I was well into my fifties before I got it. You can tell me that my
views are tainted, but it all makes perfect sense when one looks at the
big picture.
The picture is human being over here on the left (of course!), and the church and capitalism over on the right.
According
to some of our historians and anthropologists, primitive humans didn't
really have things quite a badly as we think. Most of us in our early
days lived in warm zones where food was available year round and the
temperatures were bearable most of the time, as well.
However,
as our population grew, due to our species taking up agriculture, which
indirectly impacted more of us being born and living longer, we moved
into zones that made us be more innovative in finding ways to preserve
food during the cold months and finding ways to stay warm where it was
chilling cold.
As humans became more organized in contending
with the elements and some of us became more powerful as land owners of
the land that grew food, we had to adapt. In other words, most of us
had to accept the gods of the powerful and to work for the powerful so
we could eat.
Fast forward to now, and you see how the same
forces are at work in today's world. Most of us have accepted the
masters' gods, which tell us that we must be productive and that work
has an intrinsic value in itself. We aren't worth anything unless we
work REALLY, REALLY HARD.
Meanwhile, as the masters have
introduced us and often coerced us into accepting their gods, the
market system of capitalism joined into the plan, saying basically:
"Churches, do your job. Tell your members to be sober and to value
country, work, money and family. Teach my workers to be honest, to get
to work on time, to put in their utmost efforts at the job, to be fast
and efficient. If you do all of that, we will see that you, the church,
flourish with prime property, nice buildings and dedicated members."
Most
of the churches cooperated, and capitalism flourished, as well. This
was particularly successful during the Industrial Revolution. The Green
Revolution was also a good example, when farmers became corporations,
determined to submit land to humanity, feeding it poisons and harsh
chemical fertilizers so it would over-produce chemically tainted fruits
and vegetables, even animals whose bodies were also manipulated with
hormones and huge doses of antibiotics.
Nevertheless, humanity
has thrived in all of this, until now that our population is nearing
the seven billion mark. Someone has said that there are more of us
alive now than have died in our entire history.
But among us are
new ideas. There are also some churches out there who have seen that
they were manipulated by the money changers, not only during Christ's
time, but most of the centuries after his death. These thinkers and
some church leaders see the values of humans' time of leisure. They
also see the value of a simple life, whereby one finds his or her own
way into the mystery that is life, is spirit and is truly enlightening.
Some
of us humans are seeing that our ancestors were fed a false line. We
didn't need the zillions of consumer products that we were told we
needed. We don't need the Coke, the Walmart or Exxon. As a matter of
fact, with a little ingenuity, we can survive as a species in our own
corner of the planet. Of course, since all land is owned by someone
somewhere, this could be difficult.
Maybe some will have to take
everything they have and purchase a plot of land to call their own. Or
they may have an opportunity to join in with others of similar minds to
accomplish the same.
But will we ever be able to completely
separate ourselves from our addiction to consumerism? It is pretty much
in our genes now. Just to get the seeds one would need to start a farm
would entail buying them.
So we can't completely go back to our
primitive days, but maybe if we see the connections between the
so-called moral living habits we were taught by our churches with the
productivity demanded by the power-holders (from feudal lords to
corporations), we can begin to negotiate what is best today for
ourselves and our grandchildren down the road.
Community will
always be important, no matter what our relationship is with church or
corporation. We can't bring about the necessary changes household by
household. This will take communities of people by communities of
people before the rest of the planet will see the light and follow.
(Not a website plug... I care NOTHING about that ad-free website. This webbing was done to keep Wingy from spamming this blog so intensely with his long-winded-ness.)
Take care! Wingnut
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