded by habits in perspectives, war is always compelled by limits in understanding. Therefore, to spare history from [needlessly]dealing [out]death,… any spiritual precept thought to be above criticism is too vainly filled with pride to leave room for divine humanity, or moral governance. … [Therefore]…for victory over blood spilled by confusion, …nothing beats a failure but a try.” Consequently:
- The universal predicament of mankind is that narrow perspectives historically impede acting in the interest of life as a whole.
-Whether we are relatively aware or unconscious of universally creative and destructive principles, their effects underpin and characterize all our choices; and the collective impact of all our choices governs the survival or collapse of the world. Therefore:
-Since peace evolves in tune with evolutionary qualities in the character of being a citizen, contemplating sage principles is a harbinger as well as fundamental element of effective change.
-To mount an authentic, efficient, and effective campaign for a national shift in consciousness, the primary responsibility of citizenship is to learn and allow sage spiritual principles to lead to where wisdom would have us to follow. Therefore:
-Consequent to inadequate understanding for global conflict-resolution, under the leadership of confusion, fate falls in league with worldwide destruction. Thereby:
-In parades of inadequate perceptions of truth, needless death, suffering, and turmoil are regularly imposed under confused leadership. Consequently:
-As much as peace is a neglected study, war is a habitual custom, made inevitable by not assuming change to be inevitable.
-Today, as the entire biosphere is failing in health, more motives are being generated for confusion to stiffly resist practical reason.
-Darkness is too often mistaken for light, as leaders plunge citizens into an ever-emerging states of continuously emerging emergencies. Consequently:
-Since customary confusion is not safe to adequately safeguard the future, now is the time to learn The Way to See (W)hole®, for thousands of lanterns to reconstruct the stature of civilization:
-Only by choosing to enact needed change, can general health inherit the world. Consequently:
-Throughout history, self-leadership is always subject to functioning like an addiction; making self-deception and general waste easier, as the momentum of customs, traditions, and common practices become stronger, and change becomes harder to achieve.
-Because particular phases in history take misguided directions, common sense is lost when even one soldier dies for the same vision of conflict that historically plagues humanity.
-We need a new story that says: Once upon a time, trusting folks got horribly ensnared in the history of inadequate perceptions of truth; thereby, innocence regularly suffered and died in needless service to unwise goals. But, now that everyone and everything as a (w)hole ® is approaching the end of business as usual, education for superior humanity must be assumed to alter the direction of destiny. At this point in our story, we would do well to hear the voice of J.R.R. Tolkien saying “…you are called hither. Called, I say, though I have not called you to me, strangers from distant lands. You have come and are here met, in this very nick of time, by chance as it may seem. Yet it is not so. Believe rather that it is so ordered that we, and none others, must now find counsel for the peril of the world.” Otherwise:
-Consequent to “Brokers of Arrogance, Deception, and Denial”a very B-A-D-D thing happens when B-A-D-D habits join with worldwide insanity in formal and informal fellowships. Consequent to B-A-D-D limits in perception in B-A-D-D leadership, B-A-D-D character is an art form, regularly enacted as informal education, through entertainment. When neglected vision forms a B-A-D-D state of affairs, B-A-D-D judgment leads soldiers to needless deaths, needless wounds, and needlessly taking second place to B-A-D-D political ambitions. When allegiance to a political party comes first, kids die consequent to deliberately B-A-D-D deceptions; craftily scripted and spouted in public, darkness is offered as light. Consequent to B-A-D-D concepts hiding in universal customs of thought, the entire biosphere is falling into a “failed state”, as B-A-D-D motives fight to dominate the world. The heart of B-A-D-D company is B-A-D-D reactions to truth; so B-A-D-D to the bone that superior reasoning is easily upended, on all sides of all conflicts. Thereby:
-As much as peace is a neglected study, war is a habitual custom, made inevitable by not assuming change to be inevitable. Consequently:
-For victory over blood spilled by confusion, …nothing beats a failure but a try.