Friday, September 22, 2006

Friday Reflection: "History will judge us on this, forever"


This week's quote (no guesses at all this time) comes from one of the quiet revolutionaries of the 20th century, a man who could have reinvented the way we educate our children--if only we had been paying attention. His name is Jiddu Krishnamurti, and, just as we do here at Daily Rev, he taught independence and the infinite paths to it--though admittedly with far greater eloquence and insight than you will find amidst these pages.

Our quote: "it is only those who are in constant revolt that discover what is true, not the man who conforms, who follows some tradition" comes from Think on These Things, a collection of his teachings on education. Krishnamurti was a genuine, cut-the-crap type of spiritual teacher in the same vein as Lao Tzu, Emerson, Rilke, Rumi, Basho, and William Sloane Coffin. You can look through some of his books at amazon; you can also sample his work at The Krishnamurti Foundation; and even see him in action at Google Video. Before we leave him for now, let's read a little more of his teaching on "revolt," because it says a lot about what we are trying to do here at a blog called "daily revolution:"


Listen to the question first, because it is very important to understand the question and not just wait for an answer. The question is: if all individuals were in revolt, would not the world be in chaos? But is the present society in such perfect order that chaos would result if everyone revolted against it? Is there not chaos now? Is everything beautiful, uncorrupted? Is everyone living happily, fully, richly? Is man not against man? Is there not ambition, ruthless competition? So the world is already in chaos, that is the first thing to realize. Don't take it for granted that this is an orderly society; don't mesmerize yourself with words...The world is in a process of decay. If you see the decay, you have a challenge: you are challenged to find a way of solving this urgent problem. And how you respond to the challenge is important, is it not? If you respond as a Hindu or a Buddhist, a Christian, or a communist, then your response is very limited--which is no response at all. You can respond fully, adequately, only if there is no fear in you, only if you don't think as a Hindu, a communist, or a capitalist, but as a total human being who is trying to solve this problem; and you cannot solve it unless you yourself are in revolt against the whole thing, against the ambitious acquisitiveness on which society is based. When you yourself are not ambitious, not acquisitive, not clinging to your own security--only then can you respond to the challenge and create a new world.


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In this vein, we're giving the Friday Reflection space over to a man who left us a comment in yesterday's post (if you haven't read it, check it out--just click "Comments" in the footer of the post).

Jay McGinley is a man who has dedicated himself to an urgent human cause. Curiously, he has gotten virtually no notice in the MSM for doing essentially the same thing for Darfur as Cindy Sheehan and the Code Pink crew have for Iraq. Their chosen means of civil disobedience has been the hunger strike. But while Sheehan has garnered regular coverage (though much of it negative) from the MSM and a daily presence at Michael Moore's website and truthout, McGinley's protest has gone--like the genocide in Darfur itself--largely ignored (and I'm betting that Cindy Sheehan would be among the first and the loudest to deplore the media ignorance of McGinley and his cause). I searched google news and truthout's archives and found nothing there beyond a piece in an Ithaca College campus newspaper. But then again, George Clooney went to appear in Congress on the same topic, and he didn't get much ink, either.

Obviously, McGinley is not trying to win converts to the practice of starving on behalf of a cause. He is simply asking for vocal support for the innocents of Darfur. How you choose to deliver that support--with money, letters to the editor, calls to politicians, joining protest marches and rallies, or another means of making your voice heard amidst one of the most terrifying holocausts in human history--well, that's the choice you are free to make. But you will need to make a pest of yourself--this is not one of those issues where an email or a donation is sufficient. This is one of those get-in-the-face-of-power moments of human history.

Here, then, is an excerpt from Mr. McGinley's piece at Passion of the Present:

Who can stop this slaughter? ONLY ME AND OR YOU CAN STOP THE GENOCIDE. “Never think that a small group of committed people can't change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has,” wrote Margaret Mead.

I think that a corollary to this is: NEVER THINK THAT A COMMITTED INDIVIDUAL CAN'T CHANGE THE WORLD. IN FACT, IT IS THE ONLY THING THAT EVER HAS.

Many, many, many people are involved already, but how many of us are committed? Never Again depends on me and you, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.

How hard will it be to stop the extermination now? MUCH HARDER THAN WE HAVE FACED. Isn't it self serving, to think that to Rescue and Restore Darfur will take less than the commitment seen in the Antiapartheid, Civil Rights, or similar struggles? Yes, it is self serving to deny that the cost to me and you must be very dear. Ten years ago the cost was too high for me and you to rescue Rwanda.

Also Darfur?

What can stop the Genocide? ONLY OUR HUMANITY RADICALLY UNLEASHED, A CRUSADE OF NONVIOLENT ACTION, CAN STOP THE GENOCIDE, CAN RESCUE AND RESTORE DARFUR. It is not our intelligence, methods, computers, political skills, connections, military or the Internet that can stop the Genocide. It is not our hoped-for Generals (Bush, Kofi, UN, Senate, Congress, France, Nato, Germany, China….) who will Rescue and Restore.

They will NEVER be the army needed.

When will the time be right for us to stand up? THE TIME WILL NEVER BE RIGHT. You and I are WAITING for the right plan, the right strategy, the right time, the right leadership, the right resources… There is no such thing.

There is no safety, comfort or certainty in battle. Our choice is not to wait for the right opportunity. Our choice is whether to enter the battle or not. We must enter the battle now, alone and unsure.

What Spirit and Tactics are required? THE SPIRIT OF LOVE AND FAITH, THE TACTICS OF FASTING, DEMONSTRATIONS AND CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE. Whenever there have been campaigns that led to mass Rescue and Restoration, the Spirit was one of selflessness, love, courage, justness and faith; faith that if we embody the will of our Father to the extreme, He will use us to move the mountain.

And the TACTICS WERE EXTREME, MATCHING THE EXTREME FORCES OF DESTRUCTION. If we do not aggressively employ these tactics we have chosen to let the Genocide extermination prevail.


Save Darfur Action Link

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