“The Roots of Violence: Wealth without work, Pleasure without
conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality,
Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice, Politics without
principles." ― Mahatma Gandhi
Violence begets violence. The peacemakers through the ages knew this. People like you and me when exposed to brutality, senseless or purposeful-- we become changed. Things we never could dream of feeling or doing, a depth of hatred unimaginable materializes. A violated being is capable of the darkest manifestations. Violence happens out of a skewed sense of justice, moral authority, unchecked righteousness and rage. The expressions range from biting language to imposed or orchestrated poverty to crusades to holocausts.
And we are surrounded, nay bombarded with one type of violence or another almost continuously, from birth to death. Babies are "righted" in position and inclination, made to meet expectations in their feeding and sleeping habits, children are bullied and made to tow the education line frequently, hazing in college, premeditated cultural expectations on lifestyle choices for adults, neglect often is the elderly experience and various forms of abuse are endured through all continuums. Those in the military, in the middle or on the fringes of military conflict, are exposed at the very least to an inhuman rigid structure that can violate the "call and response" mechanism normal in the central nervous system. Ordinary we each have our daily doses, imbibed through negative media, environmental noise, traffic or toxic stimulation; or at least, that's how this sensitive organism takes it in. One of the responses to brutality is to turn it inward. Whereas harming others may not be an option in a moment, often we swallow or self inflict a strike on ourselves. We partake in obsession, addictions, worry, depression, have our own personal accidents and various levels of anxiety. Stress is rarely noted in terms of self-violence, but our failure to check stress often determines the personal level of suffering experienced.
"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent." -- Isaac Asimov We can become mired in these indulgences rather easily. Closed throat chakras ban all truths from being spoken. The body is brilliant at shutting down, becoming numb, deadening the truth of what is. The psych denies, twists, forgets and minimizes. All of this, in the name of survival from the brutality being experienced or known.
"Social justice cannot be attained by violence. Violence kills what it intends to create." Pope John Paul II
Humans naturally have this propensity; it is the animal in us. Organic (and otherwise) competition often fosters the alpha qualities recognizable in our brethren, the beast. Ego and ambition pushes us in that direction.
Violence is a strong word to describe what may seem ordinary to some. How can it be used in this way? Because it is ordinary and exists in the very fabric of our individual humanity and collective culture. Violence is an inattentive force proliferated without awareness on oneself or another. No matter how seemingly benign (ie "righting" a baby to a feeding or bathing position that is comfortable for oneself but not asked for, indicated or required by a newborn being) when done without an intention or greater awareness, violates an others sense of self governance. This is so common it is rarely recognized as a type of strong arming. If one was more present at the moment, the recognizable taste of use of power by size, age, economic class or knowledge would be sensed and known as a major factor in the act.
How do we differentiate violence from say, discipline? Respect of other is always at the base of discipline and fully absent in violence. Also, there is an integrated intelligence which is responsive and not reactive in discipline. Energetically, violence is raw and ungrounded, usually unpredictable and ego driven. Whereas, discipline is a focused and aligned energy that serves as a guide without an agenda. Domination is an impulse born of fear; it is a basic animal instinct present in one degree or another, always. The more we bring a larger attention and awareness to our daily actions, the more we will know ourselves, become more available to our fuller humanity, the less this impulse will be tolerated in oneself, the less weight of myself violence will usurp. And we need this greater attention and awareness, because as Krishnamurti says above, the inner tyranny of violence can be quite subtle and it goes deep.
"In violence, we forget who we are." -- Mary McCarthy
No comments:
Post a Comment