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All of us who are born into a body and grow up in an
environment dominated by our physical surroundings, our family,
schools, and culture are filled with physical, psychological, and
social conditioning which shapes the instincts we inherited
through our genes from our ancestors. As we mature and learn how
to draw upon the spiritual resources within ourselves to exercise
our intuition and freedom of will, we find that we have various
tendencies and habits which may conflict with our spiritual
perception of what is best in the situation.
To free ourselves from this programming we must learn to
acknowledge what it is and make conscious choices based on higher
values and careful reasoning. This is not always easy because of
the physical and emotional habits which may resist our search for
wisdom. We call this freeing process liberation---spiritual,
theological, political, social, economic, psychological, and
physical. To transcend our patterns of conditioning we must become
conscious of them by acknowledging and understanding them. The
pragmatic test of whether we have become liberated is not only the
attitudes we develop and the words we speak but ultimately our
behavior and actions which demonstrate that we are not bound by
the old conditioning. However, discussing these issues and
changing our attitudes is part of the process of eventually
changing our behavior. The many conditionings are so
all-encompassing that we may see one pattern, and in attempting to
free ourselves from that one we may fall into several other traps
that may limit our awareness and effectiveness.
This chapter will discuss seven broad categories of conditioning
which include and overlap with various patterns we all experience,
and in addition there are many other "-isms" we also
need to work on. I have selected those I consider the most
important and dangerous for immediate attention.
Sexism
The greatest difference between human beings is the biological
distinction of sex. There are slightly more females than males,
but the division is roughly in half. However, because women have
had to bear the burden of caring and nurturing children, for
generations in evolution and culturally men have taken advantage
of their physical strength to dominate women, resulting in
domestic oppression and excessive strife and fighting between
males. These masculine warlike tendencies are now threatening our
entire planet and must be changed.
Since souls incarnate equally in male and female bodies, there is
no spiritual justification for either sex to be in a superior
position. The oppression, dominance, and exploitation of women by
men must be stopped. Since these patterns have a long biological,
social, economic, and political history, the conditioning is
deeply embedded in the culture as well as in the instincts. Our
patriarchal society naturally favors men and masculine qualities.
These very imbalances have destroyed what could be a natural
harmony of cooperation. To cure a society diseased by domineering
and exploitative attitudes and practices we need more women to
take a stronger role in politics and culture along with men who
are sensitive to the feminine side. We must stop giving over our
power to domineering males, and we must not allow them to push us
around anymore. We need individuals and groups who are balanced
and healthy wholes; we don't necessarily need women who have
become over-masculinized and aggressive nor men who have become
too weak and passive. Peace and harmony result from equality and
justice. Women must assert their right to participate and let
their feelings be known, and men must learn to become sensitive to
women and their own feelings and intuitions. We need more
cooperation and less competition. We need less
"leadership" from the top and more group sharing.
In this process the old stereotyped social roles are breaking
down, and we are finding women active in traditional male roles
and men more involved in customary domestic tasks previously
delegated to females. We are all growing in this development and
finding a common ground of understanding and experience.
As individuals we can examine our daily lives for the vestiges of
sexism and work to develop our wholeness. Similarly in groups we
can point out to each other how society has been prejudiced
against women and work to change our own group attitudes and
practices so that feminism has its proper place. Because the old
patterns are so ingrained and strong, we must make extra effort to
attempt to balance the equation in favor of the side that has been
so long oppressed.
Isn't it time we begin to feed and nurture the world and stop
trying to arm and dominate it by aggressive force? Can we break
the logical chains of rationality that have led us to the
development of thermonuclear weapons and star wars? Can we respect
the earth and the beauty of nature instead of plundering and
robbing? Can we use art and music to teach and appreciate human
values rather than be dominated by science and technology in a
mechanized world? Can we learn to share with each other instead of
grabbing greedily to possess? Can we supply the world with an
abundance of teachers, doctors, and nurses instead of armies,
navies, and air forces? We need more women doctors and more male
nurses. Can we listen to each other with our hearts instead of
making speeches with our egos? The answer to all these questions
is yes; in fact, if we don't change our patterns, our very
survival is in danger. When we surrender to love of all and follow
our hearts, then we will be on the path of healing and happiness.
Racism
In my view there is only one human race with many wonderful
variations. Evidence for this is that the gene pool is mixed, and
no combination of different "races" has ever been found
to be sterile. Nevertheless in recent evolution certain group
patterns emerged. Because of the need for vitamin D from the sun
to prevent death by rickets, lighter skinned humans were naturally
selected in the northern climates. In Africa where sunshine was
plentiful, black skin color was retained. In the Orient the
Mongoloid people with eyes having an epicanthic fold and slightly
yellowish skin color formed another large human population. In
between the white Caucasians of the north and the southern Negroes
are many native brown peoples. None of the differences between
these "racial" groups significantly alters their human
capabilities or sensitivities.
Although physical differences give people an easy means of
discrimination, the prejudices usually develop for cultural
reasons. Different languages and traditions often make
communication and understanding difficult. Thus for example,
Chinese and Japanese may discriminate against each other's
minority populations. Blacks in the United States have suffered
the worst treatment, because of how they were oppressed as slaves
collectively. Native American "Indians" also were badly
treated because of cultural differences. In both these latter
cases dominating whites often felt insecure and afraid that these
people would break out of their oppressed circumstances and fight
back or take away the advantages the white settlers had exploited
for themselves. Thus racism became wrapped up in economic and
social exploitation of a poor class which was easily identifiable
so that they could be "kept in their place."
Unfortunately these patterns are still with us, and white people
unconsciously consider "colored" peoples as inferior,
making it seem permissible to treat them badly, especially those
in "foreign" countries. Although whites are in a
majority in the industrialized western nations, globally whites
are very much in the minority. Thus subconsciously these mostly
white nations are afraid of losing control and dominance, as in
South Africa where the whites are a small minority. Since the poor
tend to have higher birth rates, there is also the fear that the
black, brown, and yellow "hordes" will overrun the
whites, even in the United States where these minorities are
increasing. Maybe non-white peoples historically have larger
populations, because culturally they are not as aggressive and
warlike.
Perhaps the worst part of racism is how it dehumanizes the
racists' own sensitivities toward other human beings. Ironically
those who consider others inferior are the ones who have morally
and spiritually degraded themselves by their arrogance. They have
closed their hearts and minds to souls who are equal to themselves
by treating them as objects instead of as spiritual beings. They
are violating the fundamental spiritual principle of loving each
other as ourselves, and not just individually but en masse. We all
have the right to choose our friends by affinities, to hire
workers by their skill and experience, etc., but to prejudge an
entire group of people arbitrarily by skin color or cultural
heritage is to limit oneself and commit wholesale injustice.
Foreign policy is often influenced by these racist prejudices in
combination with nationalism and imperialism. United States
citizens are upset that about 59,000 Americans died in Vietnam,
but how many people are concerned that Americans killed at least
one million Vietnamese people? Hundreds of thousands may be dying
in Africa and tens of thousands in Latin America, and people pay
little attention; but if a dozen Europeans or North Americans are
killed it is treated as more important. The United States was a
great "melting pot" for Europeans, but now that those
who want to come are Latin Americans or Asians, severe
restrictions keep most of them out. Black slaves were welcomed,
but how many free Africans are allowed?
I personally delight in meeting people from other races and
cultures, because I find it very interesting to know a diversity
of people. How boring it is when everyone in the group is so much
the same! As we develop our global culture and the new
civilization of world unity, the intermingling of cultural and
racial backgrounds will increase. Intermarriage will become more
common, and in the future I prophecy that there will be on earth a
golden race with a great variety of hues and characteristics, all
of which will be appreciated for their own beauty.
Imperialism
Nationalism can be either good or bad. In some cases the spirit
of nationalism can help to unite people to stand up for their own
rights and independence from a foreign power. However, as an
independent country grows in nationalism, it tends to become a
problem to its neighbors and in abusing its power can become
imperialistic and domineering. In the world today the smaller
countries often need a nationalistic spirit to consolidate their
liberation movements and to stand up against the imperialistic
influence of the superpowers.
We in the United States have a special responsibility to restrain
our government, because since 1945 the USA has established and
promoted the Pax Americana for the benefit of the capitalist class
and the luxurious lifestyle of North Americans. Two thousand years
ago the Romans sent legions of soldiers throughout the
Mediterranean world to enforce the Pax Romana. In
recent centuries the dominance of the British navy held
considerable sway in a Pax Brittanica, although
competing for colonial domination with France, Germany, Italy, and
Japan resulted in two world wars and the emergence of the Soviet
Union as the predominant power in Eastern Europe and northern
Asia, while the United States extended its military forces into
Western Europe, Africa, and the Pacific. The western hemisphere
had already been marked off as a U.S. preserve by the Monroe
Doctrine in 1823.
The Soviet Union is the largest country in the world, and it has
attempted to match the military power of the United States in the
arms race competition; but outside of Eastern Europe, Afghanistan,
and Mongolia, it is difficult to make a case for Soviet
domination. Certainly they have allies in Angola, Cuba, and
Nicaragua, but this is because these nations who have liberated
themselves from capitalist domination have had to turn to them for
help against U.S.-sponsored military aggression against their
national independence. (In the case of Angola, the original
aggression which now is supported by the U.S. was from South
Africa.) Cuba, Angola, and Nicaragua consider themselves
non-aligned, independent nations. The non-aligned movement was
begun by India's Mahatma Gandhi and Yugoslavia's Tito to give
nations the option to join together in freedom from either one of
the two dominating superpowers.
Since World War II the United States has formed a series of
alliances with nations whose governments share a common economic
ideology, and in this way and by military threats and occasional
intervention it has attempted to stop the spread of dreaded
"Communism." The result is that the United States has
the most powerful navy and air force the world has ever known with
military bases throughout most of the world. The governments the
U.S. supports are not always the best for the people in those
countries, but by the use of military might, which includes
military aid as well as sales, conservative and sometimes
reactionary and exploitative governments are able to maintain
themselves in power by repressing efforts for change in their
countries. The Soviet Union also bears the responsibility for its
smaller empire in Eastern Europe, and it also has suppressed
people's rights and efforts for reform. However, since the spread
of Gorbachev's perestroika and glasnost to Eastern
Europe, those satellite nations and some of the Soviet republics
have been breaking away from Soviet domination, causing the
crumbling of the Soviet empire. Even in the Soviet Union dogmatic
Communism is being abandoned as experimentation with free
enterprise expands. Now it is time for the United States to give
up its domination of other countries and allow true
self-determination and freedom without intimidation by U.S.
military and combined intimidation and bribes by U.S. military
aid. In the complexity of life both empires have evil and good
aspects, but the people of the world will be freer and small
nations can be more independent and self-reliant if they can be
liberated from the domination of both superpowers and their
allies.
Since these alliances are primarily economic and diplomatic, I
call this neo-imperialism. The economic aspect can be seen in that
the United States, which has less than 5% of the world population,
is using over one-third of the world's resources, and the first
world of western Europe, the U.S., and Japan, which are 20% of the
population, are using 80% of the resources. Only 3% of the U.S.
military budget actually is used for the defense of U.S. borders.
Even the portion that threatens the Soviet Union, supposedly as a
deterrent, is much less than the remainder which directly
threatens the third world.
No nation has the right to try to force its will on other nations
nor to exploit them in selfish ways. How often do we hear
politicians talking about the "national interest"? Is
this not a group egotism or selfishness? Shouldn't we be thinking
globally and be asking ourselves what is in the best interests of
everyone? We must get beyond tribalism and become universal in our
loyalties. If we do not begin to think in terms of human unity and
the good of the whole earth, this struggle between these two
empires could destroy us all. Therefore the nations that try to
impose themselves on other nations must be restrained---first by
their own citizens and also by people of the world who are
considering the good of everyone. Respect for international law,
treaties, and world organizations are ways that we can transcend
this imperial conflict and call to account the government
officials who are acting in a criminal manner through their
foreign policies. Nonviolent action to stop these imperialistic
designs and crimes may be the most effective way to stimulate the
revolutionary changes needed here.
Militarism
The use of military force is the opposite of freedom and
respect for self-determination, because it is a violent attempt to
force one's will on another. The military is the mindless arm of
the state and is sworn to obey its commands. It is like a great
machine with many human cogs to operate the technologically
sophisticated instruments of killing. In the past warriors used to
face other warriors directly and courageously fought face to face.
As weapons technology has advanced and killers operate from
greater distances, war has become impersonal. Modern wars have
also increasingly been waged against civilian populations. Many
more civilians were killed in the first world war than ever
before, and by the end of the second world war, entire cities were
being destroyed from airplanes. Now a nuclear war threatens to
kill hundreds of millions, 99% civilians. Even the
"low-intensity" wars in the third world attack civilians
because of the confusion in fighting insurgent guerrillas. Or, as
in the case of the Nicaraguan contras, economic and civilian
targets are hit because of the inability to attack the Sandinista
army directly. Thus war has become more devastating, and the
military have become more cowardly in hiding behind their
sophisticated weapons, while the war-planners and generals sit
behind their desks.
Basic training for the military reveals how dehumanizing the
military life is, as people are stripped of their individuality
and independent thinking skills, natural feelings, and are turned
into efficient killing machines programmed to take orders without
question. In many nations, especially in Communist countries,
military service is compulsory. In capitalist societies, such as
the United States, the unemployment problem causes the poor and
less educated to join the armed forces for the economic security
offered. This "poverty draft" insulates the higher
classes and educated from the militarism that has been growing
steadily in this country.
Militarism is the dominant characteristic of fascism, whether of
the right or the left. Power and authority is taken by the leaders
of the state, and everyone else is compelled by threats and fear
of violence to obey their orders. Independent thinking is
discouraged as is the spontaneous expression of feelings. Only in
this way can humans be conditioned to kill other humans so easily.
To liberate ourselves from militarism, we must live according to
love and respect people as individuals and groups, living freely
ourselves according to our own conscience and allowing others the
same right. In the way of nonviolence, which attempts to treat
everyone with love and understanding, individuals are encouraged
to think for themselves and question authority, to learn as much
as possible about the issues and share that knowledge with others,
both with those who agree and those who do not. Group organization
is not usually hierarchical with leaders and authorities above
giving orders, but effort is made to treat everyone as on an equal
human level. Everyone is encouraged to participate in discussions
which result in group decisions. Individuals are free to join or
leave groups according to their conscience and interests. By
trusting in human freedom to choose and by demonstrating the power
of love in action to transform individuals and eventually
societies, through nonviolent action we can learn to dissolve the
militarism in our society by showing that it is not necessary in
order to protect what is good for the whole society. In this way
every individual can be empowered, instead of just the leaders at
the top.
Materialism
Perhaps the underlying value system that motivates people to
develop a militaristic society is materialism. People are afraid
of losing their economic security, want to hold on to the wealth
that they have accumulated, or are greedy to obtain greater
riches. Socrates said that the love of money is the major cause of
wars and that the root motivation for the love of money is the
desires of the body. A society's desire for luxuries and extra
resources which must be taken from other social groups causes that
society to become feverish and unhealthy. To feed this disease of
consuming more than they can produce, the government is obliged to
create an extensive military to protect its goods and expand its
economic prerogatives in other territories. Thus when justice is
lost, the government becomes chaotic until it eventually
degenerates into tyranny or fascism, as is described in Plato's REPUBLIC.
To anyone whose values are spiritual or human, materialism turns
everything upside down. When out of selfishness things become more
important than people, then spiritual values of truth, love,
charity, goodness, wisdom, justice, faith, courage, etc. take a
second place to the prevalent "bottom line" mentality.
The bottom line, of course, represents the financial profit to the
individual or corporation. When the largeness of that number takes
priority over every other consideration, then hedonistic
materialism reigns supreme. People will lie, cheat, rob, steal,
exploit, manipulate, and sacrifice their other values and their
friends and other people for this single-minded objective.
The ironies of this are several. Usually the rich tend to become
more caught up in this game, and they are the ones who need more
things the least; often their lives are unhappier even than the
poor they are exploiting, because they are always discontent. The
societies with the most luxuries seem to be most obsessed with
buying more things. Because of this greed the poor within the
society and in other societies do not have enough of even basic
needs. In the 1980s while some people have become richer, those
living in poverty have increased in numbers, and many more of them
are now young. Living below the poverty line means that a person
or family must choose between basic necessities, because their
funds are not considered enough to meet them all by that society's
standards. Of course the poorest people in the United States would
be average members or better in the poorer countries.
Another irony is that the fear and insecurity of this value system
causes wealthy nations to spend a tremendous amount of their
financial, material, technical, and human resources on the
military to defend this way of life. Yet what the military are
being paid to do, and all the weapons and equipment they use and
stockpile do not really improve the quality of anyone's life. Of
course the salaries these people receive do help them, but this
would be the same if they were given the money as welfare. What
consumer is benefiting from a Trident submarine or an MX missile
or a B2 bomber? Thus the money people are given to spend privately
is good for them as well as the economy as a whole, but the work
and products that the government obtains by its military spending
provide no services to anyone except for this
"protection." Do we really need it? Wouldn't everyone in
the world be better off if none of the nations had to spend all
this effort for fear or aggressive greed? The military industrial
complex is the biggest welfare fraud ever! If you don't believe
it, check out some of the salaries that are being paid to the
engineers, scientists, technicians, and corporate executives. Some
of these executives receive several hundred thousand dollars per
year plus another several hundred thousand in bonuses! Yet many
people think that if a single mother or unemployed person has to
go through the humiliation of receiving and using food stamps that
this is some sort of abuse.
We need to evaluate our value systems individually as well as
collectively and ask ourselves if we are devoting our lives to
pleasurable activities and the collection of various toys, or are
we giving of our talents and energies for the good of humanity?
Can we share some of our possessions to help others and allow
ourselves the time to work more for peace and justice? How can one
or two people take up a large house when there are so many
homeless people among us? Do we buy expensive new clothes when we
already have more than we need? Do we need to make so much money
that we have to pay federal income tax to a government that is
preparing to destroy the world? To live at the maximum income
without owing taxes, which is now over $400 per month for an
individual, we are living at the poverty line in solidarity with
the poor people of the world and are not contributing to their
exploitation and the threats and use of violence in our name. This
requires sacrifice of phony values and false needs, but by living
communally in order to share goods and limit expenses you may be
surprised to find life much more interesting and personally
fulfilling.
Dogmatism
Dogma is the Greek word for opinion or decree. Surely we
believe that everyone has the right to their own opinions, and
even this idea itself is a belief. What happens when people try to
force their belief system on someone else? Of course no one can
make someone believe something against their will, because belief
involves a use of the will. Yet groups often will attempt to
manipulate people's beliefs by rewarding and punishing certain
attitudes and behaviors. Strong psychological programming will
tend to produce individuals and groups who will stubbornly adhere
to the dogmas instilled in them. The number of people who think
things out for themselves even on major issues is still rather
small in our society.
The United States of America was founded on and is supposed to
encourage freedom of belief and expression of those beliefs. Yet
religious beliefs can prove as resistant to reason and change as
the nationalistic ideologies promoted by governments. The Soviet
Union has always been more controlled in its expression of ideas,
although it is opening up much more now with glasnost. For
example, in the USSR it is illegal to advocate war and other
anti-social behavior. In the United States we are permitted to
advocate anything except the violent overthrow of the government.
I believe in as much freedom of ideas as possible so that people
can learn from the free exchange, because I trust that if all
ideas are allowed people will eventually choose the best. We need
not be ruled by fear of bad ideas, but rather show their
deficiencies and replace them with better concepts.
The problems occur when people act upon their dogmas without
intelligently thinking out their consequences. People tend to act
based on their belief systems. If this results, either
intentionally or unintentionally, in injustice, then the conflict
must be resolved. People who are psychologically insecure will
tend to cling to their beliefs and not want to question them. Thus
the combination of religious fundamentalism and nationalistic
patriotism, which are often thoroughly instilled in people through
the family, church, schools, and the media can lead to a blindness
that supports U.S. policies and hates anything vaguely referred to
as Communist. In the United States and much of Latin America this
fear of Communism is so extreme and irrational that it is a
collective neurosis which results in very unhealthy attitudes and
governmental policies. Anti-Communism tends to be irrational,
because of dogma based on false propaganda and immense distortion
of what Communism is and what the real intentions of Communist
governments are. This red-baiting is used by politicians to
manipulate voters, discredit reformers, and justify immoral
policies.
Yet we all believe in something, because all our conscious actions
come from some motivation and objective we believe is possible to
attain. We need to evaluate our own beliefs to see if the values
implicit in them are really for the best of everyone. Also if we
have faith that our beliefs are good, then we do not need to try
to force them on people by military power, but we can allow a free
process of discussion in which everyone has the right to
participate.
So what do we do when a group or government tries to force its
dogmatic beliefs on other people by force of arms or unfair
discrimination? Some of the beliefs in the United States that tend
to prevent reform are that there is a free marketplace of ideas, a
free political system, guarantees of free speech, press, and
religion, and open attitudes, but we find that the reality is that
money interests dominate that marketplace, that political system,
the major media and churches, and that the attitudes of most
Americans tend to be closed because of so many other superficial
interests. In one sense we need the faith that we can change these
processes by free discussion, but on the other hand this blind
belief in symbolic efforts may prevent us from taking the
nonviolent action necessary to stimulate the changes needed in
this planetary emergency. The governments are acting with millions
of people and hundreds of billions of dollars to enforce their
beliefs throughout the world. If these actions are ethically wrong
and harmful to people, we have a moral obligation not only to
express our beliefs symbolically, but I believe we also have a
conscientious duty, if we feel called to it, to act in loving ways
to stop these terrible crimes.
When people do act on opposing belief systems, then there will be
conflict. Yet by confrontation of opposing views differences in
worldviews can be resolved. If our belief is in love and
nonviolence as the basis for our action, then this confrontation
will be what Martin Luther King called "creative
conflict." In other words when people are active yet
nonviolent the process of change will tend to be promoted but at
the same time be less destructive, thus creative. We should
realize that nonviolent action is based on beliefs and values, but
at the same time as it stimulates people to choose more
consciously what they are supporting, it does not use violent
force against people. Rather nonviolent activists present their
bodies and lives in the way of harmful actions, willing to take on
suffering if it is inflicted by the opponent without retaliating.
Thus not only are beliefs symbolically challenged, but the
behaviors that result from them are also physically challenged
without forcing the new belief on them. Yet the new beliefs and
values are presented to those whose behaviors are being protested
in a way that they cannot ignore. When the ignorance in our
society is so great that it is threatening the entire human race
and mother earth, then it seems to me we must experiment with such
bold moves.
Egotism
Ego is the Greek word for I. Every personality has an
ego and could not exist without one. Egotism, however, is the
inflation of this personal self beyond its useful function. Thus
sometimes we need to practice "ego-puncture" to deflate
our own sense of personal importance when it gets in the way of
other people's interests and expressions.
Although part of our liberation is personal empowerment, it needs
to be blended with group empowerment and global thinking. The
process of being true to our self and manifesting our integrity is
subtly different from aggrandizing our personality and certainly
is not dominating others. This respect for the true self within us
must include the self within others or else we find ourselves in
the double standard of egotism, which implies that I am more
important, better, or worth more than you. As Brian Willson said
of the people in Central America, "We are not worth more;
they are not worth less." By respecting equality of persons
we are not only empowering others but in a spiritual way are
empowering our own true self.
Egotism is especially noticeable in small groups, because the
dominant personality tends to restrain the opportunities of
others. The group where individuals are able to see beyond their
own personal considerations in order to harmonize these with
others' interests will be an empowered group that will flow and
change and operate as an organic whole rather than be pulled and
pushed in different directions haphazardly.
Egos of different sizes and temperaments can be equally
problematic. We tend to think of the big ego as always being
inflictive, but it can also be supportive and capable of taking on
large responsibilities if the group so chooses to allow this. The
person with a large ego can strengthen the group but must be very
careful not to dominate and take over. The smaller ego also may be
supportive and capable of accomplishing much if others are
supportive of that person. However, the small ego that is insecure
can pull energy from the group by acting helpless and always
seeking emotional approval. The group can help this type of person
become weaned from dependency by letting the person gain maturity
through experience. People in the group also need to keep the
strong ego from dominating the process and point out the need for
restraint when appropriate.
As our groups become successful, we need to be careful of group
egotism in relation to other groups and the public. Again
self-esteem is not the same as conceit which comes out of
self-deception. If groups are unable to cooperate with other
groups working for similar goals, then the coalition building
needed to develop a large movement becomes problematic. Similarly
if we act toward our adversary as though we are somehow morally
superior beings, then our self-righteousness is sure to bring a
negative reaction. We can believe in ourselves and our cause, but
we must also believe in the true selves of all other individuals,
realizing that they too understand some truths. If we listen to
them as equals, they are likely to reciprocate; and both of us are
likely to learn and gain from the experience. By understanding
others' viewpoints we learn how to communicate more effectively
with them.
The subtleties of egotism will always be with us, because we are
always attempting to harmonize our personal interests and
responsibilities with those of other individuals and groups. If we
don't look out for our own interests, then who will? As long as we
have a body we must take care of it and keep it functioning. No
one is likely to know our hurts and joys if we don't tell anyone.
At the same time we need to observe and listen to others so that
we can best relate with their situations.
So from the immense world problems we face, as we begin to work on
solving them we find that peace must begin within ourselves. If we
are to become effective peacemakers and really change the world,
we have to work on ourselves first and while we are in process of
developing group efforts for social change. To ignore our personal
development for the sake of the world is to reduce our personal
effectiveness in working for change; and to ignore the world to
concentrate on our own spiritual growth is to limit that to a
selfish and narcissistic process. Thus we must work simultaneously
on transforming ourselves and our society; and as we shall see,
each process helps the other.
NONVIOLENT ACTION HANDBOOK
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