Truth, Compassion and Integrity
Who would choose war over peace? Who among us would choose death over life? Who among us would choose sickness over health? and finally, who decides war?
Who among us would choose to allow another living being to suffer or be violently killed in the fighting a war of vague intention. Consider those closest to you in your lives, who bring you the most joy, and use that feeling to understand that all others share the same in their lives. Imagine war or destruction unfolding not only around you, but to you and those you care for. People do not want war, and I venture to say that it is a very small percentage of the population of any country that actually decides war.
“Why of course the people don’t want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people don’t want war neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”
Herman Goering
The original M/O for the government of Canada was that it should function as a steward of people and place, with good intention at the heart of it. It seems the proclamation that was drafted with the original intentions stated in plain english, have fallen to the wayside and are rarely applied in the rule of law.
In my thirty years as investigative journalist and magazine editor, I’ve seen the practice of perception shaping turn into an all out assault on the human condition, a practice which has now shaken the foundations by which we determine what is truth, and upon which we determine our collective reality. Public Relations, and publicity management have declined into glorified lying and truth manipulation in order to ensure the profits of corporations and businesses that are directly beholden to the government and their friends who get kickbacks and benefits from playing the game. The act of lobbying or gerrymandering is, in my opinion, tacitly encouraged by the Government of Canada and, as such, laws and regulations are made or removed according to the whims and inclinations of big business.
The government of Canada, regardless of party, has engaged in three or four decades of systemic deregulation to this end. We are seeing the results of the wrong-headedness of capitalism in its present form and deregulation, for instance, in the housing market across the country and especially in British Columbia – people living on the streets and in deplorable conditions because there is little or no regulation informing the housing sector; families living in RVs and vans – most campsites are full with people and people waiting in line for some kind of reasonable accommodation. Food prices are higher than I’ve seen them in my entire lifetime, yet the basic earning power of individuals has remained static for decades. Inflation marches on unhindered as well.
The Fraser Institute has done much to ensure the continuance of government deregulation since at least the early 1990s. Watch the movie “The Corporation”, for context here. Sadly, British Columbia plays a large role in that movie due to the rampant systemic corruption that exists here in government and among big industry. Every day we look into the mountains in our respective neighbourhoods and see the vast clear-cutting and riparian infractions that are being allowed to take place. Old Growth forests are now the target, and the government has no ear to hear the will of the people.
Some of what presently exists does work. Let’s take the best of what is and add value.
Most people do not want war. Should we not demand of our social and political systems, our government, that they be founded upon the cornerstones of Integrity, Truth, applied Wisdom and Compassion. Could this not be the new measure of the ways and means by which we allow ourselves to be governed. Every effort should be made to envision a new earth, a new way of existing on this planet that takes these foundational and entirely reasonable principles into direct action. Every branch and facet of government could very well have these basic principles at the root and heart of their function at every level and be in the forefront to those who decide war. And, by extension, should not the corporations and industries that have such a monumental effect upon our collective environments be so managed as well? It seems so logical.
Consider any one of the major natural disasters, or the ongoing specter of starvation in some parts of the world, these are enough in and of themselves to push people to the brink of sanity or self-respect. But when you add to it the entirely man-made spectacle of war, or oppression -whether it is pointed at another country, or is applied domestically, and world events which appear by many accounts and in the lens of history, to have been contrivances, to meet some political end, this, to me is where a line needs to be drawn. Speaking to the idea of a national identity, who are We as a people, but the sum of our actions or our inaction. These actions include, not only us as individuals measure ourselves and are measured by others, but the collective notion of Us as a country, a nation, a province, city or town, for there are types of identity we ascribe to belonging to this as well.
Again, who decides war?
Truth, Equity and Fairness
Here I would offer, if not insist, that the lines of division, subdivisions and otherness we have allowed to evolve around us, that we are taught to use as a measure of whether ideas or people measure up, this litmus test of acceptability is skewed. Judgement should not be our default; acceptance and understanding should. And we should have the language and interpersonal skills to navigate and thrive in this way as well. Do not seek to judge and discriminate, but to understand and be part of, or be in simple appreciation. To judge is to take away from; to understand is to add to one’s experience.
No sooner are we seeing an end to the recent health crisis, than the world powers and associated media, which, by all accounts seems to have been co-opted by government messaging and spinning propaganda-oriented narratives, than they are talking about a potential and seemingly unavoidable war. Who among us – brothers, family, friends, relatives, sisters, mothers, fathers, would choose to bring war and destruction upon another country, upon another person, who themselves care as deeply about their people as we.
I do not wish to be yet another voice to be drowned out in the vacuum of information being churned out daily, both by media, government, corporate interest, and individuals via social media, though this is, in my opinion, the very thing that is required. Now is indeed the time to stand up for what is true and equitable and fair-minded, for these things are lacking enough in our world even without world calamities, whether those calamities are fictional contrivances or not.
For any who have cared to look thoroughly and independently into the unfolding of world events at present, the conclusion very much seems inescapable.
Wars are never about the opinion and beliefs of the many, but of the very few. It is up to us as individuals, not of a nation, but of a race to represent ourselves clearly where it comes to issues as grand and as deadly as military action against another country. The justification of the west in this instance might be, to paraphrase, “we are answering the call of a sister nation that is being oppressed by dictatorial, autocratic, or menacing other nation, who is, according to one side of the narrative, trying to take what does not belong to it.” To solve this, and to solve other looming conditions that now stand not only at our very doorstep, but decidedly above it: rising sea levels, melting ice-caps, shifting earth, warming planet etc, and again, which very well is attributed, at least in part, to human activity – to unbridled and unchecked human greed. Add to it that we’ve only just now are beginning to see the end of what was labelled a global pandemic, of all reasons why a war of violence, perdition and attrition should be proposed now of all times? Again, who decides war?
It stands as absolute fact that all nations must come together as one. A culture of divisiveness, of separateness, other than, has evolved, whether by intention or design, upon which much of the functioning of the political system feeds and makes decisions, creates policies that many find are at odds with what would otherwise seem humanistic principles. The very framework is built upon the notion of opposition, contrariness, and at times, spite and anger. We must know who the enemy is, it seems. For if we give the enemy a name and a story, we can then give our intentions justification, whatever they might be.
In my opinion, the tacit acceptance we as a people have had for the notion of the practice of Public Relations – which is essentially just selecting only the facts that a government or corporate body wishes to inform the narrative with, in order to sustain and/or grow revenue, often at the expense of truth and reality.
Public Relations, Perception Management and Misinformation
With the permissiveness we’ve accepted over time, there is no onus upon corporations or government representatives to be truthful, transparent or trustworthy. We have collectively created and allowed the practice of public relations and perception management to become one of deliberate obfuscation and manipulation of truth and perspective. For these same, especially where government is concerned, to now cry wolf and point fingers with a cry of disinformation and misinformation – shouldn’t we also, then, look carefully at politicians and political parties who engaging in election banter or political rhetoric? Politics are based on an agenda, an agenda is perspective, not truth, necessarily. Aren’t the lobby efforts of large special interest groups or industry representatives then also, to shape policy that would be favourable to big business, and thus to the governments that allow such policy frameworks? Are these results measured against some notion of what is in the best interests of the wider public, or just the few who stand to benefit?
This practice of obfuscation, gaslighting, and mis-truth, has been running roughshod over our collective notion of fairness and social equity. These are outgrowths of rampant privatization across the board, and, as the Fraser Institute put it, as referenced in Michael Moore’s film, The Corporation, the intention is to “monetize every square inch of the planet”, free and unhindered of any form of government or regulatory interference. This has occurred quietly over time, and by virtue of the powerful corporate lobby and gerrymandering, to completely remove any sort of oversight. If we are to successfully shift this tide, new infrastructure must be planned and implemented. It is time to become active citizens of TRUE democracy.
SOLUTIONS:
All people must come together, regardless of colour or creed.
Start meditating to expand and strengthen the mind muscle, to become the fullest version of yourself.
Embrace the very essence of mindful living. The whole of human history was written in the present moment. Thus, the first step in a new direction is where your power and capability lies. Deliberate, thorough contemplation; right intensive action; effective result.
There is no past and future, only cause and condition. Do not allow your mind to become trapped in the labyrinth of memory or conjecture.
