The Ultimate Evil Twins -
Totalitarianism & Terrorism
By Diane Harvey
merak@sedona.net
11-21-3
Most people believe there are two sides to the current world war. And
there are, but not the two that are normally spoken about in the major
media. The deeper opposites at war here are disguised by the
escalating outward show of grisly tit-for-tat between two very
different types of evil. Fundamentalist terrorists and fundamentalist
totalitarian authorities are simply the two extremes of the forces of
regression on Earth. That they are in a war to the death over which of
them will rule does not make either of these extremes anything other
than they are: forms of ultimate human darkness. Terrorism and
totalitarianism are something more and worse than best friends,
strengthening one another's resolve with every act of violence. These
two are evil twins, indissolubly joined at the hip, even as each tries
to chop off the other's head.
The real opposing sides at war here are two very different kinds of
potential futures for the human race. Progressive thinkers understand
that we have reached the point at which a measure of peace and plenty
is actually possible for a significant portion of the human race. It
is well understood that such a reasonable future can only manifest if
the embodiments of entrenched greed who presently run the world and
dispose of all our resources are deposed once and for all. What is at
stake behind the scenes is a more humane and just future for the
majority, or an increasingly tight grip on humanity's throat by a
ruthless, remorseless elite
There is no conceivable way in which terrorism can eventually win this
war against the national and global forces of totalitarianism. There
are many reasons why terrorists will eventually be killed off, even
though it means that some nations will use appalling military forces
against the citizens of other nations. No matter how many decades, how
much life, and how much of the world's resources it consumes, this is
a war that will be fought to the bitter, certain end. Ordinary human
beings will increasingly be inclined to accept the rapidly
precipitating World Security State as the only answer to acts of
fundamentalist terrorism in the streets.
For those of us who deplore the suavely sophisticated predations of
current earthly powers, the spectacle of terrorism versus
totalitarianism presents a nightmare devoid of the prospect of waking
up any time soon. Every human being on earth is losing this war,
whether they know it or not. The prospects for a relatively decent
future are diminishing, discernibly, day by day. We know who will
ultimately win this particular battle, and we know what will happen
next. The real war for human freedom will only then just begin.
So long as fundamentalism in its low-grade manifestations continues to
bedevil us, the forces of totalitarianism will remain powerful.
Regardless of whether political or religious, intractable
fundamentalism constitutes the spiked tail of human evolution. We can
and do hurt ourselves terribly when this dangerous and antiquated
appendage lashes out wildly. Simultaneously, techno-totalitarianism
acts as sharpened horns on the head of mankind, slicing through
obstacles at all costs, hastening us toward an infinitely more refined
version of a dark future than any envisioned by terrorists. In terms
of exercising power, the creature that humanity symbolically most
resembles at this point has been mentioned in world literature
throughout the ages, and it is not the image of our better angel.
Most human beings are basically decent, and capable of much more than
mere decency. Those who believe otherwise mistake their own
projections for reality. But at this stage we are also an apathetic,
selfish, and comfort-seeking species as well, and in this is the key
to our lack of peace on earth. There will be no peace for any of us
until we rise up together, in the name of our common humanity, and
vigorously overturn both extremes of the forces of greed and hate
ruling the earth. The interlocking, interactive forces of regression
and division will not step down from power, or cease from trying to
annihilate one another, just because we ask them nicely. What is good
in humanity will have to fight for its life, if it is to have a future
at all. Every form of creative will and intelligence must be called
forth from the sleeping soul of humanity, because there is no escape
and no going back. If we truly love humanity, we are going to have to
fight brilliantly and courageously for the survival of all that it
means to be human.
Can it really be necessary for human beings to battle aggressively for
eventual freedom from both totalitarian and fundamentalist forces? Of
course it is. Is it possible that as a species we are going to have to
wage a genuine war, against the worst elements within ourselves, for
the sake of a humane version of peace and justice? Of course it is.
How we will prosecute the coming war for freedom from our own worst
embodiments is up to us, and to those who oppose such a possibility.
Will acts of creative genius suffice against the forces of darkness?
Personally, I believe they must. There is no military solution
available for establishing genuine justice and sanity on Earth. This
is a war that must creatively and efficiently deploy minds and hearts
and souls against the entire hardened world structure of deadly
intransigence, in all its forms.
For now the following scenario must remain a figment of imagination in
the minds of practical idealists. But consider the effect of ten
million people peacefully yet resolutely marching on the White House
in Washington, DC, demanding essential reforms in no uncertain terms.
I believe that those who think the military would fire on an immense
body of civilians in such an instance are quite wrong. Marching and
mass demonstrations can be a relatively useless form of exercise, but
by no means always. Peaceful assembly gains immense potency when
exercised by very large numbers simultaneously, and at times can be
exceedingly effective. The great secret that people have forgotten is
just how fearful despots always are, and by definition must always be.
Despots never forget the very thing that the people seldom remember:
there are many more of us than there are of them.
There are an infinite number of ways for humanity to force a peaceful
revolution in behalf of its own intrinsic values. Just consider the
effect of millions of consumers agreeing to stop buying anything at
all on stated days. And specific boycotts may have little force on
earth yet, but the possibilities are spectacular. How long would it
take to bring venial worldly powers to their knees once humanity
really begins to exercise its own powers, in cleverly effective acts
of resistance? Probably not very long: the hard part is waiting for
people to wake up to the necessity.
The problem is that collectively we have not yet understood what is at
stake. The wits of the western world are dulled by collusion with
greed. The wits of the eastern world are dulled by deprivation. We
have not yet begun to insist, in sufficient numbers, on uniting to
create our own reasonable future. There's no telling how far human
beings must sink separately in order to rise up together. No one
really knows what degrees of suffering it will take to awaken us.
Nevertheless, beyond the vicious fistfight between terrorism and
totalitarianism, there is another world entirely, hovering just out of
sight and waiting to be born. That much is certain. What is not at all
certain is whether or not a sane and peaceful world will come into
being any time in the immediately foreseeable future. For now, the
frenzied death grip exercised on world affairs by the evil twins has
far too many of us mesmerized by ignorance and paralyzed into
inactivity.
Nevertheless, the present moment also contains many varieties of
wondrously potent and viable seeds for good. There are as many
nourishing possibilities as there are intelligent and loving human
beings imagining and working for such ends. For now, each person can
do something every day, however humble, toward manifesting a rational
future. This is not enough yet, but it happens to be what we can
realistically do, and what we can realistically do is what we must do.
A decent life for all will not spring full blown from the bleak
wastelands of the present by sheer accident of spontaneous generation.
We will be obliged, like it or not, to struggle unequivocally, and to
absolutely insist.
In order to protect and nourish our visions of a decent and
sustainable future it is insufficient to focus solely on manifesting
the wonderful forms this may take. If we expect to see these new forms
of life have any chance to take root, we have no choice except to
fight, as strenuously and as elegantly as possible, against each and
every element of chaos and darkness currently overwhelming the human
race. If humanity does not insist on acquiring the reins of genuine
self-determination, by means of love, will, and the judicious use of
our powers of creation and destruction, then the future will be
exactly what we fear.
As things stand today, the reign of the evil twins of terrorism and
totalitarianism could conceivably continue for a very long time to
come, constantly changing form, yet never altogether dying of
attrition. Our children and their children and their children as well
could all too easily languish in a world of perpetual war, abject
poverty, abysmal ignorance, and suffocating waste. This is the overall
direction in which we are currently headed. Either we alter course or
we will continue to arrive, decade after decade, at ever worsening
versions of this same desolate destination. In reality, there is no
force on earth that can oblige us to continue as we are, if we choose
otherwise in sufficient numbers. Our destiny is given over into our
own hands. Through understanding and the right application of our
innate power of free will, we already contain the collective capacity
to create the world we want to live in. But it won't come true unless
and until we make it come true.
"life is like a mushroom, they feed you ***** and keep you in the dark"
.
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