Seeking Unity

2008-1-27 01:47:00

John C:

"Strange that I've never heard of him (Jack Handy). I had to look him on in the Internet, but most of the Google links were broken. I did finally find a site with some of his quotes. I don't 'get' him, just like I don't 'get' Seinfeld."

JJ:

The funny thing about Seinfeld is it took me until the last couple seasons to get into it. For a long time I thought it was the dumbest program on the air and then suddenly it clicked with me and now I like them all. Usually, if I do not like something in the beginning I never like it but I have to admit that there were some great subtleties in this series that I came to appreciate.

John C:

"We as a nation cannot even come together in agreement over a common enemy. But, given that we cannot even agree about our common enemy, or agree about the greatest threats that this country faces, you pointed out perhaps the greatest threat of all -- the divisions in this country. Not everybody can see the seriousness of these divisions until they are pointed out to them, and not everybody can see a solution to these divisions until somebody points it out to them. A good beginning, as you said below, is to find areas where we can agree, and then work towards greater agreement.

"In a higher state of evolution, we can inspire people to unify under a common ideal or a common idea. Nothing is as powerful as a great idea whose time has come. Not even force. Not even the threat of a common enemy. How do we lift people to a higher state of evolution? How do you do it here? By teaching and inspiring.

"Here are some quotes from your posts about the divisions in this country..."

[Quotes removed.]

JJ:

The truth of the matter is in our current state of evolution both extremes are dangerous and suffocate progress. The quotes you brought up indeed highlight the need for greater unity. At this point in time the free world, especially the United States, is at a point of friction not seen since the Civil War. We can't expect full unity but it is true that a powerful leader could unite the majority. We must keep in mind that such a leader could be one that takes us to the light or dark, backwards or forwards in progress.

Perhaps the greatest unity seen among free peoples was during World War II. An unprecedented percentage of people saw the true enemy of freedom, which was Hitler, Nazism and totalitarianism. This united vision was a great accomplishment for humanity. As terrible as Nazism was its evils could not have been apparent in past ages. It was a huge stepping stone toward the new age that free humanity caught a glimpse of true evil and called it what it truly was. Just a few hundred years earlier Hitler could have been hailed as a world savior and Nazism seen as a glorious movement.

The united effort of the Allies did not come painlessly. Before Pearl Harbor over 80 percent of Americans did not want to enter the war, but after being awakened to this attack the percentage was reversed, even though there was a strong anti war movement. We achieved a great unity because we had a clear enemy, a clear threat and we knew what we had to do to achieve victory.

One of the problems of achieving unity today is that everyone sees a different enemy. After the 911 attack we as a nation saw a common enemy for a few weeks. Then, shortly thereafter, conspiracy theories started to surface, as well as partisan bickering, so that now terrorism is seen as a minor police problem by a high percentage and Bush, the government, bankers, the military, Zionism, Republicans, Democrats and shadowy figures are seen as a greater threat than the terrorists. The line between good and evil is blurred and there is no clear enemy or hero for the majority.

If we get a president that is a real leader and can inspire us to good then some healing can occur but I believe that we are approaching a time that a real unity must come from within. The people themselves must take the initiative, set goals and work toward change that the greater majority can support.

For instance national polls point out that there are quite a number of issues that more than 70 percent of the people would support, but our leaders drag their feet because of the Washington mindset who try to impose their own views rather than truly representing the people. I'm going to present some ideas for change that will appeal to the majority in future writings in the hope of starting the ball rolling.

I guess it's about time to get back to work on my next book.