Counterculture part 1

“In my youth I wanted freedom. In my mature years I want order.” --Will Durrant

     The motif of defying authority figure is an age-old concept, universal in its application.  From the hill-billy rednecks to the thugs of the inner cities, the lack of understanding of the law which governs us is more and more evident in the people.

     The rebellious nature of man is everywhere-- more rampant than ever.  Abuse of privilege tied sprinkled in with a lack of maturity, a lack of responsibility, and a lack of knowledge makes for an interestingly scary society.

     Legalize drugs!

     Ban theology!

     Power to the people!

     Get that tyrant out of office!

     Away with all the <insert minority non-Protestant religion here>!

     Down with the establishment!

     We see these phrases shouted by all sorts of people, educated or otherwise.  What service do they serve besides to advance their own ideology?  Do they benefit the population at large or is it self-serving?

     "It's the spirit of the law that really matters!"

     I have heard this for the first time, not too long ago.  It puzzles me, quite frankly.  Many a people* hawk for such things in the positions they're in regardless of political party-- much of the world* is becoming more and more polarized.

     If people don't like what they see, they choose to either ignore it or openly rebel against it.  Feelings are hurt and contention is rife.  The world* seems so filled with hateful words said to each other without regard to human frailty rather than the spirit of cooperation and understanding.  It seems as if self-service and copious amounts of criticism reigns supreme in the minds of all those view figures, governments, and other institutions.

     Honestly, I'm an idealist-- the world would be just right if everyone would just get along and pick pansies and frolick on the open meadow.  A society filled with love and understanding-- wouldn't that be nice?  Wouldn't it be just dandy if everyone could say to another, "you are my brother" or "you are my sister" and be done with it?

     Unfortunately, the situation doesn't seem like that and the majority of the world are left in the dust about how others genuinely feel and act, causing a lot of disconnects and problems.  I will explain why I say the things that I do in a later post why I bring up these issues.

     I address this to those who are disillusioned (Ernest Hemingway-style) and those who want to seek something greater in life.

     So the way I see it, laws that govern us (as human beings and not mathematically/scholastically) exist in three different dichotomies:

• Governmental - the set-in-stone laws written by a body of legislators in a government assembly or decreed by some sort of leader/dictator figure.
• Socio-ethical - the tentative, "unspoken" laws set in place by man to dictate what is culturally acceptable or not (e.g. cultural etiquette, common courtesy, manners, faux pas, taboos, &c.)
• Theological - a set of rules found primarily through books of holy writ (e.g. Ten Commandments, Five Pillars); this is where much of today's socio-ethical laws come from.

     Starting off, there are a LOT of rules to follow in today's society.  The world put up standards in which to abide by-- through these three types of laws.  If you put them all together, it's mind-boggling how many rules that we're supposed to follow compared to how many we actually do follow.

     It's definitely overwhelming and many don't succeed in following all of the dictations that have been put into place.  Sometimes, the regulations aren't something we might look favorably upon-- it may go against our intuition, or culture, or our beliefs.  These laws don't quite seem to be as universal as people make them out to be.

     Each person has the ability to choose between what is right and what is wrong.  This is called agency.  When people representing others come together in an assembly to decide what is right or wrong, this is called democracy. When people don't agree with certain facets of law, this is called one of two things: counterculture or apostasy.  When either of these things happen, society changes-- usually for the worst-- now there have been cases where disagreements of certain portions of law turned out to be for the best, but usually, it has let to a lot of material loss and a loosening of a standard set in place before the protest.  Disarray prevails and decorum is almost unobtainable without some kind of compromise.


 *: "the world" and the general term for "people" refers to an assumption to mean citizens of the United States of America.  Much other parts of the world is unknown in the perspective of this peculiar person due to a lack of information, therefore not much argument or support can be backed up for them and their situation.

I may not be as informed as the majority of the American population about current events, but this opinion has arose from what I have seen over the days.

The World Needs More Listeners part 2

     In my experience as a human being, I have come across something that seems to have made my life a tad more miserable than it ought to have be:

     Other people.

     As much as I avoid talking to people and associating myself with life, it seems like people have the most potential to do harm to another human being than anything else in the world.  How is it done, you ask?

    Surprisingly, the most common of hurts doesn't come from: sticks, stones, mallets, swords, knives, drugs, poison, fists, bombs, and guns.

     It comes from another person's lips.

     Those lips can utter a strange world of insult, madness, frustration, and slander.

     More than any weapon on Earth, words are the most used instruments of destruction.  Like many objects such as knives and hammers, they can be used for good purposes, but at the desperation and frustration of the individual, they convert these relatively pacified instruments into potentially harmful objects.

     Words.  Especially specific ones-- when used, can turn us into monsters.

    Much of the world are weary of so much slander-- ubiquitous in the mouths of many-- the television, the internet, the radio, and every instrument of media known to man.  A day doesn't pass where such acerbic words aren't conveyed to another person or party.

     These words build up-- they weather us.  They change us.  They change our nature.

     One has to know that people are like a block of clay; the potter being that of the world.  So are the words of the world like that of the potter's hands.  They can be rough, but they can be skilled.  In that sense, we are part of the world, too.

     Do we want to be the hands that turn the block of clay into mush, or a beautiful vase?

     As the individual is the block of clay, it is our duty to shape that person to be a beautiful instrument that can serve its purpose, whatever it may be.  A nice, accented, piece of glory that can be proudly displayed in any home.

     To do that, do we really need to hear and say such hateful words and convey such hateful action toward another human being?

     Over the days here, there are a TON of real-life examples I have seen where words just turned people into people who aren't really themselves.  I want to avoid that.  I want to see the world as a place where people aren't afraid to be themselves-- a place where all can cooperate and do what God has in store for them-- a place where one can unlock his or her fullest potential.  Beginning with you (me, also), here's some things that should be avoided as soon as possible.

Please don't avoid:

• Misunderstand another-- The key to many of today's problems could have been resolved if only people asked good questions.  Misunderstanding-- disconnects-- come from a lack of communication.  It comes from us not analyzing a situation before making a judgment.  To avoid such a tragedy, one must be able to humble themselves to seek understanding from the other party through looking through the lens of the that party.  So before calling someone out, ask what the person is doing and why he or she is doing it.  It'll help get a perspective on what really needs to be done rather than submit to name-calling or extreme frustration.
• Ignore a request - Neglect is one of the reasons why people have issues with abandonment, acceptance, and self-esteem.  Worse than giving someone a yes or no answer, this is not replying or acknowledging at all.  There's a great reason why jails and militaries use solitary confinement as punishment: the lack of human contact is unbearable to the most of us.  So it is with neglect.  The purposeful ignorance of a request-- of an idea of another human being-- may make another feel useless, angry, and depressed.  Believe me, people already have too much on their plates and the people with these ideas have gone through some effort so that you can hear the information they have collected-- just for you.  Don't ignore people.  Rather, acknowledge them.  Saying yes or no is all up to you, but just listen.  You may never know if that person whom you accept may be the next genius who benefits humankind!
• DENY a request - Saying "no" really hurts.  There is a time and a place for such, but personally, I try my best never to say "no."  There are a ton of alternatives to saying no such as "what about," "I'm afraid that [idea] will end up like," "here's what I think," and a plethora of other phrases.  No-- the word itself can boil the blood of a lot of people, giving them unnecessary stress and pain.
• Shoo off someone - This goes along with neglect.  Don't do this.  The person whom you've shooed off may have faced such rejection and unacceptance numerous times.  It may be his or her breaking point.  The shoo-er gives no clear explanation on why he wants this person out of his or her group, but there should be an explanation given!  That is the key to communication!  The one thing people in this life need more than anything is closure.  That is why religion exists.  That is why CSI people work so hard to find who killed who.  Remember always that before something like this happens, talk to the person you want to reject on why that is the case before actually doing the action.
• Discourage someone - Honestly, I think of this incredibly cruel.  Unless by some instance where the person may be doing something universally unacceptable, never EVER tell someone to quit what they're doing so hard with.  It kills morale, makes the other party really sad, and halts progression.  You may have potentially stopped the discouraged person from reaching his full potential as a musician, a teacher, a bus driver, a lawyer, a doctor, etc.  Patience.  This is incredibly important when dealing with others.
• Use any sort of violence to justify an action (or vice versa) - This is another incredibly cruel (and senseless) act that could be avoided altogether through effective communication.  Any sort of violence is unacceptable, because you're physically hurting another person because they had the audacity to call you out on something.  Swallow your pride.  Do whatever it takes to stop the rage from clenching your hands into fists and flying them to the other party's face.  Many laws protect the other person from such things and put you in a position where you may be facing a hefty fine and even jail time.  This may seriously damage another person both by bruises/broken/swollen body parts and even through psychological trauma.  We really don't want to go into any more of the repercussions that this has on a human being.  It's bad.  Try to reason.  Try to humble yourself.  Try to laugh.  Try to shout off a mountain.  Try to be the better man.  It'll alleviate any tense situation-- maybe not in a heartbeat, but eventually.

     Jesus had always told us to love and not to hate (John 13:34).  If hate abound even in a justifiable way, we have to forgive and love at least 490 times more (Matthew 18:21-22).  It's the Christian thing to do-- it's the right thing to do.  As we do it, we'll get closer to what agape truly means.  This is my wish to the world.  Don't be so hard on other people, because they're going through the same struggles as we all are.  We shouldn't make the world any cynical than it already is.

The World Needs More Listeners part 1

     Lately, the days have gone by a bit shaky-- a ton of things to complain about and a lot of neglect from leadership figures.  For the longest time, I was whining and getting absolutely flabbergasted because these people would procrastinate, slack off, and just evade doing work altogether.  Disillusionment set in fairly rapidly over these last couple of months.  I thought I was going to explode in frustration.  In a nutshell, I was (and still am, in my honest opinion), going through "missionary puberty."

     Now why do I bring that up?  Well, the fact of the matter is is that much of the pent-up anxiety, wrath, resentment, disconnect, and sadness comes not from purposeful hatred, but from a lack of communication-- a lack of love, better put.

SUICIDE NOTE 2: There is too much stress in my life from school and the environment it creates, expectation s for sports, expectations from friends, and expectations from my family (SOURCE).

     This was written, really, not too long ago.  A disconnect between child and society resulted in tragedy.  It's really unfortunate hearing about such news.  I would like to share one more thing with y'all:

SUICIDE NOTE 1: I have no hope, only dreams that have died.  I was never able to obtain satisfactory interpersonal relationships.  I feared the future and a lot of other things.  I felt inferior.  I have almost no will to achieve, perseverance, or sense of worth, so goodbye.  I should have listened to you but I didn't.  I started using acid last summer.  It's purgatory (SOURCE).

     Neglect-- failure to understand-- leads to abandonment-- forlornness of the soul.  The brightest of souls are destroyed because of the lack of care.

     The pinnacle of human yearning comes from wanting to be heard-- to be listened to.  More and more, I'm seeing that many people are all either sad or angry if they're not recognized (myself included:P).  I don't know if this is just a part of human nature, but if someone knows that they have been heard, they are happy, content, and confident.  I suppose Mavlov was right-- we strive to be self-confirmative in most all of our actions.

     If we reach out to those who need us-- the quiet ones especially--- imagine their gratitude!  They may not voice it immediately, but down the road, they'll be grateful that you didn't give up on them.  I want to share one more thing-- it's a sermon given in the 1970's.  It's been adapted to help you reach out.

"First, [these struggling people] need faith.  They need to believe.  They read to know the doctrines, the commandments, the principles of the gospel.  They need to grow in understanding and conviction.  They need to worship and to pray, but they live in a time when all of this is so seriously questioned, when doubt is encouraged.
 
Two, they need to be accepted as they are, and to be included.  They need a family, the most important social unity in the world; and even if they have a good family, they need the supportive influence outside their home-- of others, of neighbors, of friends... of brothers, of human beings.

Three, they need to be actively involved, to participate, to give service to give of themselves.

Four, they have to learn somehow that they are more important than their mistakes, that they are worthwhile, valuable, useful; that they are loved unconditionally" (Marion D. Hanks, October, 1971).

     The world needs more listeners.  How much better would it be if we all understood each other?  To the all of us, the world can be a vile place, but we don't have to be.  Help that one person who needs your hand.  We're here to serve others, says the teacher of teachers (Matthew 20:27).