Je Me Souviendrai – I WILL Remember
 

20151113: Just another day of infamy. Paris is in shambles. An attack instituted by cowardice and ignorance. On people completely innocent to the charges brought against them. It is the new world order. Get used to it. The relevance is not what happened on that day, as sad as it was, but the fact that we are here today, almost two years later, with no progress or change in sight. There have been many such attacks since that day. There will be many more as we enter the future. We are engaged in a forever war, against an insurmountable adversary. Hatred. And Ignorance. The never-ending foe.

Another day dawns. There will be another tear shed. Somewhere, there will be another life wasted. What is it that makes people do the things that they do? I continually ask the question why? But there is no answer for me. It is bad enough that they hate. More so when they use the power of words to hurt someone, even to the point of crippling them. But they go far beyond the power of words to destroy. It is not something that we hear acknowledged in our polite society, but it is a truism none the less, irrespective if you agree or not. We all have the ability, and the right, to hate. It is not a good thing. It is not in anyone’s best interests, and we should do everything in our power to prevent, at least within ourselves, the sometimes overwhelming and overpowering imperative to hate. And yet, the fact remains, we should ALL have the Freedom of Thought, or all else is of little or no value. Freedom of Thought has a precondition. It allows the ability to hate. I will never relinquish my power of thought. It is what makes me who I am. But I am forced to acknowledge that others have that very same freedom. Yes, even if that means they make the decision to hate.
In America, we cherish the Freedom of Speech, or at least we do so in a half-hearted and very superficial manner. Do we truly believe in the concept? Do we actually understand what that entails, and the ramifications of such a dearly held ideal? Really? It is a given that the Freedom of Speech means we have the right to say whatever we wish, to make our thoughts known, to air our grieveances, to stick it in your face so to speak. Do we realize that a more important right, and this holds true for ALL the other freedoms and benefits we enjoy as Americans, is the right of others to do the same? Yes, those very same haters that hold a destructive burden of pain and hostility in their minds and in their hearts, and inexplicably in their souls as well, have that very same right. No matter how misguided and inappropriate, their right to do so is in many ways of more importance than that of our own liberty to speak openly. Why? Simply because if theirs can be taken away, by decree or by coercion, then it may only be a matter of time before yours is also misappropriated.

Freedom, and Justice, should rightly be blind. We cannot pick and choose who is to have any specific right bestowed upon them. Corruption and tyranny will be the inevitable result. WITHOUT EXCEPTION. The rights of one should be the rights of all.

Freedom of Thought. Freedom of Speech. Freedom of Religion.

What we cannot abide, in any form, is the Freedom to Kill. The arbitrary decision to take a life. For any reason that suits us. Anarchy is not an aspect of freedom. The obligation to grant others any right you wish for yourself has to be tempered with the responsibility of not impeding the freedoms of others in any way. The Right To My Own Life is inviolate. It may be a fine line at times, but when you violate the rights of others, really at any level, then your rights are forfeit. You cannot demand the freedom to think for yourself, and manipulate the thoughts of others. You cannot demand the freedom to speak, and demonstrate and deny the rights of others to speak. You cannot enjoy the ability to honor or worship the form of your creator, and subjugate or even kill those of a different belief, a different perspective.

Paris is under siege. As well as Brussels. Berlin. London. And countless others. Our world is under siege. Not from any particular form of religion or government, although it may look as such on the surface, but from individuals, perverted and grossly misguided, and yet fervent and motivated. Individuals well versed in the manipulation of sad and damaged personalities, gullible and susceptible. Like Hitler. Like Stalin. It was not Germany who started war. It was not Russia. And it is not now Islam. It is a group, or an individual, that create chaos. Give me a lever large enough, and I can move the world. Our weaknesses are that lever. Our ignorance, our prejudices, our fears, our insecurities and our own deficiencies. They are used against us, time and again, to make us do things that I would like to believe we would never do without that manipulation. But then again, it may be that we cannot in fact be driven to do those things that we do not wish to do. If that is the case, our problems are much darker and deeper than I even wish to contemplate.

Pray for Paris? Prayer is hope. Pray if you must, and hope for Divine Intervention, or decide to be a part of what will turn all of this around. Become a Warrior of the Mind. It all starts with You. And Me. Us. And Philosophy. You cannot defeat what you do not understand. We need to have empathy for this enemy. Please do not confuse that with anything like sympathy or compassion. Empathy is knowing, not condoning. We need to recognize motivation. Only then can we ever institute change and have any possibility of success. It will not be easy. Hatred is an intolerable enemy. It may well be impossible. We have an enemy that is willing to die for their beliefs, no matter how self-destructive. Are we willing to die for our own beliefs? And yet there are those that are dying every day, around this wondrous planet. Most, if not all, completely oblivious as to the reason why it was their lives that needed to be sacrificed in the name of ….. what? What did the taking of their lives accomplish? Nothing has changed. The underlying reasons remain as they were. There is no victory. That is the problem with hatred. It does not think with the mind. It does not feel with the heart. It does not have a soul. What a sad, sad world we live in. What a terrible waste of the gift of life.

If you are not already on your path, then look around to find it. Take your next step, or take your first step! The future is not etched in stone. You can be a part of what form that future will take.