Feeling that old disconnect....

I am feeling that amazing old feeling of total disconnect between what our government is saying and what might well be somewhere close to the truth of the matter. Let me think. Oh yes, we need to take action in Syria because it is so dreadful that we need to show the world that chemical warfare is a no-no. We don't need to wait for the UN inspectors to make an inspection. Nope. After all they said very publicly that Iraq didn't have weapons of mass destruction but we needed to save the world and the Iraqis, so we went in against the UN's report.

We need to show the world that you can't kill civilians. People like Kissinger, Albright, H. Clinton, John Kerry can stand up with a straight face and serious outrage and say these words. Just amazing, really. So mind blowing that if it weren't so serious we would have to die laughing. A-Bombs, Agent Orange, depleted uranium cluster bombs, and drones aside, we have to take the high road on this issue.

Now I just assume that anyone and everyone in government is lying all the time. I sometimes read documents released by the Freedom of Information Act. I have read batches of Wikileaks documents. We have been overthrowing democracies for a long time, Guatemala, Chili, Iran, to name a few. Not that Syria is a democracy. Not that it matters.

What is the good in all of this? How can we ever imagine that in the big picture these arbitrary national borders and the small differences in racial or religious characteristics or financial worth make an ounce of difference in the long run. Who we are makes the difference. In the last few weeks I have talked with several people who were taking bold courageous stands for their truth. The reason these stands were bold and courageous is because they risked upsetting the status quo. In all cases the women gained so much by staying in their integrity that the old concerns no longer had any power or influence.

My truth is that I want peace in the world. My challenge is to hold that peace when the shit starts to fly. My challenge is to let go of the shame for our collective past mistakes and hold the peace. My job is to know that everyone from the powerful to the seemingly most insignificant person is equal in the eyes of god. "There is no path to peace. Peace is the path." Thick Nhat Hahn.

I awoke today disturbed by the thought that we are about to make another blunder and cause a great increase in suffering in the world. Now I am working on having compassion, real compassion for those who are causing suffering and experiencing it. I am trying to attune myself to the music of hope and beauty and love. It ain't easy, and it won't be easy later today or tomorrow.