Sun, 20 May 2012 12:15:54 -0800WeeblyMon, 23 Jan 2012 11:32:40 -0800http://www.robertgordon.ca/1/post/2012/01/another-mayan-like-prediction-could-begin-ending-savagery-n-in-2012.htmlLet’s discuss something everyone thinks about, no one can really do anything about and the majority of people just don’t care about.. The subject matter is life as it has always functioned. Maybe there is an undiscovered Mayan tablet predicting the end of human savagery.

 Twenty first century politicsis a good start as the first item on the agenda . The discussion summation will surface in short order. Politicians of all stripes are members of the all too familiar fraternity of the survivors taking care of its own. Try asking a politician or candidate if he or she will oppose the directives from party headquarters. The reply will be defensive and a clear indication that once elected every member of every party at every level is not figuratively willing to bite the hand that feeds. Every person supposedly serving the public is committed to the organization that brought that individual to the public trough. Next time the person needs to be elected voters will hear about party accomplishments and reasons to vote the party member back into power as a worker for the betterment of the country. Each victorious incumbent is a part of a production line led by a leader with many appointed supervisors (ministers or committee chairpersons) all making certain the elected members stay in power to strengthen the party agenda and policies.

Canadians rightfully believe voters control the people vying for power but that is untrue since only a little more or less than half the population votes during most elections. The result is always a small minority of party members setting the agenda for the country, province or municipality. That is just democracy at work. There are groups and pockets of people that voice an opinion or threaten action in a variety of ways to oppose those flexing the power to legislate or regulate issues.Opponents usually lose the public's interest when the media moves on to more newsworthy issues. 

All levels of government attack our freedom, operate like the criminal element of yesteryear by promoting gambling, blatantly and secretively increase taxes while solemnly promising never to legislate increase until the inevitable ‘due to unforeseen circumstances’ arises. The people we send to the ‘cash for life’ world of politics often agree to let party officials sneak increased user fees into the party agenda to avoid admitting a tax increase is taking place. The greatest injustice to taxpayers is witnessing political parties angrily railing against the opposition, special interest groups and every other opponent using taxpayer money for the campaign.

Canadians aren’t any different from most other world citizens. We watch the shenanigans listed taking place shrug our shoulders and candidly tell fellow voters there isn’t anything that anyone can do to change the picture. The attitude is dangerous as witnessed by the uprisings in progress in other parts of the world. Dissidence and violence usually becomes commonplace when society allows dictatorial differences to affect  lives, the lives of children and the well-being of aging parents. The turmoil in the Middle East, Prussia of old, Russia, even China and India could well be a harbinger of change on the way. 

Much as most people abhor change, history records change as inevitable. Think about today’s changing world encompassing everything from technology, politics, lifestyle and even the environment. The next change will unquestionably be similar to change that happened throughout history. Violence will beget violence against those unable to defend themselves. Ordinary people will absorb the bulk of the suffering while the rich will get richer and the poor poorer. Humans are a violent species as attested to by the history of humankind. Wars are the largest part of history because men depend on violence to acquire the goods, services and property of others. Nation pitted against nation is the result when one or the other of the combatants fails to acquiesce to power of the enemy.

The need to use and romanticize violence will never change. A case in point is trying to find a TV drama, movie, bestselling novel or any other vehicle offered to the worldwide watching and listening audience without absorbing a rush of violent behavior. Most dramatic TV programs follow the exploits of criminals such as serial killers. Viewers from children to the elderly watch the bad people die at the hands of people with guns. The movie depicts the criminals barbarically attacking ordinary people until the worthy law abiding person comes to the rescue and in some manner butchers the culprits so everyone ends up satisfied. Only violence will lead to success at the box office or stock market share for the firm involved in creating the violent world we call earth.

Then there is the religion factor. Every religious order believes followers are  t disciples of God. One order believes dying for a cause that will enhance the earnings of shareholders while developing  tributes to a supreme being will lead to an ideal life after death. Another religion believes keeping all parts of a woman’s body covered while keeping her subservient and obeying a husband will give both parties an idealistic afterlife. One sect convinces impressionable  young people to commit suicide while attacking an enemy with the promise of a bed with a number of virgins in the hereafter.

How different are we, even with all the technological advances, different from the tribes history books refer to as savages. The strong still overpower the weak and those accumulating the greatest fortune continue to remain dedicated to adding more to the accumulation of wealth at the expense of others. The greatest future challenge for humankind will be having every person on earth care for every other person and creating equality. That will be an especially important task as medical science develops the means to make life almost if not eventually eternal, as futurists already predict.    

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