Gene's Blog

Continuing on :^)

Yesterday we stopped with God talking about the inability of we, the people, to see other than the extremes of government, the debate between those who would have government be all things to all people at all times and those who would prefer no government at all, essentially, other than roads. They do want roads. I had a few things to say about all that. Hey, it was yesterday, scroll down, if you’re curious. I am moving on today with the discussion between Neale and God. Although, first I will repeat that I am in the camp that believes love is the answer to every question. We’ll go much deeper into that idea in time, but I want to say here, that it most certainly does not mean “turn the other cheek”, it is not as simple as that, there are times when even love must stand up and be counted or it is not love. We’ll talk about those times in days to come, today and for the next few, we’re going to stick to government and its affect on our lives.

Neale raises some very good points near the bottom of page 134 in Book 2, in response to God’s observation about the two extremes in our society, United States society, specifically: “Yes, and the problem is that there are so many who can’t provide for themselves in a society which gives the best life opportunities to those holding the “right” credentials (gene inserts: this book was written in 1997 – long before anyone knew George W. Bush would become our next president, but George W. is the perfect example of what Neale is talking about here) (or, perhaps, not holding the “wrong” ones); who can’t provide for themselves in a nation where landlords won’t rent to large families, companies won’t promote women, justice is too often a product of status, access to preventive health care is limited to those with sufficient income, and where many other discriminations and inequalities exist on a massive scale.

God responds: Governments, then, must replace the conscience of the people?

Neale says, “No. Governments are the people’s conscience, outspoken. It is through governments that people seek, hope, and determine to correct the ills of society.”

God responds: That is well said. Yet, I repeat, you must take care not to smother yourself in laws trying to guarantee people a chance to breathe!
You cannot legislate morality. You cannot mandate equality.
What is needed is a shift of collective consciousness, not an enforcer of collective consciousness.
Behavior (and all laws, and all government programs) must spring from Beingness, must be a true reflection of Who You Are”

Neale: “The laws of our society do reflect who we are! They say to everyone, “This is how it is here in America. This is who Americans are.”

God responds: “In the best of cases, perhaps. But more often than not, your laws are the announcements of what those in power think you should be but are not.

Neale: “The “elitist few” instruct the “ignorant many” through the law.

God: “Precisely.”

Neale: “What’s wrong with that? If there are a few of the brightest and best among us willing to look at the problems of society, of the world, and propose solutions, does that not serve the many?”

God: “It depends on the motives of those few. And on their clarity. Generally, nothing serves “the many” more than letting them govern themselves.”

Neale: “Anarchy. It’s never worked.”

God. “You can grow and become great when you are constantly being told what to do by government.”

Neale: “It could be argued that government – by that I mean the law by which we’ve chosen to govern ourselves – is a reflection of society’s greatness (or lack thereof), that great societies pass great laws.”

God: ” And very few of them. For in great societies, very few laws are necessary.”

Neale: “Still, truly lawless societies are primitive societies, where “might is right.” Laws are mans attempt to level the playing field; to ensure that what is truly right will prevail, weakness or strength not withstanding. Without codes of behavior upon which we mutually agree, how could we coexist?”

God: “I am not suggesting a world with no codes of behavior, no agreements. I am suggesting that your agreements and codes be based on a higher understanding and a grander definition of self-interest.
What most laws actually do say is what the most powerful among you have as their vested interest.
Let’s look at just one example. Smoking.
Now the law says you cannot grow and use a certain kind of plant, hemp, because, so the government tells you, it is not good for you.
Yet the same government says it is all right to grow and use another kind of plant, tobacco, not because it is good for you (indeed, the government itself says it is bad, but, presumably, because you’ve always done so.
The real reason the first plant is outlawed and the second is not has nothing to do with health. It has to do with economics. And that is to say, power.
Your laws, therefore, do not reflect what your society thinks of itself, and wishes to be – your laws reflect where the power is.”
Neale: “No fair. You picked a situation where the contradictions are apparent. Most situations are not.”

God: “On the contrary. Most are.

Neale: “Then what is the solution?”

God: “To have as few laws -which really are limits – as possible.
The reason the first weed is outlawed is only ostensibly about health. The truth is, the first weed is no more addictive and no more a health risk than cigarettes or alcohol, both of which are protected by the law. Why then is it not allowed? Because if it were grown, half the the cotton growers, nylon and rayon manufacturers, and timber products people in the world would go out of business.
Hemp happens to be one of the most useful, strongest, toughest, longest-lasting materials on your planet. You cannot produce a better fiber for clothes, a stronger substance for ropes, and easier-to-grow-and-harvest source for pulp. You cut down hundreds of thousands of trees per year to give yourself Sunday papers, so that you can read about the decimation of the world’s forests. (gene inserts – and which forests produce the very air we breathe) Hemp could provide you with millions of Sunday papers without cutting down one tree. Indeed, it could substitute for so many resource materials, at one-tenth the cost.
And that is the catch. Somebody loses money if this miraculous plant – which also has extraordinary medicinal properties, incidentally – is allowed to be grown. And that is why marijuana is illegal in your country.
It is the same reason you have taken so long to mass produce electric cars, provide affordable, sensible health care, or use solar heat and solar power in every home.
You’ve had the wherewithal and the technology to produce all of these things for years. Why, then, do you not have them? Look to see who would lose money if you did. There you will find your answer.
This is the Great Society of which you are so proud? Your “great society” has to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to consider the common good. Whenever the common good or collective good is mentioned, everyone yells, “communism!” In your society, if providing for the good of the many does not produce a huge profit for someone, the good of the many is more often than not ignored.
This is true not only in your country, but also around the world. The basic question facing humankind, therefore, is: Can self-interest ever be replaced by the best interest, of humankind? If so, how?
In the United States you have tried to provide for the common interest, the best interest, through laws. You have failed miserably. Your nation is the richest, most powerful on earth, and it has one of the highest infant mortality rates. Why? Because poor people cannot afford quality pre-natal and post-natal care – and your society is profit driven. I cite this as just one example of your miserable failure. The fact that your babies (gene interjects: STILL, 11 years later) are dying at a higher rate than most other industrialized nations in the world should bother you. It does not. That says volumes about where your priorities are as a society. Other countries provide for sick and needy, the elderly and infirm. You provide for the rich and wealthy, the influential and the well-placed. Eighty-five percent of retired Americans live in poverty. Many of these older Americans, and most people on low income, use the local hospital emergency room as their “family” doctor, seeking medical treatment only under the most dire of circumstances, and receiving virtually no preventive health maintenance care are all.
There’s no profit, you see, in people who have little to spend…they’ve worn out their usefulness.
And this is your great society.”

And here endeth today’s lesson. Tell me. Just tell me, given that this book was published in 1997 WHAT HAS CHANGED? The circumstances God is castigating our society, our CULTURE about, in 1997 exist today, exactly as they did then. We still have no national health care, we still have no dignified way to care for our poor, elderly, infirm and those unable to care for themselves. We have “safety nets” that are no such thing. We STILL have poor and elderly people using emergency rooms as their ONLY source of health care. We have proven in study after study that preventive health care produces healthy populations and we STILL do nothing about it. We still cling to this silly, outmoded, NEVER TRUE, nonsense propagated by the right wing, that “I made it myself, so must everyone else.” As if that were actually true. Every day I read letters to the editor claiming exactly that. NO ONE makes it by themself. NO ONE. We all had parents, teachers, mentors, guidance and help along the way. We did not emerge into this atmosphere from our mothers womb and have NO HELP AT ALL from that moment on until we ended up in our gas-guzzling monstrosity of a vehicle spewing forth poisons that corrupt our health, our air, our groundwater and our land. We all had help. Lots of it. To claim otherwise is a bald-faced lie. Yet, many people in this nation make exactly that claim – beginning with right wing media, print, radio and television. They prove the old adage, we touched on yesterday, that if you repeat a lie often enough and loudly enough, eventually people begin to believe it. And we have a nation full of fools who do believe exactly that. They got from mama’s womb to that three million dollar house in the suburbs completely on their own with no help from anyone. They actually believe that. Because they’ve been told that, over and over and over, by whom? By those who profit most from the continued obeisance and votes of those poor fools making $100,000 a year with two incomes who firmly believe they are part of the elite, that when the power brokers of this country make decisions, they are making them with them. They believe they are part of that inner circle, when the truth is they are one lost job, one down-sized position, one tragic accident from the poorhouse, just like those paycheck to paycheck living slobs they consider so far beneath them and with such utter contempt that they care not how many of them die beneath bridges this night – they should have done better for themselves, their deaths are their own damn fault. Lazy, good-for-nothing layabouts that they are. If they WERE worth anything, they’d be living out in the ‘burbs, making their own way, just like those poor fools who have bought the republican party mantra, hook, line and sinker. Lest you think this is going to turn into a leftist diatribe, let me assure that it is not. I, and God, are coming back to that side of the power gap too. There ARE issues there that need addressing. Some of them created by well-meaning but short-sighted policies and programs with no sunset provisions and on built-in measures to PROVE that the results intended are being achieved. We’ll talk about those things too. In detail. For tonight thought, this is enough to chew on. I’m not saying take this as gospel. I am saying, read it, think about it, and come back for more. We’ve a long road to travel together. We’ll become friends along the way, I promise. much love, :^) gene

If today brings even one choice your way
choose to be a bringer of the light :^) gene