scapegoat

[Gregorian]

32. I'm most grateful, and enriched, from hearing your experiences.

This latest period of voluminous discussion that has happened after the deaths of the children has had me struggling for words. I find myself unable to grasp at ways to convey things that could very well help to heal a society. One of them is the very notion of mental illness versus emotional illness. Even the word illness.

Reading about the Great Law of Peace is a surprise. It shouldn't be. But it just goes to show how much we have forgotten. Or maybe how much we have not even shared amongst ourselves. This notion of individualism, rugged or otherwise, I find it so destructive. We grow by sharing. We've chosen to go the other direction. Even neighbors hardly know each other. But now it can be different. I think of the internet as tying us together. Maybe now we can learn things that until now we have neglected. That is why I am so grateful. Your sharing has shown to me that this notion of taking great care to nourish the young growing children is not new. When we departed from a natural lifestyle, we gained a lot, but we lost much more. We became specialized. Each one had a special job. When that is combined with the disconnect that occurs through an individualized culture, it has a crippling effect.

It's no surprise to me now, that those with power would be opposed to a society of caring and nurturing. Things like providing lunch for school children. You know what I mean. Even the war on drugs. It actually serves no good purpose. Those who start the wars are similarly disturbed as those who pick up guns and kill civilians. We aren't looking for victims, we're looking for solutions, and healing. Aside from obvious actions which must happen now, the most important area where we can make a difference in the world is with how we care for young children. I've pointed out before that Carter, Clinton, Obama all have healthy emotional characteristics. And on the other hand there is Bush, Romney, and others who are like them. It sounds simplistic, but I just can't find a fault with it. There ought to be an emotional IQ test for politicians. The whole world suffers from those who were injured as children.

This may sound wrong, but it seems to me that if we're going to call the murderers crazy, then we're all crazy. I say that because whether or not we actively had a hand in making that person who they are, we all contributed to making the world in which they were born into and grew in. Maybe there's a better way to say it. Maybe it's actually the very notion that we don't want to take responsibility for it that proves how divided and separated a society we are.

The reality is that we're all related in some way.

Well, I'm kind of fading out here. I just looked at Rubin's Wikipedia page. What a life. And here I am at 57, trying to get into the shape he was in. He was beautiful. I didn't know the song Hurricane was about him. Amazing. So there is that thread. He knew Malcolm. You know him. You've shared with me, and I'll remember it. Now to pull it all together.