Our Choices Determine Our Future

It never ceases to amaze me how easily manipulated we humans are. Here in the United States, we go back and forth between issues like gun control, racism, and gay marriage all within the blink of an eye. Most of us have opinions on these issues and more, so it becomes easy to get us all enmeshed in this battle or that battle, depending on what the media presents to us on that particular day.

The bright light that has sustained me for the past week and a half is the actions of the people of Charleston in reaction to the church shooting there. In a time of tragedy, these people have chosen to not act on the hype. They have not allowed a racially motivated shooting to put them into a state of fear and fighting. They speak of love and forgiveness. They have joined hand in hand with their fellow Americans and proclaimed, "We are ONE!" They have even been able to dispel potential trouble that was brought in from outside sources to try to create a riot in the name of racism!!! This is nothing short of a miracle in my book as I look at similar racial tensions in other parts of the United States (Ferguson, MO and Baltimore, MD more specifically) and the results in those places.

Does Charleston still have problems? You bet! Those pockets of racism that existed before the incident have not gone away. This is true everywhere in the country (and even in the rest of the world). They still have our human flaws.

It is not belief that makes the people of Charleston different from those in the rest of the country or even the rest of the world. The difference is their choice!!! They could have chosen to follow the guidance of the media and fight with their fellow humans over race. They could have protested the biogtry. They could have allowed violence to erupt. They could have gotten all hot and bothered over the media's use of the Confederate flag to draw out more hate. After it was all said and done, they still chose love, peace and forgiveness.

This is the choice that every one of us must now make!!! It is time to recognize the many ways we are led into battle with each other, and it is time to resist!!! Resist the temptation to debate why gay marriage is "right" or "wrong". Defy the media when they promote stories on gun control.  Refuse to engage in the battle!!! Don't allow them to separate us from one another!!!

We stand at the edge of a precipice. We can choose to step out into the nothingness and into our own deaths, or we can begin building a bridge that will lead us to the paradise that awaits us on the other side. Each time we seek out love, each time we seek out peace, each time we seek out unity, we build that bridge that leads to the promised land.

It is not our beliefs that determine our future. It is our choices. Choose with intention.

~CSE

Recognizing the Pattern

I have a dear friend that grew up in Chile. In 1970, Chileans elected a popular socialist, Salvador Allende, to become president. The United States government (in reality transnational corporate interests) feared the proposed state takeover of certain Chilean industries, particularly Chile's copper industry. (You can read more about US intervention in the situation at this US government history website.) My friend was young and married at the time. Her husband was an activist who was extremely supportive of Allende and his proposed changes.

My friend has told me on numerous occasions how popular Allende's agenda was because it thought to give control of Chile's resources back to the people who actually lived there. Behind the scenes, however, they could see the intervention of the US government, who used CIA operatives to destabilize the country. One of the main things they did was pay people to start riots. My friend said it was obvious to them all how outside influences were working to destabilize the popularly elected president, but nothing they did was able to stop it. Destabilizing the country allowed the military to rise up to try to get things under control. The coup happened in 1973. After the dust settled, a general by the name of Augusto Pinochet came to power. My friend's activist husband was placed into prison for several years. When he was finally freed, the young couple fled to Spain to begin a new life not under the dictator's control.

The thing that bothers me so much about this story is the subtle way the US government worked to destabilize someone else's government. Yes, it had to do with capitalism, but the fact of the matter is the US was not fighting for freedom or what was best for the people of Chile. It was destabilizing another country to make sure that the interests of transnational corporations were being maintained.

Why do I have a problem with that? What is good for the rich man is not good for the poor man. Poor people in countries like Chile end up becoming the slave labor force, working for pennies on the dollar for an extremely meager subsistence way of life. Why should they not benefit more from the resources their country has to offer? Mother Earth does not charge anyone for living here, but gives all her resources freely (even to her own destruction). This is why Allende had been elected in the first place--to actually help his people get more from the price for their labor.

The United States military is not here to serve and protect the interests of the American people. It is here to serve the interests of their corporate masters. How can I say that when I know they are fighting terrorism around the world so that we remain free? Because I understand the pattern of manipulation that takes place so we believe our military is necessary to tame chaos around the world.
Fact of the matter is, they use this pattern of manipulation right here in the United States itself in order to pass laws that cement their agenda.

Look at the stuff taking place in Charleston right now! A white, high school dropout from the state capital of Columbia with a very racist outlook on life just happens to pick out a black church in Charleston that has a history of being associated with a slave revolt. (Question: How does a poor, white high school dropout know this history?) He enters the church, sits through a prayer meeting and then proceeds to shoot nine people to death. Interestingly enough, the pastor, Clementa Pinckney, also happens to be a South Carolina state senator. How coincidental is that?

Now look at what has happened in the week since the incident has taken place. They identified the shooter and caught him in the small town of Shelby, North Carolina. The people of Charleston and of South Carolina decided that unity and working together was a better answer to the racially motivated killings. The families of the slain spoke of pain at their losses, but also of forgiveness. Even though race and religion were both tossed out repeatedly by the media as reasons for the slayings, no one chose to manifest their feelings in violent or destructive ways.

Less than one week after the tragedy (and no violence manifested), a group of unknown protesters decides to make a scene at the memorial site just outside of the Emmanuel AME Church, where the shootings took place. They said things like "arm yourself or harm yourself" and "never forget, never forgive". (For full coverage of the story click on link here.) At this point, we have to ask ourselves who sent them. They obviously wanted to start trouble with slogans like that. Ironically, the good people of Charleston managed to overcome the violence through speaking of love and asking the protesters to leave the city.

Let's look at the pattern. A highly coincidental shooting takes place at a historic African American church. Even though the media draws out the ideas that the act was racially motivated, no racial violence or chaos ensues. The media then draws attention to the flying of the Confederate flag at the state capital in Columbia and tries to engage the country in the racist symbolism it implies (which actually works better than the shootings did to create racial tension). As a last ditch attempt to create violence in Charleston, some unknown force sends in a group of protesters to try to promote chaos (which also does not work).

Why would the powers that be intentionally create such a situation? Perhaps it is better to see what else is going on in the country that happened when we were focused on the events in Charleston. Involving people in fighting among themselves is a great distraction for passing legislation that you don't want people to particularly understand or focus on.

While the country has been engaged in debates on racism and the Confederate flag, the US Senate managed to form an almost unheard of consensus of senators on both sides of the aisle to pass the fast-tracking of a new trade agreement know as the TPP, or Trans-Pacific Partnership. In a nutshell, this treaty will give world powers authority to override the rights of our constitution in favor of (you guessed it) corporations!!! If other countries refuse certain corporate goods, those corporations will be able to sue and override those actions. Other parts of this law include the ability to regulate the internet through the use of taxes, fines and imprisonment. It is most definitely a bad thing for America, so bad that legislators have told We the People that we are not allowed to know what is in it before they vote on it!!! We only know because of revelations by Wikileaks!!!

If you understand the pattern and what they do to create disruptions and distractions to manipulate us, you can begin to identify those actions they take to harm us. Don't be fooled. Our freedom ultimately depends on us being able to see beyond the lies.

~CSE

Letting Go Of The Symbols Of Our Hate

In the face of an act of racial violence in Charleston, the people of South Carolina have shown it is possible to overcome racism through coming together in love. That was not the end result the powers that be hoped to see by setting up the circumstances for this act to take place. They wanted (and expected) chaos, violence and destruction to be the end result. When that did not occur, they had the media bring out the ever present symbol of hatred and slavery in the South--the Confederate flag.

I'm not here to tell you the Confederate flag has no meaning and is not associated with slavery and racial conflict. I do believe it still holds those connotations for African Americans as well as white people all over the country. I will say this. After over 20 years of living in the South and being associated with South Carolina for 35 years, white people in the South see it a little bit differently. It represents a part of their heritage and history. For most people in the South, it is not something that takes an overwhelming precedent in their lives. The vast majority of Southerners don't wave it around, fly it from their homes or even think about it on a daily basis. It is just something that identifies them with their ancestry. Still, the Confederate flag raises some lingering issues that people all over the country can't seem to get over.

I have a message for the people of the South. It is not meant with disrespect, nor is it meant to dismiss your collective heritage. It is designed as something to ponder and consider the ramifications of.

My Southern friends and neighbors of my adopted home,
Whether you like it or not, the Confederate flag has become a symbol for racism and hatred all over the United States and even the world. People not in the South see that image and assume that all of us in the South are racist and hate people who are not like us!!! They see that flag and believe that we are still of the same mentality we were in before Civil Rights or even the Civil War! You live here! You know that is not the case!!! The only way the rest of the people of the world will begin to understand the change is if we are publicly willing to give up our egos and let go of the symbols of our hate!!! That includes letting go of the symbolism of the Confederate flag. When we no longer cling to all those things that associate us with the negativity, they have one less way to fault our way of life. Be bold, rise up and take away their power to use this symbol to define who and what we are!!! Allow the Confederate flag to be relegated to the history books and find new ways to show the world exactly who you are!!! The actions in Charleston are one positive way we can forge ahead and become examples to the world of who we are and what the world can become in the face of hatred!!!  
When we no longer cling to those symbols that represent our collective hatred, our rulers lose the ability to hold those symbols against us. In effect, we free ourselves from one more level of control. Isn't it time we begin to take back our power and create a life where love and freedom reign supreme?

~CSE

Your World Reflects Your Perception

I had a really interesting conversation with an old friend last night. In the process, I discovered we have extremely different outlooks in life even though the energies we actually choose to be are quite similar. He sees racism in the United States as an extreme that is pervasive in our society. For him, it is as though most people are racist. In my view of the world, most people are not racist. Does racism exist? Of course it does!!! I just don't see it as the common mentality that my friend believes it is. Why do we see things so differently? What could be the cause of our difference in perspective?

I can tell you why I don't see racism as a big problem. My early years were spent in Dayton, Ohio. In the 70's, the Dayton Public School system decided they needed to integrate their schools. This created a lot of "white flight" out of the school system--either through moving out of district or enrolling in private school. Once the dust settled, I went from a school that was almost all white to 2/3 black. It did not bother me. I was up for meeting and getting to know people who were different from myself.

This was by far a very positive experience for me. I learned so much and made some really incredible new friends. However, I also learned something about racism. In the early days of my new school, I made a new black friend named Nora. We got along well and enjoyed hanging out at school. Then one day a few weeks into the school year, Nora came to school and told me her mother told her not to be my friend because I was white. It made me sad, and it also made me aware that prejudice could go both ways.

When I moved to South Carolina in high school, I thought I knew what to expect. I truly expected there to be great separations between whites and blacks--obvious racism. What I saw did not meet my expectations. Even though the majority of my school was white, I can't recall any racial tension. I had black friends in my classes. White and black athletes hung out together. There were always black girls voted into the school pageant and as cheerleaders. The tension and separation I expected to see and feel was just not there.

I went to college in Iowa and then lived there a total of twelve years. Even though Ames, the area I spent most of that time in, and Iowa State University were thought of as open to other cultures because they had allowed George Washington Carver to attend university there, I actually found more racism in Iowa than in any other place I had lived. I would hear other white people talk about black people and their culture and avoid them. Of course, I met many people in Iowa (not university types) who had almost never even been out of state. As there are not many black people in Iowa, Iowans don't have much of a chance to get to know people different from themselves.

My experiences here in Georgia have been very positive regarding racism. I not only have many black friends, but I have made friends of people from pretty much all cultures, all religions, and all races. I very rarely come into contact with people who truly dislike people different from themselves. I admit, when I feel that energy I tend to do what I can to get away from it. It literally repels me.

And maybe that's the difference between myself and my friend. I seem to end up in places that put me into contact with people very similar to myself--not similar race but similar love energy. People who are open to relationship and seek out love.

On those occasions when I come into contact with racism, I do what I can to show them another way to function. I don't call them out on it and tell them how horrible it is. I look at their hurt and do what I can to try to heal it. Racism is the result of unhealed fear, anger and pain.

Ultimately, what I have experienced in my life is a reflection of how I believe others are going to respond to me. Hopefully, I can share that with all those I come into contact with.

~CSE