By Judith Gayle | Political Waves
Awakening is the name of our game these days, politically, personally. It’s what we desperately need and what we studiously avoid. It’s what most do reluctantly and only a scant few accomplish with enthusiasm. Awakening is going to happen whether we like it or not, so it would be easier if we’d all just get on the evolution train, but that’s not how things work. Fear goes before us, as usual, and keeps many of us from contemplating anything that might discomfort.
Most everything is designed for self-exploration, if we’re willing to let go of our absolutes. Everything around us will reflect us truthfully if we’re willing to look in that mirror. That degree of honesty creates conflict, of course, both personally and politically. Awareness requires us to inventory our belief system, release our limitations and embrace new possibilities. All this, you won’t be surprised to learn, equals “change.” Lefty organizer and people’s philosopher, the late Saul Alinsky, put it this way: “Change means movement. Movement means friction. Only in the frictionless vacuum of a nonexistent abstract world can movement or change occur without that abrasive friction of conflict.”
The whole question of conflict interests me, since I see mainstream media pummeling us with the notion that any kind of emotional outburst is somehow inappropriate to our current social and financial situation. Oh, it’s fine to #occupy as long as we remain all Gandhi-like and respectful. So long as there isn’t any property damage, any violence or conflict, a frictionless occupation will be reported in a small column, second page. Should any of these things occur, what began as a peaceful protest has now become chaos and anarchy, proclaimed a mile high on the front page, and must be corrected immediately by the authorities. But who polices the authorities? When enough of us ask that question, we’ll finally be #occupying the right spot for our coming evolutionary journey.