A Moment of Personal Growth

Fox News, accessed 2/6/2018

 

Today, I read that an activist leader for Black Lives Matter was gunned down in New Orleans.  As a practicing Buddhist, and a professional social scientist, I feel it is necessary for me to write down my thoughts about the matter, as it is relevant to my personal and professional development.

 

One place that has an especial significance for me for unknown reasons is the Republic of Ireland.  For some reason, I feel drawn to the ongoing conflict in that tiny island.  It is arguably one of the oldest conflicts in the world that is still warm enough to not be considered resolved.  I will state categorically that I presently support the Good Friday peace, and believe that the way forward for the IRA and nationalists is through civic organization, non-violent action, and using democratic institutions to bring about the unity and peace that has so long evaded the island.  I think the conflict should be an English problem, and not an Irish one.  Furthermore, I know the Republic is ecumenical enough to accept the Protestants of Northern Ireland as equals, and that all religious and national identities are welcome, so long as you don't behave like an anti-social in it.  What is Ireland but a nation of nations, some swept up by the sea, some deliberate immigrants?  The point of all this is, is that I suspect that I may be an incarnation of Michael Collins' mindstream.  For those of you who are unfamiliar, Michael Collins was the one who organized a team of less than forty active individuals to raise enough Hell for the British in Dublin during the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921), that conditions could be compared to Baghdad for the Americans during the Invasion of Iraq.  That's how effective Michael Collins was, and guerrilla warfare can be against an unwanted invader.  But I digress.

 

On hearing the news of Muhiyyidin Moye's death tonight, I felt angry.  However, after a brief moment of anger, and reflection on past events of my own creation and choosing, I am pleased to say that I am opting for a different path. I do not know if it is the best path for the moment, or any moment for that matter. But I do know that it is and was a better path than the ones I've gone down in my past several odd lifetimes before this time. I do not wish to be gunned down for nothing, as Mick was, nor am I actually interested in becoming a fugitive of the law to have no positive effect on this existence I seem eternally a part of.

 

As a Buddhist, my only wish is that those who are actually innocent of actively creating negative karma would be spared the grave injustice of having to pay for the crimes of the ignorant, the conservatives, and the Right-wing as a whole ideology and group of people.  As for me personally, I would be happy if the Right-wing people, and people with that psychological and behavioral phenotype be perceived as being the dangers to themselves and others that they demonstrably are. They're violent. They're anti-social. And they're highly disoriented and confused about our common reality, our place in common reality, and how to perceive and make accurate sense of that common reality.  They can't handle change.  They can't process ambiguity or difference.  And there is preliminary evidence to support these and other neurological and psychological differences between conservatives and the rest of the human population.  

 

I believe it is time for society, and the psychological, legal, and medical professions to examine this line of reasoning carefully, to see if there is validity to it.  I am personally concerned about the effects that even "healthy" and "functional" Right-wing preferences have on this world (as understood by 21st century American standards).  The only clearance I am looking for is for them to be classified, in this current state of ideology and personal development, is for them to be labeled as dangerous to themselves and dangerous to others; the standard legal call that is made for people with suicidal or homicidal inclinations.  My desire is for them to be brought into examination and treatment, even if it is against their will, and for their ideology's status to come into question.  I do not believe it has equal validity or accuracy when compared to alternative ideologies and principles based on evidence from human history (which you can find by looking at previous posts of mine; I will not elaborate further here). 

Therefore, we have a series of choices to make as a society and people.  These choices will have consequences and impacts that will last far beyond any of our current comprehension or ability to perceive immediately.  We can choose our institutions and governing logic in our human societies.  The questions that remain are will we work to improve ourselves domestically as a society, and externally as a society among societies and the environment?  It is my hypothesis that we cannot continue to accept Right-wing ideology and ideologues from governing our societies.  I wish to continue this line of reasoning on a peaceful path, and to not to create unnecessary harm to the overall society.  I am, however, unsure if that will be sufficient.  I can only honestly hope that this comes to be, and that I and others who are not actively creating problems in our world can get a pass for the behavior of those who are.  I am aware of what I am theoretically capable of.  I'm scared of me.