By everyday standards, elections are bizarre. I have often written here about the collective unconscious, and of personal spiritual healing affecting the world at large, even as it is silent or even tucked away in a monastery or Himalayan cave, and elections often pose the same kind of mental/spiritual weirdness. (Me) Keeping neutral on our own presidential election, one has to wonder at how the polls have shifted so sharply towards Trump, although little has really happened. The same could be said for Obama's win over Clinton for the nomination in 2008. Even I felt it: there was this huge surge toward Obama that had little to do with events on the ground, other than speeches that gave little to nothing in substance. Oftentimes, something happens in these grand displays of the collective, and no one can really, really say what that is or why. The pundits wish to hell they could. They tell us in flat language what they believe, but as often as not are proven wrong. No one really knows, although that lack of knowledge is invariably buried by smart-people summations later on. But how can they write about the truth, when the tools used for analysis cannot describe it? It would be like a physicist describing the flight of a shaman in a trance. Wrong tools for the job.
This might be instructive for the pessimists among us. Last night, I heard again the lament of some youth at the dismal prospects for our future. Feeling wise, I stopped this line of reasoning in its tracks. On the one hand, the facts are that, in many ways, times are tough, both financially and diplomatically, but what else is new? The worst financial times in my life were during the latter half of the Carter admin., and first few years of Reagan's, @ 1978-82. Stagflation. Low moral in the military. High unemployment and, as Carter put it, a "malaise" over the nation which as I recall was very real. And my parents! The great depression, WWII and the start of the terrifying Cold War, with all its nukes. Talk about end-times. Then for both of us, the culture war of the late 60's and the attendant riots which make of anything today a mere party gone amok.
On the other hand, and more important (I believe), is the fact-in-hindsight that all of these hard times were overcome. This is not to be overly optimistic; in fact, we could have indeed been buried by Khrushchev or have fallen apart through bitter internecine fighting. That such things didn't happen point not only to the structure and wealth of this country overall, but to our inner sense of destiny, of who we are and where we are going.
There is great truth to self-fulfilling prophecies: if you believe you are going to fail, you are more likely to do so. If youth in this country by-in-large believe we are really screwed and nothing can be done to stop it, this might just well happen. But we, and they, can probably stop this from happening through a belief that there is a bright future before us. On the one hand, this is not so mystical or artsy-fartsy as it sounds: if you act out of optimism for the future, you will be more energetic and productive. On the other hand, though, artsy-fartsy does come into play. The communal spirit - and we have all felt it, whether at church or at a concert or among family and friends - brings others to think and feel in kind, either poorly (think rape and pillage among invading armies), or admirably. So it is that today's youth, discouraged that they have no voice to improve the world, are missing the one great power that they have, as a collective. With no more action than the marking of a ballot with hope, or even just with affirmative beliefs, they could seriously alter the chances of their nation for positive change.
Norman Vincent Peal made a fortune saying just this, but apparently his message has to be repeated on a regular basis. No, not his message, but the message of many great sages throughout history. Your actions - or inward in-actions - on the moral and spiritual plane have tremendous power, not only for the inner life, but for the outer. It is probable that darkness tends towards darkness, and light towards light (however that is judged), but watch the movement of this most interesting election. It might hinge on an "October Surprise," a bit of ugly fact about the candidate that was hidden, but it is more likely that it will hinge, or the "surprise" will hinge, on some inner movement of the populace, dependent not only on a vast array of issues,. but on the communal common ground which often moves in directions that simply cannot be steered or be predicted by the experts.
And young folks, keep up hope. Yours is an exceptional time, but most generations have to live through at least one exceptional time. Keep your hope morally grounded, and see if it doesn't work out - if not for the best, at least not for the worst. And remember that crucial knowledge of 'group spirit' for the generations who will follow you. FK
This might be instructive for the pessimists among us. Last night, I heard again the lament of some youth at the dismal prospects for our future. Feeling wise, I stopped this line of reasoning in its tracks. On the one hand, the facts are that, in many ways, times are tough, both financially and diplomatically, but what else is new? The worst financial times in my life were during the latter half of the Carter admin., and first few years of Reagan's, @ 1978-82. Stagflation. Low moral in the military. High unemployment and, as Carter put it, a "malaise" over the nation which as I recall was very real. And my parents! The great depression, WWII and the start of the terrifying Cold War, with all its nukes. Talk about end-times. Then for both of us, the culture war of the late 60's and the attendant riots which make of anything today a mere party gone amok.
On the other hand, and more important (I believe), is the fact-in-hindsight that all of these hard times were overcome. This is not to be overly optimistic; in fact, we could have indeed been buried by Khrushchev or have fallen apart through bitter internecine fighting. That such things didn't happen point not only to the structure and wealth of this country overall, but to our inner sense of destiny, of who we are and where we are going.
There is great truth to self-fulfilling prophecies: if you believe you are going to fail, you are more likely to do so. If youth in this country by-in-large believe we are really screwed and nothing can be done to stop it, this might just well happen. But we, and they, can probably stop this from happening through a belief that there is a bright future before us. On the one hand, this is not so mystical or artsy-fartsy as it sounds: if you act out of optimism for the future, you will be more energetic and productive. On the other hand, though, artsy-fartsy does come into play. The communal spirit - and we have all felt it, whether at church or at a concert or among family and friends - brings others to think and feel in kind, either poorly (think rape and pillage among invading armies), or admirably. So it is that today's youth, discouraged that they have no voice to improve the world, are missing the one great power that they have, as a collective. With no more action than the marking of a ballot with hope, or even just with affirmative beliefs, they could seriously alter the chances of their nation for positive change.
Norman Vincent Peal made a fortune saying just this, but apparently his message has to be repeated on a regular basis. No, not his message, but the message of many great sages throughout history. Your actions - or inward in-actions - on the moral and spiritual plane have tremendous power, not only for the inner life, but for the outer. It is probable that darkness tends towards darkness, and light towards light (however that is judged), but watch the movement of this most interesting election. It might hinge on an "October Surprise," a bit of ugly fact about the candidate that was hidden, but it is more likely that it will hinge, or the "surprise" will hinge, on some inner movement of the populace, dependent not only on a vast array of issues,. but on the communal common ground which often moves in directions that simply cannot be steered or be predicted by the experts.
And young folks, keep up hope. Yours is an exceptional time, but most generations have to live through at least one exceptional time. Keep your hope morally grounded, and see if it doesn't work out - if not for the best, at least not for the worst. And remember that crucial knowledge of 'group spirit' for the generations who will follow you. FK
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