Most of the people-in-the-know have been saying that the events in the Middle East and North Africa caught them and everyone by surprise. Well, not everyone! I don’t often quote whole paragraphs of the Handbook in my Posts but as the forces of Social Change of the Fourth Kind sweep across the region (and the world) Dr. M’s words ring as true as the other predications of the Riri Enia. Here is a quote from Chapter 26.
Most parents believe that their way of seeing the world is the right way for their children to see the world. This belief is both true and false. It is true because there are certain fundamental lessons that are critical to the welfare of the child, the preservation of social order, and the survival of the species. It is false because the parents and the child do not live in identical cognitive, cultural, or social realities. Each has to make an effort to understand the cultural reality of the other. As a parent you can give your children insight and navigational skills to access the culture. Your children on the other hand are born to bring social change. Herein lies an essential tension between parent and child, adults and children, the present generations and those to come. It is best if this potentially explosive tension is resolved in Peaceful Space. When the youth are under-educated, unemployed, disenfranchised, and their essential nature stifled, they will seek to bring about change by any means necessary. Look at the countries around the world where the innate potential of youth has been denied to the violent detriment of the society. Most modern societies around the world have shifted their focus away from the needs of their children, the future of their children, and the Prime Directive in favor of the selfish short-term interests of adults, especially those who exercise the various forms of social power (governance, economic, institutional authority, or social status).
Current events speak to the truth of Dr. M’s message. In the Handbook, Dr. M. says that the collective experience of the Inurere (Humanity) forms a Quantum Personality with its own Energy Signature. And every change that takes place within the Energy Signature of our planet (Ile Inurere – the Home of Humanity) affects everything as a whole (the land, water, and air, the micro-organisms, plants, insects, fish, birds, animals, and Inurere). What is happening now in the Middle East and North Africa is just the tip of what is pushing its way into the Pataki Aiye (Material World). I wonder to what extent we in the United States are pushing our own children towards a confrontation with the established order that it would be best for us to avoid. Clinging to things that are by nature impermanent is the source of suffering was the Buddha’s message. Change and adaptation are in the nature of things and in the nature of our children. If a society chooses to cling to that which is contrary to the nature and needs of its children it does so to its own great peril.
Across the US children are living in poverty, being under-educated for the needs of the times, being driven into lifelong poor health through the consumption of unhealthy foods, and being seduced to believe that their worth as human beings is based on their level of consumption. We should take current events as a warning of what lies beneath the surface of our present social order. Promoting the Prime Directive as a fundamental and essential aspect of our social interactions with each other and in the nurturing and education of our children is another step towards establishing a Human Contract that works.
Living in alignment with the Prime Directive
is a choice to which everyone should be invited!
You have been invited!
You have been invited!
Create Peaceful Space!
Trust Your Process!
Peace, Love, and Health!
1 comment:
Thought provoking blog! In light of the ongoing natural and man-made catastrophes that are ongoing, it appears that the Okuj Enia are indeed pushing their way into our world. It also appears that a Social Change of the Fourth Kind is simultaneously occurring. In support, research suggests that since the mid 1990’s, democratization has come about by a “wired civil society” that uses digital media to undermine authoritarian rule (Howard, 2010). Change, in the Middle East and North Africa, for example, has been apparent since the mid of December, 2010 (Fahim, 2011). The civil protests from their citizens have resulted in the overthrow of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (“Tunisian leader flees”, 2011) and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (Kirkpatrick, Shadid, Cowell, 201). Furthermore, several leaders are announcing their intentions to step down including Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh (Sudam,2011), Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir (“Party: Bashir”, 2011), and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (“Iraq angered”, 2011).
Dr. M makes an excellent point that the present generation of individuals “are born to bring social change” and that it is best that the change is resolved in a Peaceful Space. In harmony, one of the key factors in the Middle East and North Africa protests is that the vast population of the younger generation have been using the social media tools effectively (Shenker, 2011). Dr. M also brings out an excellent point that the more educated the present generation is, the more effective the change. As illustrative, since the percentage of the young population in Egypt are unemployed but well-educated, they have channeled their energy ( often non-violently) towards democratic political change including self-organizing themselves to check bags of other protesters for weapons etc. and encouraging each other to clean up the streets afterwards (Shah, 2011).
In light of the principle that Ile Inurere’s Energy Signature affects life form on earth (i.e., the land, water, and air, the micro-organisms, plants, insects, fish, birds, animals, and Inurere), it is my hope that the a “Human Contract” can be established between the older / younger generations towards a more peaceful space for Social Change.
References:
Fahim, K. (2011, January 21). Slap to a man’s pride set off tumult in Tunisia. New York Times.
Howard, P. N. (2010). The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and DemocracyInformation Technology and Political Islam.
Iraq angered protesters call for Maliki resignation". lsumaria.
Kirkpatrick, D. D., Shadid, A., Cowell, A. (2011, February 2). Mubarak Steps Down, Ceding Power to Military". New York Times.
Party: Bashir is not standing for re-election. (2011,February 2). Gulf Times. 2011-02-22.
Shah, A. (2011, March, 6). Middle East and North Africa Unrest. Global Issues.
Shah, A. (2011, March, 6). Middle East and North Africa Unrest. Global Issues.
Shenker, J. (2011, February, 11). Young Arabs who can't wait to throw off shackles of tradition. Guardian.
Sudam, M. (2011, February, 2). Yemen president says won't extend presidential term". Reuters.
Tunisian leader flees amid protests, PM takes over. (2011, January 15). USA Today.
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