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The Almighty Ego…
I’ve often sat back and pondered modern day people and our society to try to figure out why things seem so out of place and wrong in today’s age. From science to spirituality and careers to families…nothing seems to be working very smooth…and it only seems to be getting worse. We’ve gone from a dominant free thinking society and world to a lavished, lazy, poorly motivated ‘train wreck’. Why is all this happening? Where did we go wrong? The heart of the problem, for those who are part of the cause, always falls back on one simple principle of human nature, and my least favored of all… greed. I just can’t seem to put my finger on why people have such a large appetite for greed. Does greed take the place of spirituality for some? Possibly…maybe the feeling of little or no faith in anything after one dies causes the default frame of mind to ‘die with as many toys as possible’. Or, maybe people just like to be that way? Either way, it sounds incredibly childish to me…but then again, who am I, right? So I began to ask myself…where does this greed come from? My answer was the same as all the other poor qualities we harbor within ourselves…the ego. The ego feeds the assumption that the sun rises and sets on one’s own…well, lets just say…self ;), and although that would be technically true for everyone, the ego doesn’t seem to look that far ahead to consider others. Left unchecked or uncontrolled…the ego will manifest the worst of our own tendencies and nature…as we all can see these days. How often do we all hear, “I want”, or “I have to have”, versus, “I wonder what would be in the best interest of others”, or “how can I be a good role model for others”? There doesn’t seem to be much thought for others or the greater good anymore…but you sure will hear it from those that want something from you…”It’s for your own good”, or “I’m only looking out for you”. Compare how many times you have heard these lines versus how many times it was actually the truth. Religion, science, and politics are the main places that you will always see these principles hard at work. Ask yourself…how many people were favored more by their God just because that individual paid more money to their religious faction? I guess if that were the case, I’d have to quote a phrase from a well-known comic, “God is almighty and the Creator of everything…He’s just not too good with the checkbook!” How many times has science claimed this and that for the good of the environment, the good of mankind, or the health and well being of our lives? We’re supposedly living longer today, but the price is that it’s on a plethora of medications while the environment is heavily polluted and numerous species are dying off in record amounts…hmmm, for the well being of what again? How many political leaders promised us the world just to get into office and then turned and did whatever they wanted to once they were in power? And last, but not least, how do all these areas end up playing together for the same cause? Politicians always play on family and religious values to gain the public’s trust, then the religious factions endorse them and speak ever so highly of these people, all the while getting special treatment and lobbying from behind the scenes. Then the science world gets hired to ‘steam ahead’ with scientific proof of the politician’s agenda, but all the while is pressured into giving jaded results so as to make the picture look ‘oh so good’ from behind ‘rosy glasses’. The public should pay close attention to the particular words given by all of these areas…then maybe a clearer picture would be painted. Words like: ‘agenda’, ‘we feel’, ‘maybe’, ‘projected results’, ‘possibly’, ‘may or may not’, ‘potential’, etc, etc, etc… Why is it that all these words are the ones predominantly spoken by the supposed leaders of the people? Where are the ‘actual results’, what are ‘the guarantees’, what are ‘the facts’? And not just the ones obtained by a small control group of like-minded people who agree with the one asking the questions nor any ‘doctored’ reports and information with parts left out so as to spin everything in a different direction! Case in point…political polls…generally asked to those who don’t have the ‘problem in question’, or by those with similar party affiliations. How hard is it to get the answer you’re looking for when you ask a loaded question to a loaded control group? This is what is considered accurate? Another instance…religious institutions…organized, preach and even threaten, at times, their established doctrine supposedly in effect for hundreds of years. Then why was there just a headline about an Italian journalist that went to several confessionals and confessed made up sins that ranged from prostitution, to homosexuality, to murder…and with the exception of abortion, each of the priests gave varied responses and advice that were mainly opposite to their supposed sworn doctrine. Lastly, which kills two birds with one stone…science and political motivations/coercions. Scientists have, for quite some time, been warning of the effects of industrial pollution/contamination and the effects on the environment, namely global warming. Recently, (approximately 5 years ago), some scientists began to say that it was all wrong…the effects weren’t all that bad and above all else…we cannot sacrifice industry or economical stability for something silly like the environment. So soon after the 2007 new year, it was leaked that the scientists reporting these effects of global warming, or lack there of, were being pressured by governmental entities so that the reports matched the political agenda, (there’s one of those words again). Amazing! Prime examples of the ego hard at work…usurping all the proven methodology and processes, bypassing the common sense part of the brain, and doing whatever they want because there is no doubt that they know better than everything and everyone else, even though all the factors and proof point otherwise. All this and we haven’t even touched base on all the other ‘ordinary average people’ who act and do the same kinds of things every day. They say what they’re going to do, (vaguely, of course), then do whatever and put a spin on it when they’re caught red handed. Or, better yet, those who just keep changing their story for personal gain and attention, or even better yet, those who plagiarize others ideas and works and then try to pass them off for their own…all in the name of, what I like to call, the “Look at me! I’m somebody!” syndrome. Craving attention at any cost, which is usually at someone else’s expense. Is that really all that matters to them? That someone pats them on the back and says, “There, there, nanny’s little angel…you are so very smart and special”? That kind of mentality and behavior is a direct byproduct of no self worth or self esteem, not to mention that it should have left all of us around nine years old! And if these kinds of people don’t get their way, or their attention…they throw grown up temper tantrums, threaten people, or end up on a daytime television talk show crying about how it’s everybody else’s fault for their shortcomings…oh please…grow up, suck it up, or just plain shut the (edit) up! It’s long overdue that we, as humans and the top of the food chain, start taking responsibility for our actions once again and become part of the cure that ails this world today, and stop feeding the problem. If a person stole from you, in the past, every time you turned your back…how many more people will you turn your back on before you learn the lesson? History is the teacher of the present, and the present is the infant of the future…turning our backs on this degradation of society is called apathy…so let us never forget…to not make a choice is, in fact, to make a choice! So as long as we condone this type of world…we might as well contribute to it…but it doesn’t have to be like that… ~ Hieros ~ |