Have you noticed the propensity of our human race to blame others for their problems? It is endemic in our society, is it not? And this happens not just globally, but on an individual basis as well---within our relationships at home, at work and at school.
One thing I have learned is that those who blame others are usually not much different than the people they blame! After all we are all human--and is not the underlying cause of human decay and corruption present in almost all of us?
Of course, we emphasize the differences between “us” and “them” to be able to justify our position with statements such as, “well I don’t engage in bribery and money laundering", or, “I don’t kill innocent people...”, and so on.
Unfortunately, by emphasizing the differences we tend to overlook the overlapping similarities. Is the glass half-empty or half-full? One could argue either way--but is it not more comprehensive and realistic to see the glass as BOTH half-empty and half-full?
See, I can complain about terrorists who kill people with guns and bombs, while unbeknownst to me that most of the killing world-wide is psychological in nature, and that this psychological killing is happening inside the privacy of our homes, and inside our schools...and that it is being perpetrated by individuals who are psychologically not much different from myself.
In fact, I will elaborate a bit by suggesting that what our culture calls, “education” and “socialization” are actually conditioning processes that dumb down the individual. And further--that because of their emphasis on threat and punishment ("discipline")--that these conditioning processes actually encourage the propensity towards violence and unsocial behavior in those prone to it.
So, I can argue that you are a terrorist because you kill people with guns and bombs, while at the same time committing my "killing" with words and gestures, and then being so absolutely dumbed down, that I am completely unable to make the connection between my form of killing and yours, or between my form of killing and the endless wars fought throughout human history!
Similarly, when we complain about corrupt bankers and about corrupt government officials, are we not being blinded to the personal corruption within ourselves?…and that perhaps it is this same personal corruption expressing itself in these bankers and government officials at their own level of expression?
Or to look at it another way, I can complain about corrupt corporations and the banks that finance them, while at the same time being dependent on the products and services that these “corrupt” entities provide… all the while brushing aside (de-emphasizing) the fact that my dependency on them is what affords them the revenue that they need to be able to influence foreign governments abroad so they can commit the human and environmental atrocities that we often blame them for!
I know I sound harsh, but it seems to me that the underlying cause of the problems we complain and blame on others is present in most each and everyone of us. This underlying cause being our human ego with its conflicting values and beliefs.
You may be interested in knowing that other living creatures do not have an ego, and therefore, the fear that is at the source of human corruption IS NOT present in them. That is, the fear that they feel is non pervasive, non vindictive, and non destructive to their society as a whole.
You may also be interested in knowing that we have had exceptional human beings throughout history that have shed their egos in a process that is commonly called ‘spiritual enlightenment’. Two of these exceptional humans lived within our lifetime: Jiddu Krishnamurti and Peace Pilgrim; documentaries of their lives are available on YouTube.
I have written this essay as a wake-up call and not as a criticism of you and me. It should be obvious by now that we have a deep psychological human problem of existence. And that we as humans can never permanently solve our human problems unless we can psychologically and spiritually evolve to the level of Peace Pilgrim and others like her.
Hopefully you will be inspired by these videos and by my writings to begin this process of evolution within yourself, and to begin--at least initially, to understand why we have the problems that we have all over the world. Peace and love be with you!
One final comment: You may be thinking that "blaming" is sometimes justified, such as the blaming of Hitler for WW2. The problem with this is that once you make ONE exception then you fall into the trap of making MORE exceptions, and then we end up exactly where we are right now. Think about this, and think real hard! These are issues that each and everyone one of us must figure out independently on our own, because once you depend on me or on anyone else, then you are lost--then it becomes one's opinion VS the other's...and we are back exactly where we started!
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